Project Officer Maritime Capabilities

In accordance with the Rules applicable to national experts and military staff on secondment to the European Defence Agency (Council Decision (EU) 2016/1352), Seconded National Experts are seconded to the Agency while remaining in the service of their national employer and continue being paid their national salary by that employer.

Therefore, to be considered in the selection process, candidates for SNE posts must be sponsored by their national authorities. Confirmation is required in the form of a letter of sponsorship addressed to the Agency as far as possible by the closing date for the receipt of applications and in any case before a decision is taken by EDA on the candidate to be selected for a secondment.

The Rules are available on the EDA website http://www.eda.europa.eu - vacancies.

To qualify for secondment to the Agency, experts shall:

• have worked for their employer on a permanent or contract basis for at least 12 months before their secondment;
• remain in the service of their employer throughout the period of secondment and continue to be paid by that employer;
• have at least three years' full-time experience in defence, administrative, scientific, technical, operational, advisory or supervisory functions relevant to the performance of the duties assigned to them. Before the secondment, the employer shall supply the Agency with a statement of the expert's employment covering the previous 12 months;
• be nationals of a participating Member State or falling within the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 1 of Council Decision (EU) 2016/1352 of 4 August 2016;
• have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1 oral and written) of one official language of one of the participating Member States and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2 oral and written) of another of these languages for the performance of their duties.

For native English speakers, your ability to communicate in another EU language will be tested during the selection process. To assess your foreign language levels, see: https://europa.eu/europass/en/common-european-framework-reference-langu…

A. Essential criteria

Only applications meeting all essential selection criteria will be assessed.

(1) Professional

The candidate will be required to demonstrate that he/she has:

• knowledge in maritime capabilities (inter alia: Naval Combat, Maritime Interdiction, maritime manned and unmanned systems and subsystems);
• experience in Maritime Surface Warfare as a duty officer; 
• experience in working at higher Military Staff / HQs or Ministry of Defence level;
• competence necessary to propose and champion effective short-, medium- and long-term capability solutions;
• experience in project/programme management in an international, government or public sector organisation;
• sound knowledge of/experience in defence planning, capability development, preparation and running of projects/programmes;
• strong analytical skills and the ability to find solutions in complex and evolving environments;
• experience in drafting procedural and procurement-related documents, notes and briefs;
• familiarity with the international defence environment;
• a good understanding of the EDA’s main tasks and functions;
• a very good knowledge of written and spoken English.

(2) Personal

All staff must be able to fit into the Agency's way of working (see para. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:

• ability to think and operate strategically and also to implement strategic decisions;
• ability to work in a multinational team;
• good leadership and organisational skills;
• results-orientation, and strong motivation;
• flexibility and be innovative;
• genuine commitment to the Agency's objectives;
• strong conceptual, compositional, interpersonal, and analytical skills.

B. Desirable criteria

The following will be considered an advantage:

• university degree in engineering with a specialisation on naval platform, naval combat systems, maritime communication or surface warfare;
• hold a (recognised) project management qualification. 

We are looking for a Project Officer Maritime Capabilities.

Under the supervision of the Head of Unit Maritime Domain, the jobholder will be responsible for/contribute to the following activities:

• support Member States by managing ongoing and future projects in the maritime domain notably in Naval Combat and Maritime Interdiction;
• manage the Project Team Naval Manoeuvrability (PT NM) and the related working bodies, organise meetings, workshops and symposiums to implement the EU Capability Development Priorities Naval Combat and Maritime Interdiction;
• contribute to the implementation of the EU Capability Development Priorities, and their related Strategic Context Case (SCC);
• support ad-hoc projects/programmes (Cat A/B) (e.g. European Patrol Corvette, 4E);
• monitor the activities in the field of R&T and Capability Developments in a transversal, cross-Directorate approach and continue working in close relationship with the responsible Project Officers;
• coordinate and organize EDA participation in exercises and experimentation notably in the field of Naval Combat and Maritime Interdiction;
• contribute to the conduct, enhancement, and implementation of all initiatives related to Capability Development and Defence acquisition in which the Unit and the Directorate is engaged: 
  • contribution to the preparation of CARD dialogues, the analysis of CARD findings, and the elaboration of concrete recommendations;
  • contribute to the assessment of PESCO Project proposals and to the support of these Projects when requested by Member States;
  • contribute to the elaboration of the European Commission’s Defence Related funding programmes and all related documents.
• contribute to all activities related to the elaboration and implementation of high-level documents (e.g. Strategic Compass, Gaps Analysis, Action Plans); 
• develop and maintain the necessary links with all key stakeholders, such as the EU Military Staff, other Council bodies, the European Commission, etc. and the participating Member States (Military Staff, Procurement Agencies, etc.); as well as NATO;
• represent the Agency during conferences and seminars;
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the Agency.

In doing so, the jobholder will have a primary responsibility in all activities related to project management, including procurement, which includes:

• contribute to preparation of projects/programmes management activities, including definition of requirements, market surveys, acquisition strategies, preparation/negotiation of projects/programmes arrangements and associated contracts;
• manage projects/programmes in the maritime domain, which are in the Member States’ interest, within the EDA framework (Cat A/B, Operational Budget);
• contribute to Agency’s and Directorate’s lines of effort to reinforce / develop project management / procurement approaches, processes and competencies.

Duties may evolve according to development of the EDA’s structure and activities, and the decisions of EDA management.

The Project Officer Maritime Capabilities will be appointed by the Chief Executive.

Secondment will be as a member of the Seconded National Expert staff of the Agency for a three-year period. Renewal is possible within the limits set out in the EDA SNE Rules. The successful candidates will be seconded as AD10/AD11 equivalent.

Applications are invited with a view to establish a reserve list for the post of Project Officer Maritime Capabilities at EDA. This list will be valid until 31/12/2025, and may be extended by decision of the Chief Executive. During the validity of the reserve list, successful candidates may be offered a secondment in EDA according to their competences in relation to the specific requirements of the vacant post. Inclusion on the reserve list does not imply any entitlement of secondment to the Agency.