Press Assistant of Dutch language for Belgian Press

About the EPP Group

The Group of the European People's Party (EPP Group) is the largest political group in the European Parliament. It brings together centre and centre-right pro-European political forces from the Member States of the EU, coming together to advance the goal of a more competitive and democratic Europe, closer to its citizens, and a social market economy. Its multinational Secretariat provides political, administrative and technical support to its MEPs.

Department

The Press Directorate ensures the dissemination to the media and the general public of the political priorities of the EPP Group using the most advanced communication techniques.

Job description

The Press Assistant fulfils a supranational function within the EPP Group Secretariat and carries out, the following functions and duties:

• Facilitating communication between the EPP Group and the Belgian delegation with national media and authorities;
• Serving as the primary press contact for both the Belgian delegation and the national delegation;
• Providing weekly updates on Belgian national events for the publication 'News from the Member States';
• Drafting press releases, notes, and social media content on relevant topics within their field of expertise;
• Assisting with the distribution of the Group’s promotional materials to Members;
• Ensuring regular updates to the EPP Group’s website;
• Editing, publishing, and distributing information about the EPP Group’s activities to the media and the general public;
• Contributing to the development and execution of the EPP Group's communication programmes;
• Contributes to all activity necessary for the smooth running of the Press Directorate and the Group secretariat.

The post of Press Assistant in the Secretariat of the EPP Group requires great availability (high frequency of meetings, irregular working hours), flexibility, judgement, a methodical approach, discretion, adaptability to varying workloads, as well as the capacity for teamwork in an international environment. Suitable candidates must, amongst other things, be capable of grasping wide-ranging problems and of responding rapidly to changing circumstances.

Frequent travel outside the place of work is required, in particular several days per month in Strasbourg during the plenary session.

Job requirements

Candidates must have:

• a post-secondary education attested by a diploma followed by at least 5 years full-time professional experience similar to the duties as described in the job description acquired after obtaining the required educational qualification indicated in this notice OR a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to higher education followed by at least 8 years full-time relevant professional experience, out of which at least 5 years similar to the duties as described in the job description;
• a thorough knowledge of Dutch language (C2);
• for work purpose, a very good knowledge of English and French is required (C1);
• a knowledge of other EU languages is an asset;
• a good knowledge of the European Union, its institutions and policies;
• a very good knowledge of the Belgian political system;
• excellent oral and written communication skills;
• a good knowledge of media relations;
• a very good knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).

Salary & benefits

Successful candidate(s) may be offered a contract as a temporary agent of the type 2(c) for an indefinite period, in accordance with the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS).

In addition to the basic salary, the following benefits apply:

• Sickness Insurance Scheme enabling access to care worldwide;
• EU Civil Service Pension rights after 10 years of service;
• Annual leave entitlement of at least 24 days;
• Additional specific allowances (e.g. expatriation, household, dependent child, installation), depending on the personal family situation and the place of origin;
• Training and career development opportunities.

General admission conditions

CANDIDATES MUST FULFIL THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS (art. 12(2) of the CEOS):

• be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union;
• enjoy their full rights as a citizen (have no criminal record);
• have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service;
• meet the character requirements for the duties involved.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CANDIDATES

1. RECOMMENDATIONS

Before filling in the online application form, please read the following instructions carefully.

Under no circumstances should candidates approach the Selection Committee themselves, either directly or indirectly, concerning this recruitment procedure. It reserves the right to disqualify any candidate who disregards this instruction.

2. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

Candidates must provide the Selection Committee with all the information and documents requested to verify the accuracy of the information given on the application form.

Qualifications, professional experience and linguistic knowledge must be accompanied by supporting documents.

Please note that the Selection Committee will base its decisions solely on the information given on the application form and substantiated by the supporting documents attached to it. The qualifications and professional experience that are not substantiated by supporting document(s) will not be taken into account.

Candidates must attach the copies of the following documents to the application form:

• Secondary education and post-secondary education diploma(s);
• Employment contracts (if applicable, both the initial contract and additional clauses in case of a fixed-term contract) or certificates, letters or attestations of appointment, indicating the exact nature of the activity performed and clearly indicating the start and end dates of the periods of professional experience. Please note that traineeships, even paid ones, are not taken into account as professional experience;
• In the case of current professional activity, a copy of the most recent salary slip or a certificate issued by the state revenue service or a signed and stamped certificate by the accountant of your current employer to enable the Selection Committee to calculate the length of professional activity;
• In the case of self-employed activity: tax forms, VAT forms, trade register, social security documents, invoices, etc., as proof of professional experience;
• Documents proving the knowledge of the languages (certificates and diplomas). All claims regarding the candidate’s linguistic knowledge must be proven by certificates and diplomas. In the absence of such documents, candidates must clearly explain, on a separate sheet, how they acquired this knowledge;
• ID card or Passport.

Please note that the documents proving professional experience must be accompanied by a translation (unofficial is acceptable) in either English, French or German.

3. HOW TO APPLY

If you wish to apply for this position, please:

1. Complete the online application form available on our website in English: https://www.eppgroup.eu/about-us/careers.
2. Upload a Europass CV in English;
3. Upload a motivation letter (max. 500 words) in English;
4. Upload the following supporting documents as a single PDF file including
   • Proof of education (copy of your diplomas & other certificates)
   • Proof of professional experience
   • Proof of linguistic knowledge
   • ID card/Passport

   Please note that the maximum size of attachment is 15 MB.

5. Click on the “Send” button. Shortly afterwards you will receive an acknowledgement email confirming that we have received your application. Should this not be the case, please make sure to check your spam folder.

Any urgent communication from the candidates must be transmitted to the Selection Committee's secretariat by email (epp-recruitment@europarl.europa.eu). Candidates are asked NOT TO TELEPHONE.

4. ADMISSION TO THE SELECTION PROCEDURE AND THE TESTS

The selection procedure will be organised on the basis of qualifications and tests (written and oral).

INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE APPLYING

1. The Selection Committee will draw up a list of the candidates who have submitted applications in the form required and by the closing date.
2. Candidates who:
   • do not meet the conditions for admission and job requirements;
   • do not duly complete the online application form;
   • do not attach their CV in Europass format;
   • do not attach a motivation letter;
   • do not attach the required supporting documents proving their qualifications, professional experience or remove/black out any content of supporting documents;
   • do not include a translation (unofficial or official) of all supporting documents proving their professional experience either in English, French or German;
   • do not attach a copy of the ID card/Passport
   will be eliminated.
3. The Selection Committee will consider the applications; draw up the list of candidates who meet the job requirements, and select, on the basis of previously established criteria, a maximum of 6 candidates whose qualifications and duly attested periods of professional experience best match the tasks to be carried out, who will be admitted to the tests. It will base its decision on the information given on the application form and substantiated by the supporting documents attached to it.
4. Candidates will receive an e-mail informing them of the Selection Committee’s decision on whether to admit them to the tests.
5. If, at any stage in the procedure, it is established that the information given in your application form is incorrect or is not substantiated by supporting documents, or that all the conditions set out in the recruitment notice are not met, you will be disqualified.
6. The tests will consist in 3 written tests to be carried out in English and Dutch. Only the candidates invited to the tests will receive detailed information on the nature, duration and scoring of the tests.

5. INCLUSION ON THE LIST OF SUITABLE CANDIDATES

The Selection Committee will draw up a reserve list from among those who have obtained at least 60% of the points for the tests as a whole (written and oral combined) and have obtained the minimum mark required for each of them.

The 2 best-scored candidates will be listed in order of merit.

Being included on a reserve list does not constitute either a right to nor a guarantee of recruitment.

6. CONDITIONS OF RECRUITMENT

Candidates included on the list of suitable candidates will be eligible to be recruited as the need arises in the EPP Group.

Recruitment will be at grade AST4 and one post is to be filled in.

The list of suitable candidates will have an initial validity of two years. It can be extended. If so, the candidates on the list will be duly informed.

Short-listed candidates who are offered a job will in due course be required to produce the originals of their diploma(s), degree(s) and employment certificates for verification.