VACANCY NOTICE FOR THE POSITION OF
Expert – Greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals
Temporary Agent (AD6)
Reference no. EEA/AD/2024/11

Please send us your application by no later than 23 September 2024 at midnight (Copenhagen time), following the instructions in the ANNEX.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) is organising an open competition to recruit experts who will enable that action towards climate neutrality in Europe is informed by the best possible monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals.

THE AGENCY:

We are an agency of the European Union (EU) that was founded in 1994. We work in close cooperation with a multitude of organisations at European, regional and global levels. Our knowledge network Eionet is our main partner and brings together 32 member countries and 6 cooperating countries.

We collect and validate data from reliable sources to analyse trends and produce policy-relevant analyses on environment and climate topics. These assessments contribute to Europe’s transition towards sustainability by supporting policy and solutions on the ground. We assist the European Commission to implement EU environmental legislation in EU Member States, as well as inform European citizens about the state and outlook of Europe's environment.

With more than 280 employees, we continuously challenge ourselves to explore emerging issues and tools within our areas of expertise. We lead by example by following ambitious environmental commitments and making sure to solely rely on trustworthy sources source for data collection and knowledge.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

EEA is looking for motivated and dedicated professionals to ensure and enhance data accuracy, consistency and policy relevance of greenhouse gas inventories and to support collaboration and knowledge sharing on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals with national emission inventory teams, EU and national policy makers, scientists and actors in the field of carbon removal certification.

From the reserve list established under this open competition, EEA intends to recruit 2 temporary agents in 2024 and will establish a reserve list for expected future positions. The successful candidates will be working under the responsibility of the Head Group ‘Carbon emissions and removals monitoring’, which is part of the agency Climate Change, Energy and Transport (CET) programme (see organisational chart).

The position will, depending on the expertise and experience of the successful candidate, entail a combination of the following tasks:

Support the implementation of the Energy Union Governance Regulation

Perform quality assurance and quality control procedures on Member States emission inventory data to make sure these are timely, transparent, accurate, consistent, comparable, and complete;
Support the compilation of the European Union (EU) greenhouse gas emission inventory and the writing of the EU National Inventory Report (NIR).

Support the implementation of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation

Perform detailed examination of annual LULUCF inventory estimates, including methodologies used by the Member State in the preparation of inventories and evaluation of recalculations made compared to previous inventory estimates;
Perform detailed examination of Member States compliance reports on accounting towards the national LULUCF carbon removal targets, claims on flexibility towards the national target for land subject to natural disturbances and of changes made to national forest reference levels.

Knowledge sharing and capacity building

Collaborate with national emission inventory teams, policy makers and scientists to enhance data accuracy, consistency and policy relevance of greenhouse gas inventories at subnational, national and international levels;
Support Member States with the improvement of emission inventories by providing insights in and access to state-of-the-art methodologies, in-situ data, remote sensing data and reference datasets.

Supporting climate change mitigation policy making

Perform quantitative analysis on the impact of specific land sector climate change mitigation measures on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals at national level and the links of such measures on nature restoration, biodiversity, food production and other ecosystem functions;
Perform quantitative analysis on greenhouse emissions and carbon removals from the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) and their contribution to national greenhouse gas emission trends.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Candidates applying must satisfy the following eligibility criteria on the closing date for the submission of applications:

a) Successful completion of university studies attested by a degree relevant to the field concerned of at least 3 years; OR where justified in the interests of the service, professional training of an equivalent level;
b) A minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience after award of the university degree.

In addition, in order to be eligible a candidate must:

Be a national of one of the member countries of the EEA (Member States of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye);
Enjoy full rights as a citizen;
Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by law concerning military service;
Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the EEA member countries and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these languages (corresponding to level B.2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages CEFR);
Meet the character requirements for the duties involved;
Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

Candidates should assess carefully and check before submitting their application whether they fulfil all the conditions for admission laid down in the vacancy notice, particularly in terms of qualifications and relevant professional experience.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

(In your application, please provide examples from current or past work experience where these competencies have been applied).

Essential:

Proven experience in quantifying greenhouse gas emission inventories and/or carbon removals according to reporting requirements under international or private sector reporting standards or as part of at least sector level scientific emissions inventories calculations;
Proven experience with data analysis, trend analysis and monitoring progress to emission and carbon removal targets in a regulatory or private sector setting;
Excellent project management skills and experience, including proven experience of managing complex projects involving a variety of stakeholders;
Excellent command of written and spoken English language, at least at level C1 in all categories according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language.

Advantageous:

Proven experience in using geospatial datasets supporting emission inventory monitoring, reporting and verification activities;
Proven experience at national level with the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals in one or more of the following sectors: agriculture, forestry, land use.

Candidates invited to the written test and interview stage will also be assessed against the following behavioural competencies:

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with colleagues and stakeholders;
Ability to work collaboratively and share expertise with others to deliver on common work goals;
Diversity awareness and sensitivity;
Well-developed solution-oriented and problem solving approach;
Ability to take responsibility for specific areas of work and to deliver to high standards;
Service orientation and ability to understand stakeholder needs and requirements;
Ability to seek out learning opportunities proactively, to handle situations and problems with innovation and creativity.

CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS:

The successful candidate will be offered a Temporary Agent contract in accordance with Article 2f) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities. The selected candidate will be employed for an initial time period of four years, renewable.

Successful candidates who are recruited undergo an initial probation period of 9 months.

Should the successful candidate currently hold a Temporary Agent 2(f) contract and qualify for a transfer under the terms of the CEOS, the band width for this position which can be accommodated is in accordance with Annex I of the Staff Regulations.

For information on salary, please see information published under Temporary Agents.

The place of work will be Copenhagen, Denmark.

It is brought to the particular attention of candidates that the provisions of Articles 11 to 26 of the Staff Regulations, concerning the rights and obligations of officials, shall apply by analogy to Temporary Agents. These rules specify that:

“An official shall carry out his duties and conduct himself solely with the interests of the Union in mind. He shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, authority, organization or person outside his institution. He shall carry out the duties assigned to him objectively, impartially and in keeping with his duty of loyalty to the Union.

An official shall not without the permission of the appointing authority accept from any government or from any other source outside the institution to which he belongs any honour, decoration, favour, gift or payment of any kind whatever, except for services rendered either before his appointment or during special leave for military or other national service and in respect of such service.

Before recruiting an official, the appointing authority shall examine whether the candidate has any personal interest such as to impair his independence or any other conflict of interest. To that end, the candidate, using a specific form, shall inform the appointing authority of any actual or potential conflict of interest. In such cases, the appointing authority shall take this into account in a duly reasoned opinion. If necessary, the appointing authority shall take the measures referred to in Article 11a(2).”

For further information on the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union see:
Staff Regulations

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

A Selection Committee is set up for the selection procedure. It consists of members designated by the Appointing Authority and the Staff Committee. The Selection Committee is bound by the principle of confidentiality as enshrined in Article 6 of Annex III to the Staff Regulations. This works in two ways: first, it imposes obligations to ensure equal treatment for candidates; and second, it seeks to protect the Selection Committee to ensure that its decisions are totally impartial.

The Selection Committee adheres strictly to the conditions of admission laid down in the vacancy notice when deciding whether or not candidates are eligible. Candidates admitted to a previous selection procedure will not automatically be eligible.

Candidates are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the Selection Committee, either directly or indirectly.

Any infringement of this rule will lead to disqualification from the selection procedure.

In a spirit of transparency, and in order to align our working methods with current practice in certain Member States, the administration has decided to proceed with the publication of names of Selection Committee members.

Should the Selection Committee discover at any stage in the procedure that the candidate does not meet one or more of the general or special conditions for admission to the selection procedure, the candidate will be disqualified.

The Selection Committee decides on those candidates who are admitted to the selection procedure in accordance with the requirements as specified under eligibility criteria. The applications of the candidates admitted to the selection procedure are reviewed to establish whether or not they show evidence of all requirements as specified under selection criteria.

The Selection Committee will invite to the interview and to the written test phase the best qualified candidates (maximum of 8). Should the case arise that there are various candidates scoring the same number of points in the 8th ranking, the number of candidates to be invited may be increased accordingly to accommodate this.

The interview will be held in English and the candidate’s knowledge of other languages will also be assessed during the interview. Candidates invited for an interview will be asked to undergo a written test in English, in the area of expertise required for the post. The test and the interview will take place online.

At the end of the interviews the Selection Committee will submit the list of suitable candidates to the Appointing Authority who will decide on the appointment of the successful candidate and the establishment of a reserve list for the post advertised or similar posts that may become available. There may be conducted follow-up recruitment interviews with the suitable candidates. Candidates shall note that inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on availability of posts and budget.

The reserve list for this post will be valid until 31 December 2025 and may be extended at the discretion of the Appointing Authority.

Prior to contract signature, the successful candidate will be asked:

to provide original or certified copies of all relevant documents proving his/her eligibility, including a police certificate confirming the absence of any criminal record;
to undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that he/she meets the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.

EEA jobs

Expert – Greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals