Head of Unit - The Hague, Nederland - Europol

Beschrijving

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

This selection procedure is intended to fill 1 currently available post.
Europol retains the right to make use of the reserve list to select candidates for similar posts within the organisation, should business needs require so.

Organisational setting:
The post of Head of Unit - Counter Terrorism Operations Unit is located in the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) in the Operations Directorate.

The Operations Directorate deals with the core business of Europol, improving the effectiveness and cooperation of the competent authorities in the Member States (MS) in preventing and combating serious and organised crime, as well as terrorism affecting the MS. This requires close cooperation with the Liaison Bureaux at Europol and via them with the Operational Teams in the MS.

Europol delivers a number of products and services to national law enforcement agencies to support them in their fight against international serious and organised crime, as well as terrorism.

The Operations Directorate hosts five distinct Departments: Operational and Analysis Centre, European Serious Organised Crime Centre, European Cybercrime Centre, European Counter Terrorism Centre and the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre.

ECTC is responsible for facilitating counter terrorism (CT) cooperation and CT information exchange among the CT authorities as well as for providing operational analysis. It was established in 2016 with the aim of maximising operational, technical and overall information exchange capabilities in the area of counter terrorism. ECTC strives to ensure added value for EU MS and Third parties (TP) CT cooperation by providing:
1) an information hub for CT with strong analysis and information sharing capabilities, effective operational support and expertise for MS and TPs CT investigations
2) proactive mitigation of the use of social media for radicalisation purposes through terrorist/violent (right-wing) extremist online propaganda, also promoting private-public partnerships
3) a central strategic support capability to identify European wide counter-terrorism implications and outreach with relevant international partners.

A support office for the ATLAS network (Special Interventions Units) is also set up within ECTC.

The Counter Terrorism Operations Unit strives to add value for EU MS and TP's CT investigations by providing an operational data hub for counter terrorism with profound analysis capability, pragmatic operational support by means of rapid field deployment and highly specialized expertise and by detecting and ensuring bi- and multilateral connectivity of relevant CT services. CT operations is divided into several thematic teams and the so called analysis projects (APs).

One of the Unit's main responsibilities is to provide agile and tailor-made operational support to the MS proactively to prevent violent extremism and terrorists acts but also reactively by supporting MS investigations after committed crimes.

Job environment:
This post might require participation in a shift system including weekends and nights as well as on-call duty.

FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

Purpose of the post:
The Head of Unit – CT Operations is responsible for the effective discharge of his/her responsibilities under the supervision of the Head of the Department - ECTC.

The Head of Unit – CT Operations ensures operational engagement with the EU MS and TP's CT competent actors by constant scoping for opportunities to detect, facilitate and create multilateral cooperation instruments and momentum in the field of counter terrorism.

The incumbent develops concrete proposals for clustering of the EU MS and TP's CT investigative activity aiming at an encompassing sustainable approach targeting high priority individuals, networks or organisations that represent a threat to the EU security.

The Head of Unit – CT operations maintains intense networking with designated EU MS and TP's CT experts embedded within Europol Liaison Officer structure, leads the CT Joint Liaison Team and ensures a trusted and qualitative support entity ready to act upon EU MS confrontation with terrorist attacks and threats.

The Head of Unit – CT operations instigates cooperation by supervising and leading the recurrent different operational activities.

The successful candidate will have to carry out the following main duties:
- Set vision, goals and objectives for the Unit in alignment with Europol's organisational strategy and inspire staff;
- Develop and implement policies and procedures to facilitate seamless operations and ensure compliance with relevant legal framework and fundamental rights outlined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
- Manage the delivery of relevant products and services included in the Europol work programme; ensure the quality and timeliness of the products and services delivered;
- Manage staff within the Unit; establish and monitor the achievement of key performance indicators and identify and address areas for improvement; provide constructive feedback, guide and empower staff in order to grow and develop;
- Ensure the effective management and efficient use of all financial, human and other resources, in support of Europol's program delivery; identify risks and ensure appropriate mitigation;
- Manage conflicts by effectively applying techniques and strategies that identify and address conflicts early and to find satisfactory solutions that promote positive outcomes;
- Ensure that data entrusted to the unit are protected and used in accordance with the relevant Europol regulations;
- Cultivate a culture of teamwork and cooperation with zero tolerance for harassment; put into place effective communication and collaboration between the Unit and other Units/stakeholders inside or outside of Europol;
- Make development opportunities available and ensure staff members have the know-how, resources, environment and support necessary to achieve results in an effective manner;
- Represent the Unit in external and cross-departmental engagements and negotiations and provide advice on matters relating to area of responsibility; deliver presentations and prepare reports;
- Act as role model for the Unit and champion diversity & inclusion matters inside and outside Europol;
- Perform any other duties in the area of competences as assigned by line management.

REQUIREMENTS - ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
a. Candidates must

• Be a member of a competent authority within the meaning of the Article 2(a) of the Europol Regulation and enjoy full rights as a citizen of a Member State;

• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;

• Produce appropriate character references as to his or her suitability for the performance of the duties;

• Be physically fit to perform the duties pertaining to the post as further specified in Article 13 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS);

• Produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.

b. Candidates must have

• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more;
OR

• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is three years;
OR

• Professional training of an equivalent level in a relevant area (e.g. Police Officer's School) and after having completed the training, at least the number of years of relevant professional experience as indicated below:

Duration of professional training Additional professional experience required for equivalency
More than 6 months and up to 1 year 4 years
More than 1 year and up to 2 years 3 years
More than 2 years and up to 3 years 2 years
More than 3 years 1 year

• In addition to the above at least 12 years of professional work experience gained after the award of the diploma.

SELECTION CRITERIA
a. Professional experience:
Essential:

• Experience leading CT investigations with an international component, preferably of at least 5 years;

• Experience in cooperation with competent CT security services beyond law enforcement;

• Experience in managing staff of at least 5 years;

• Experience in the role of liaison and cooperation on operational, strategic and policy matters;

• Experience with administration, finances and planning at management level.
Desirable:

• Experience working in a multicultural environment.

b. Professional knowledge
Essential:

• Sound knowledge of present operational counter terrorism environment;

• Sound knowledge of the EU legal framework in general and in particular in the area of counter terrorism;

• Sound knowledge of international police cooperation;

• Sound knowledge of the Europol legal framework.

c. General management skills including:
Essential:

• The ability to set and revise objectives for the unit within the overall strategic framework and priorities of the Agency;

• The ability to determine and focus on priorities and to monitor and evaluate the progress made towards achieving the unit's and team members' objectives set, in cooperation with the members of the team;

• The ability to organise, assign and manage the unit's work among the members of the team and to set them challenging but realistic objectives;

• The ability to empower members of the team while ensuring that they understand what is expected of them and how their work contributes to the unit's objectives;

• The ability to choose co-workers and to build strong teams with complementary strengths suited to the efficient pursuit of the unit's objectives;

• The ability to motivate members of the team to achieve the desired results and also to provide regular feedback, acknowledge success and the need for improvement in order to enable them to achieve their objectives and greatest potential;

• The ability to develop and support career development and learning opportunities for the members of the team.
Communication skills

• The ability to communicate clearly and present complex subjects simply, both orally and in writing, including to the members of the team;

• The ability to solicit inputs from and listen to staff, partners, and stakeholders.
Interpersonal skills

• The ability to deal with people effectively, respectfully and courteously;

• The ability to build productive and cooperative working relationships with hierarchy and other units and colleagues.
Negotiation skills

• The ability to steer discussions and generate the best possible results without compromising productive working relationships with the other parties involved.

d. Fulfil the condition stipulated in Article 5 of the Decision of the Executive Director on the Duration of contracts of employment for Temporary Agents, on the start date of the possible contract of employment which may be offered.