Seconded National Expert (SNE) in the European Cybercrime Centre

ABOUT EUROPOL

This selection procedure is intended to establish a reserve list of successful candidates (indicative number is 4). 
Europol may retain the right to make use of the serve list to select candidates for similar secondments, should business needs require so.

Organisational setting:
The positions of SNE are located in European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), Operations Directorate.

Mandate of the team: 
Europol delivers a number of products and services to national law enforcement agencies to support them in their fight against international serious and organised crime, as well as terrorism.

The Operations Directorate deals with the core business of Europol, improving the effectiveness and cooperation of the competent authorities in the Member States in preventing and combating serious and organised crime, as well as terrorism affecting the Member States. This requires close cooperation with the Liaison Bureaux at Europol and via them with the Operational Teams in the Member States.

The European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) serves as the centre for the Member States’ fight against cybercrime in the European Union, delivering operational and investigative support to the Member States on complex cybercrime investigations. It also provides support to the European Union’s institutions and Member States in building operational and analytical capacity for investigations and cooperation with external partners.

Operations EC3 is responsible for delivering the operational services of EC3. EC3 Operations has five teams, being the three Analysis Projects Cyborg, Terminal and Twins, the DarkWeb Team and the Cyber Intelligence Team. From EC3 Operations there is also the link with the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT).

Likewise, EC3 provides operational support, and research and development in the area of digital forensics. This function provides on-the-spot and remote digital forensic support services, including network and mobile devices, through the EC3 Forensics Team.

This advertisement is aimed to establish a reserve list for future appointment of successful candidates to vacant Cybercrime Specialist SNEs.

Purpose of the secondment:
The successful candidates will be responsible for the delivery of operational products and services foreseen in the Europol Work Programme in the areas of cyber-dependent crime (AP Cyborg), Child Sexual Exploitation (AP Twins) and Digital Forensics (EC3 Forensics).

Reporting lines:
The SNE reports to the Team Leaders of the above-referred teams.

BACKGROUND, MAIN PURPOSE AND TASKS OF THE POST

The SNE will carry out the following main functions and duties:

• Facilitate the exchange of information, providing advice and operational support in the field of cybercrime;
• Assist law enforcement agencies during joint investigations and operations focussing on cybercrime;
• Keep up-to-date with relevant developments in cybercrime and technology that may impact law enforcement environment; 
• Draft intelligence analysis reports of operational nature in cybercrime;
• Perform forensic analysis on contributed devices with the purpose of data extraction and ingestion in Europol databases;
• Search open sources for information relevant to the area of work;
• Participate in meetings, working groups and conferences and present analytical and  technical results as and when required; 
• Based on information from the Member States, prepare reports on possible opportunities for Europol and the Member States to work together on specific intelligence and information.

REQUIREMENTS - ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Candidates must:

• Be a member of a competent authority in the meaning of the Article 2a) of the Europol Regulation and enjoy full rights as a citizen of a Member State;
• Produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one the Union languages and a satisfactory knowledge of a second language;
• Possess at least 3 years of professional experience in the field of law enforcement relevant to the duties to be carried out during the secondment.

REQUIREMENTS - SELECTION CRITERIA

a. Professional experience (assessed mainly during the shortlisting):
Essential: 
• At least 3 years of experience in law enforcement working in Units dealing with, at least one, of the following areas: Cyber-Dependent Crime, Child Sexual Exploitation or Digital Forensics;
• Experience in digital and/or mobile forensics, as well-as delivery of forensic support on the spot; 
• Experience in drafting forensic and technical reports.

Desirable: 
• Law enforcement working experience at international level;
• Experience in network, cloud, IoT forensics;
• Experience in programming and/or scripting required to process large volumes of data and reverse engineering (e.g. Bash, Python, C);
• Experience using SQL (e.g. MySQL, MSSQL) and NoSQL (e.g. Elasticsearch, Apache Solr, MongoDB) databases;
• Experience in decryption; 
• Experience on JTAG/ISP/Chip-off techniques;
• Experience in vehicle forensics.

b. Professional knowledge (assessed during the selection procedure – written test and/or interview)
Essential: 
• Sound knowledge of law enforcement environment and practices, preferably at international level;
• Knowledge of investigative techniques in one of the following areas: Cyber-Dependent Crime, Child Sexual Exploitation or Digital Forensics;
• Excellent knowledge of the Internet and applications associated with cybercriminal activities;
• Sound knowledge of digital/mobile forensic investigation and digital/mobile forensic examination techniques, network and cloud forensics, major operating systems, file systems and forensic artifacts.

c. General competencies (assessed during the selection procedure – written test and/or interview)
Essential:
Communicating:
• Very good communication skills in English, both orally and in writing;
• Ability to draft clear and concise documents on complex matters for various audiences;
• Good presentation skills.
Analysing & problem solving:
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills;
• Keen eye for detail with the ability to maintain standards of accuracy under pressure of tight deadlines;
• Competent user of Microsoft Office applications (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) and the internet.
Delivering quality and results:
• High degree of commitment and flexibility;
• High level of customer and service-orientation.
Prioritising and organising:
• Good administrative and organisational skills.
Resilience:
• Ability to work well under pressure, both independently and in a team;
• Very good interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively liaise with other departments, groups and teams as well as with external partners.
Living diversity:
• Ability to work effectively in an international and multi-cultural environment.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

HOW TO APPLY

Candidates endorsed by the national competent authorities are required to complete the SNE application form available on Europol’s website in English.

The application form must be accompanied by a letter from the sending authority to the Executive Director of Europol expressing willingness to second the candidate.

Applications must be submitted by means of email to Europol’s Human Resources Unit, Recruitment and Selection Team, on C22@europol.europa.eu via the Europol National Unit of the Member State concerned, and, if necessary, the respective Liaison Bureau.

Applications must be received by Europol the latest on the day of the deadline specified in this notice of secondment. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.

Receipt of all applications is confirmed by an email of acknowledgement. Candidates may check the progress of the relevant selection procedure on Europol’s website.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

The Deputy Executive Director of Europol’s Capabilities Directorate sets up a Selection Committee, chaired by the Head of the relevant Directorate or a senior representative, and composed of a representative of the respective Unit, as well as of the Human Resources Unit.

The Selection Committee assesses the applications received in order to make an initial selection of candidates meeting all eligibility criteria and examines their qualifications, experience and skills against the selection criteria set out in the notice of secondment. For the initial selection, the operational contributions from the competent service to the project to which the SNE will be seconded will be taken into account. Only candidates scoring above the pass-mark of 60% of the total score will be considered to participate in the selection procedure.

The Selection Committee will invite the 7 highest scoring candidates. All candidates having a score equal to the 7th highest scoring candidate will be included in the list of invited candidates.

The Selection Committee conducts a structured video-conference or telephone interview with the shortlisted candidates in English in order to evaluate their language skills, validate their experience and assess whether they possess the key skills required. Candidates will also be invited to participate in a written test conducted remotely. The overall pass-mark for the selection procedure is 70% of the total score for test and interview.

After the selection procedure has taken place, the Selection Committee proposes a list of successful candidates to the Deputy Executive Director Capabilities. Once the outcome is confirmed, Europol informs the candidates.

The secondment is finally effected by an exchange of letters between the Deputy Executive Director Capabilities and the seconding authority, specifying the details of the secondment in accordance with the Management Board Decision laying down the rules on the secondment of National Experts of 4 October 2019.

Europol may also establish a reserve list of successful candidates valid for up to 12 months. The validity of the reserve list may be extended once for up to 12 months. The list of SNE selection procedures for which reserve lists have been established or extended is accessible on Europol’s website. Candidates who have been placed on a reserve list are informed by Europol.

Europol retains the right to make use of the reserve list to select candidates for similar posts within the organisation should business needs require so. Inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee secondment.

SALARY

The SNE shall remain in the service of the sending authority throughout the period of secondment and shall continue to be paid by that employer. The sending authority shall also be responsible for all social rights, particularly social security and pension entitlements.

During the period of secondment the SNE is entitled to a daily subsistence allowance paid by the agency, and may also be eligible for a monthly allowance depending on the distance from the place of origin. If the SNE receives any allowance from other sources similar to the subsistence allowance paid by Europol, this amount shall be deducted.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

APPEAL PROCEDURE

Candidates for SNE positions may submit a complaint to the Executive Director of Europol about a decision taken by Europol adversely affecting him / her, with the exception of decisions which are direct consequences of decisions taken by the seconding authority.

The complaint must be lodged within two months of the date the person concerned is notified of the decision. The Executive Director of Europol shall notify the person concerned of his / her reasoned decision within four months from the date on which the complaint was lodged. If at the end of that period no reply to the complaint has been received, this shall be deemed to constitute an implied decision rejecting it.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Equal opportunity
Europol is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications without distinction on the basis of gender, colour, racial, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, nationality, age, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Europol aims to create and maintain a healthy and attractive work environment that supports our colleagues in their career planning and in achieving a healthy work-life balance.

Employment at Europol is open to nationals of EU Member States. There is no nationality quota system in operation, but Europol is striving for a broad range of nationalities in order to keep a well-balanced geographical distribution among its staff members.

Privacy statement
Europol respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. Your data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data applicable to Europol under Article 46 of the Europol Regulation.

For additional information, please consult the applicable privacy statement available on our website. 

Security screening
Candidates who have been selected to an SNE post are required to furnish a valid security clearance certificate before the start of the secondment. Failure to obtain or provide the requisite security clearance certificate at the requested level before the start of the secondment may render the offer invalid.

In case the security clearance certificate expires within six months of the start of the secondment, the renewal procedure will be initiated expeditiously. Europol may at any time terminate the secondment if the result of the security screening is not positive and the necessary security clearance level is not granted /extended.

The security clearance level required for this secondment is CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL.

Main dates
Deadline for application:  03 August 2020, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone
Selection procedure:         September 2020

Contact details
For further details on the application process please call +31 (0) 70 353 1146 or +31 (0) 70 353 1152.