EMSA: Applications Developer

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https://recruitment.emsa.europa.eu/Vacancies/Notice.aspx?IDVano=64

 

Call for Applications EMSA/CA/2015/07 (Agency’s Contractual Staff) Post: EMSA/CA/2015/07 - Applications Developer Directorate/Unit: Unit A.3 – Operations Support Type of post: Contractual Agent Function group : IV Location: Lisbon

 

Closing date for applications: 11 September 2015

 

The selection of candidates will follow the EMSA Staff Recruitment Procedure. Candidates must apply for this post via the EMSA website http://www.emsa.europa.eu - vacancies. Please note that to make an EMSA on-line application you will need to create your EMSA profile using a valid e-mail address and a password.

 

1. Background

The European Maritime Safety Agency was established for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety, maritime security as well as prevention of and response to pollution by ships within the EU.

The idea of a European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) originated in the late 1990s along with a number of other important European maritime safety initiatives. EMSA was set up as the regulatory agency that would provide a major source of support to the Commission and the Member States in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution from ships.

The European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002, as amended, provides the legal basis for the establishment of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

 

2. Tasks of the Agency

The Agency provides technical, operational and scientific assistance to the European Commission and Member States in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of, and response to, pollution caused by ships as well as response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations.

The Agency also contributes to the overall efficiency of maritime traffic and maritime transport.

 

3. Unit A.3 – Operations Support

Responsible for Information and Telecommunications, Office Facilities & Logistics, Procurement & Financial Assistance regarding contract matters.

 

A.3.1 ICT OPERATIONS Formulation and implementation of ICT policies including procurement. Formulation and implementation of ICT architecture; design, procure, install, manage & maintain ICT infrastructure including Service Desk & hosting centre for Maritime Applications. Form and implement ICT Architecture and Policy for Maritime Applications & provide support for Operational Units during specification, procurement & implementation of Maritime Applications.

 

 

A.3.2 PROJECT DELIVERY

 

The primary focus of this sector is enterprise architecture and application lifecycle management, i.e. to ensure the delivery of ICT projects within an agreed time and budget, with agreed scope and quality. While the relevant operational unit in the Agency is responsible for the functional specifications, follow-up, testing and acceptance of systems (i.e. the business logic), A.3.2 is responsible for all ICT tender and project management activities and verification & validation of non-functional requirements (performance, reliability, scalability etc.). A.3.2 is also responsible for an ICT security audit of the project.

In addition, A.3.2 is tasked with all database and middleware administration and installation, configuration and integration of applications within the EMSA ICT Infrastructure (including the Business Continuity Facility) and ICT service platforms (single sign-on, LifeRay Portals, Enterprise Service Bus, nautical maps, etc.). Finally, A.3.2 also manages and operates the ICT service platforms.

 

4. Functions and Duties

The Applications Developer will work within Unit A.3 'Operations Support'.

He/She will be responsible for the design, development and administration of collaboration and management tools to support horizontal planning and monitoring needs and requirements, in particular related to budget, finance, procurement and performance, and human resources and document management, primarily based on SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013 but also including custom applications based on the .Net framework. The primary goal of this position is to enable efficiency improvements throughout the Agency via effective use of the SharePoint tool.

At EMSA the SharePoint platform / MS.Net platform are the underlying basis for:

• LeaMa, MiMa, TiMa, eRecruitment and E-HR portal;
• SHAPE management application; and
• COLLAB collaborative document authoring tool.

The applications developer will work on the applications mentioned above as well on new applications supporting EMSA's internal functions.

He/She will write software specifications, specify appropriate architecture, develop and program software, and define and implement technical interfaces with other systems.

In addition to being comfortable with the tasks and essential skills listed below, he/she will have strong business analysis skills. He/She will be required to adapt to the needs and knowledge make-up of interdisciplinary teams, and communicate effectively with team members with different levels of IT literacy. He/She will be expected to get comfortable with the Agency’s internal processes and EU procedures and be able to work productively without a lot of "hand holding".

To effectively fulfil the job requirements the SharePoint Application Developer will need experience in the SharePoint 2010/2013 environment covering complete software lifecycle: architecture / design / development / deployment / configuration / testing / administration.

The application developer will need to perform the following tasks:

• Develop, maintain and support applications developed on the .Net and SharePoint platforms, in particular related to budget, finance, procurement, performance and human resources.
• Together with the project manager, gather, analyse and write specifications.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, test plans and implementation plans.
• Research, document & promote SharePoint best practices.
• Assist in identification of future application needs and evaluation of proactive solutions.
• Proactively contribute with best practices and solutions to improve efficiency of the working processes within the Agency.
• Together with the project manager, coordinate development outsourced to 3rd parties and verify and validate deliverables for compliance with requirements, implementation constraints and best practices.
• Assist users in testing and acceptance of developed/delivered software and documentation.
• Support the existing SharePoint developments, acting as 2nd tier help desk.

 

5. Eligibility and Selection Criteria

A. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Qualifications and experience required:

A.1. Education and professional experience:  

A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma, and appropriate professional experience of at least one year. 

A.2. Language skills:

The main working language in the field of maritime safety is English. Candidates must therefore have an excellent command of spoken and written English, with a satisfactory knowledge of at least one other official language of the European Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the above mentioned duties.

B. SELECTION CRITERIA

B.1. Essential:

• A degree in the field of ICT or equivalent.
• 3 years of relevant professional experience related to the functions and duties mentioned above.
• Expert level knowledge of development (full cycle) on the following platforms:
  • C# / ASP.NET Web-Based Development
  • SharePoint
  • SQL Server 2008 / R2 (or later version) Database
  • Front-end development experience – HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS
• Ability to work independently, strong team player used to work in an interdisciplinary team possessing good communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong business analysis, process improvement and change management skills.
• Maintain and manage existing source base of applications developed on top of SharePoint or on .Net framework, respond to incidents and correct bugs in these existing applications.
• Experience with a source control system.  

B.2. Advantageous:

• Hands-on development experience with SharePoint 2013, including the creation of custom webparts.
• Experience as technical project leader and/or project manager.
• Responsible for quality control and acceptance of deliveries by contractors.
• Experience with Subversion (SVN) source control system.
• Interfacing with legacy systems or 3rd party applications.
• Good knowledge of SOAP WebServices and RESTful API Services in SharePoint Object Model.
• Experience with wireframing, prototyping and User Interface definition for usability.
• Expertise in Business Intelligence (including Excel Services, SQL Server Reporting Services).
• Experience working with NINTEX Workflow and forms.
• Experience with document management best practices (retention policies, archival requirements, document classification etc.)
• Certification in SharePoint, and/or .Net development or other relevant certifications.

The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Board depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential criteria.

Applicants must meet the required eligibility criteria concerning the required educational qualifications and years of experience, as well as the essential criteria by the deadline for this call for applications.

 

6. General Conditions

In order to be eligible the candidate must:

• Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union or of Iceland or Norway;
• Be entitled to your full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled the obligations imposed on you by the laws concerning military service;
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved and
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

 

7. Conditions of Employment

The Applications Developer will be appointed by the Executive Director, upon recommendation of the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.

The duration of the contract is three years, with the possibility of renewal.

The successful candidate will be recruited in function group IV (FGIV). The grade will be determined in accordance with the number of years of professional experience.

The basic monthly salary for the entry grade of Function Group IV, (Function Group IV, Grade 13, Step 1) before any deductions or allowances, weighted for Lisbon, at 1 July 2012 is 2,606.24 EUR.

In addition to the basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, such as an expatriation allowance (16% of basic salary), household allowance, dependent child allowance and education allowance. The salary is subject to a Community tax deducted at source and staff members are exempt of national taxation.

Please note that recruitment is done in the first step of the indicated grade.

EMSA offers a comprehensive welfare package including pension scheme, medical, accident and occupational disease insurance coverage, unemployment and invalidity allowance. Further information regarding rights and conditions of employment can be found in the following document:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF

The place of employment is Lisbon, Portugal.

Candidates are advised that if they are offered a post, and accept, they must undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that they meet the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.

 

8. Submission of Applications

Candidates must submit their application electronically solely via the EMSA website within the deadline. Applications by any other means (hard copy or ordinary e-mail) or submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

All candidates will receive an acknowledgement of receipt for their application.

EMSA is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all candidates who fulfil the eligibility and selection criteria without any distinction whatsoever on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, marital status or other family situation or sexual orientation.

You may apply in any of the official languages of the European Community, but it would be helpful to apply in English in order to facilitate the selection process. However you are requested to state your educational qualifications and positions held in the language of origin.

 

9. The Selection Process

For each selection process a Selection Committee is nominated. The selection is carried out in two phases:

1. In the first phase all eligible applications will be evaluated by the Selection Committee and scored against the selection criteria. Please note that non-compliance with at least one of the essential selection criteria will result in the exclusion of the candidate from the selection process. Advantageous criteria constitute additional assets and will not result in exclusion, if not fulfilled. The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Committee depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential selection criteria.

On this basis, the Selection Committee will invite to the interview and to the test phase the best qualified candidates (maximum of 15), on condition that they have achieved at least 60% of the highest possible score during the evaluation of applications. Should the case arise that there are various candidates scoring the same number of points in the 15th ranking, the number of candidates to be invited will be increased accordingly to accomodate this. 

2. In the second phase, the selected candidates will be invited to pass one or several written tests related to the job profile and to take part in a selection interview.

During this recruitment phase, the selected candidates will be evaluated by the Selection Committee. After the interviews and tests, the Selection Committee will draw up a list of the most suitable candidates to be proposed to the Appointing Authority. Only candidates receiving at least 70% of the maximum points at interview and at the test phase will be included in the list of the most suitable candidates. The Appointing Authority will select the successful candidate and decide whether to also adopt a reserve list. The successful candidates will be informed accordingly.

All candidates will receive an information letter of the outcome of their application.

Please note that a binding commitment can only be made after verification of all conditions and will take the form of a contract signed by the Executive Director.

The reserve list will remain valid for a period of 1 year following its establishment. Therefore candidates whose name will be put on a reserve list could be offered a contract during this period of time. Please note however that inclusion in the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment.

Please note that the selection process may take several months to be completed and that no information will be released during this period. Once a selection process has been completed, its status will be displayed in the e-recruitment.

Please note that once you have created your EMSA profile, any correspondence regarding your application must be sent or received via your EMSA profile.

For any prior enquiry, please refer to the FAQ (Frequently asked questions) section, or send an e-mail to [email protected]

Requests for information and appeal:

An applicant who would like further information, or considers that he/she has grounds for complaint concerning a particular decision may, at any point in the selection procedure, request further information from the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.
For information on how to lodge a complaint and/or an appeal procedure, please consult the ‘General Information for Recruitment’ overview on our website for more information:
http://www.emsa.europa.eu/recruitment-info.html