Project Officer Position – Capability Development Plan (CDP)

The European Defence Agency was established on 12 July 2004, and is governed by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency. The Agency has its headquarters in Brussels.

The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the participating Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all of the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.

The Capability Development Plan Project Officer (Project Officer CDP) will support the Head of Cooperation Planning Unit in the co-ordination of the unit’s work. In particular, the jobholder will be responsible for the continued development of the Capability Development Plan (CDP) as a framework to inform participating Member States’ (pMS) capability development. The Project Officer CDP will interact with other EDA Directorates for the benefit of the CDP. The jobholder has to manage sub-projects in the context of the CDP including resource planning, contractual/legal issues and interaction with third party service providers.

Under the supervision of the Head of Unit Cooperation Planning, the jobholder will be responsible for/contribute to the following crosscutting activities:

• contribute to the overall coherence of an integrated approach to military capability development in the CSDP environment, within the Agency and maintain close working relationships with the pMS’ representatives, the EUMC and the EUMS, as well as other relevant Council or EU bodies;
• develop proposals for the development of the Capability Development Plan, leading to the agreement on the resulting priorities and keeping an overview of their implementation; this includes in particular coordination with EDA POs from other directorates;
• take initiatives to further develop the various CDP strands and the CDP as a whole;
• support and exploit the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) in the wider context of the CDP, in close coordination with the Project Officer CARD;
• analyse and identify capability areas of growing/decreasing significance;
• monitor and assist follow-on activities of the CDP, inter alia related to prioritized actions;
• develop proposals to the continued development of the CDP software support;
• promote the Agency and the CDP, inter alia by participating in workshops, seminars, conferences, etc.;
• represent the Agency in activities related to capabilities development, when so directed;
• contribute to crosscutting issues in the Agency, such as civil military synergies;
• ensure coherence and consistency with relevant NATO activities;
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

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

Requirements

A. Essential

(1) Professional

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

• a good knowledge of European Defence and security environment at large and CSDP in particular;
• a sound knowledge of and professional experience in defence planning;
• a good knowledge of and practical experience in capability development, in a European context;
• experience in military planning and operations primarily on operational and joint level;
• an understanding of the EDA’s main tasks and functions;
• management experience, including the organization of meetings, workshops in international environment;
• ability to use IT tools at a proficient level;
• a track record of delivering successful business outcomes;
• experience of leading organisational and process change;
• an excellent knowledge of 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 work in a team and independently in his/her area of responsibility;
• ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
• good leadership and management skills;
• results-orientation and strong motivation;
• flexibility and innovativeness;
• genuine commitment to the Agency’s objectives;
• strong conceptual, compositional, interpersonal, and analytical skills;
• being computer-literate.

B. Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

• a minimum of 12 years of professional experience acquired after the award of the qualification required as a condition of eligibility.

Benefits

The Project Officer CDP will be appointed by the Chief Executive.

Recruitment will be as a member of the temporary staff of the Agency for a four-year period. Renewal is possible within the limits set out in the EDA Staff Regulations. The successful candidate will be recruited as Temporary Agent, grade AD10.

The pay for this position consists of a basic salary of 9.290,71 € supplemented with various allowances, including as applicable expatriation or family allowances. The successful candidate will be graded on entry into service according to the length of his/her professional experience. Salaries are exempted from national tax, instead an Agency tax at source is paid.

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