Group Leader Missions and Meetings

Contract length: 5 years (renewable)
Location: Stockholm
Number of candidates to be employed: 1

Is this job for you?  

Are you an experienced professional who would like to lead the Missions and Meetings team, ensuring the implementation and development of effective and efficient events management and business travel services, enabling ECDC to engage effectively with its partners?

What will you do? 

You will work in the Corporate Services section in the Resource Management Services unit.

Reporting to the Head of Section, you will be part of a team of approximately 10 people  supporting the Centre’s work related to the Missions and Meetings.

In this position, you will have a wide variety of tasks that will give you the opportunity to:

• Line manage the staff of the group and lead, plan and organise the work of the team;
• Contribute to ECDC’s mandate implementation and reputation through customer oriented, efficient and professional travels and event management, organisation, reimbursements and follow-up;
• Coordinate the forecast, planning, execution, and reporting of the ECDC business travels and meetings and associated budgets;
• Contribute to sound and effective preparation and implementation of the missions and meetings budgets. Verify invoices, payments and budgetary commitments;
• Provide operational support and procedural guidance to ECDC units and staff on events management and business travel and regularly collect feedback from the units on event and travel management;
• Develop, review and implement relevant ECDC procedures, guidelines and work instructions in accordance with EU rules and regulations; 
• Monitor and report on stakeholder satisfaction, compliance and financial performance and other necessary indicators to drive improvement of the Group’s services and performance; stay abreast of innovations in the industry;
• Manage contracts and service level agreements with external suppliers and partners;
• Initiate and manage, in collaboration with the Procurement Section, the procurement of services to ensure continuity of service. Prepare specifications and supporting documents for contracting products and services;
• Define the needs and oversee the development of the team’s IT systems;
• Deputise for the Head of Section when required;
• Contribute to other activities of ECDC as required, within your field of expertise.

What are we looking for?

Formal requirements

For your application to be considered eligible you must fulfil all the following requirements by the application deadline:

• A level of post-secondary education of at least 3 years attested by a diploma*  and at least 6 years of professional experience**  after that diploma; or a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education and at least 9 years of professional experience after that diploma;
• Thorough knowledge of one of the official EU languages and a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language to the extent necessary for the performance of your duties***;
• Nationality of one of the EU Member States or of Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and to be entitled to your full rights as a citizen;
• To have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved****; and
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.
   

You will need to provide appropriate documents to show that you meet all of the above criteria.

Selection criteria

For your application to be evaluated further, you will also need:

• At least 4 years (following the award of the diploma) professional experience acquired in positions relevant to the job description;
• Proven experience in managing a team or in coordinating tasks and work areas;
• Proven professional experience in the field of business travel and/or event organisation, hospitality services or similar business support services;
• Financial management experience: preparing forecasts, budgets and the management of supplier transactions; 
• Proven experience in developing and implementing processes, procedures, rules, training materials and/or work instructions, preferably in relation to the deployment of new IT systems/functionalities;
• Excellent command of English, both written and spoken.

Additionally, we will assess the following competencies:

• Excellent communication skills;
• Ability to empower, motivate and lead others;
• Ability to plan, coordinate, organise and prioritise;
• Analytical skills and the ability to find solutions for complex issues;
• Strong sense of initiative, responsibility & integrity, as well as a constructive, positive and service oriented attitude.

Depending on the number of applications received, the selection committee may apply stricter requirements within the aforementioned selection criteria.

Why ECDC ?

You will play an active role in making a tangible difference in public health. 

At ECDC you will join a team of more than 400 colleagues with diverse backgrounds and professions who work together for the common goal of helping countries prevent and respond to outbreaks and public health threats. Every position at ECDC plays an important part, and we cooperate closely for our collective goals. 

ECDC is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all suitably qualified candidates without any distinction on grounds of age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic or social origin, religion, or belief.

As an ECDC staff member, you will have the chance to own or support initiatives impacting the health and well-being of people in Europe. 

You will be joining ECDC at interesting times. In October 2022, the European Parliament endorsed an extended mandate that will allow ECDC to adopt a stronger role in supporting EU Member States in the prevention and control of infectious disease threats and improve European preparedness and response. This includes real-time surveillance systems, mobilising an EU Health Task Force to assist local responses in Member States and building a network of EU reference laboratories.

What can we offer you?

We offer a competitive salary and a range of benefits, including health insurance, learning opportunities and flexible work arrangements such as flexible working hours and teleworking in the Stockholm area for part of the week. Additionally, you can work up to 10 days a year from outside the Stockholm area.

Depending on your experience, the monthly basic salary usually starts at € 5013.79 and may be supplemented by various allowances including, as applicable, expatriation and/or generous family allowances. Salary is exempt from national tax and instead an Agency tax is deducted. We also provide financial support when relocating to Stockholm.

Our benefits package is designed to support a healthy work-life balance and we are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive work environment that values the well-being of our employees. 

Learn more about the benefits of joining ECDC.

How does our selection process work?

Our selection process takes, on average, three months from the application deadline. All selection processes include a remote written test and a video conference interview; some selection processes may include additional steps.

After a candidate has been selected for the position, additional shortlisted candidates can be placed on a reserve list. The reserve list may be used when ECDC needs to fill similar positions at the same level in the future. The reserve list is valid until 31 December 2025 and may be extended.

See an overview of the different steps in the selection process and the ECDC-candidate-guide.pdf (europa.eu) for a detailed explanation of the selection and recruitment process. 

When starting a new contract under the EU staff regulations, all new staff must successfully complete a probationary period of nine months.

How do you apply?

To apply for this vacancy, please create/ log in to your ECDC e-recruitment user account.

See detailed instructions on how to apply.

Please submit your application well ahead of the deadline in case of technical issues and/or heavy traffic on the website. After submitting your application, you will receive an automatic email message confirming receipt of your application. Ensure that the email address you provide for your applicant account is correct and that you check your email regularly.

ECDC does not accept applications submitted after the deadline or applications submitted by email, mail or any other means.

Translations of this vacancy notice in all EU languages can be obtained by using the automatic translation function on this website.

Note: 

While this vacancy notice can be translated into all official EU languages from its English original, the language of day-to-day operations in the Agency is generally English. ECDC therefore prefers to receive the application in English.

Disclaimer: Please note that in the event of any differences in meaning or interpretation between the original English version of this content and a translation, the original English version takes precedence

* Only diplomas and certificates that have been awarded in EU member states or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration

** Compulsory military service is always taken into consideration

*** Candidates with a non-official EU language or English as their mother tongue must provide proof of their level of a second language with a certificate (B1 or more).
In addition, in order to be eligible for a promotion through an annual promotion exercise the staff members have to have a working knowledge of a third EU language, as described in the applicable Staff Regulations and Implementing Rules. 
Prior to the appointment, the successful candidate will be asked to provide a certificate from the police file to the effect of non-existing criminal record.