ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT
This selection procedure is intended to fill one (1) currently available post. 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.
Organisational setting:
The post of Specialist – Infrastructure Engineer is located in the Infrastructure Services Team (C1-36), ICT Operations Unit (C1-3), ICT Department, Capabilities Directorate.
The C1 ICT Department has the responsibility for devising, delivering and operating critical technology capabilities and solutions supporting the core mission and support processes of Europol. Over 150 internal staff members and a significant number of domain-specific consultants are responsible for devising, developing, delivering and operating information management and communication technology capabilities that ensure enhanced criminal information analysis and exchange among Europol, Member States and third parties.
The ICT Operations Unit is responsible for the operations and management of the Europol ICT Infrastructure. This includes Workplace services, Service Management, Deployment services, Platform Services, Application Services, Infrastructure Services and ICT Security.
Purpose of the post:
The post of Specialist – Infrastructure Engineer plays a key role in the design, implementation, administration and management of Europol’s ICT systems and integrated applications, using virtualization technologies for servers and containerized microservices.
This role also encompasses provisioning infrastructure and operating systems, with a primary focus on ensuring the availability, reliability, and performance of these systems while meeting business requirements by matching architecture blueprints.
Furthermore, the incumbent is responsible for coordinating the implementation and review of infrastructure designs. The role requires working in Infrastructure Engineering and performing daily ICT operational tasks.
Reporting lines:
The incumbent reports to the Senior Specialist - Head of Team - Infrastructure Services.
Job environment:
This post will require participation in a shift system including weekends and nights as well as on-call duty.
FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES
The incumbent carries out the following main functions and duties:
• Analyse technical requirements and architectural guidance for the implementation and integration of new ICT solutions in Europol infrastructure, both on Premises as on the Cloud;
• Create Infrastructure designs, based on the inputs given, that lead to a successful implementation, mapping and defining the different required ICT Infrastructure components;
• Maintain constructive relationships and negotiate with the various stakeholders of diverse profiles (e.g. System Architects, Project Managers, ICT Team leads, Data Protection, Security Governance and others) in order to validate and ratify the created designs;
• Create and coordinate the implementation plan for the designs. Perform initial installation and configuration on non-production environments to validate the design;
• Verify the initial implementation, analyse the impact on the various ICT environments and other applications, analyse shortcomings and improve the design with lessons learned;
• Install, configure, maintain and optimize Europol’s server infrastructure in accordance with engineering designs and requirements specifications;
• Review and implement technical requirements for ICT infrastructure solutions including relevant security controls;
• Participate in multi-disciplinary project teams and ICT development initiatives providing technical advice and reviews of technical designs of ICT infrastructure solutions;
• Monitor the performance of the technical interdependencies of the physical and virtual infrastructure components deployed in the different environments in order to prevent incidents and problems;
• Develop and maintain data protection and data recovery strategies for the different Europol ICT solutions;
• Perform technical analysis, investigation, troubleshooting and resolution of incidents or problems affecting the Europol ICT solutions, collaborating with other ICT teams when needed;
• Perform any other duties in the area of competence as assigned by line management.
REQUIREMENTS - ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA
REQUIREMENTS - ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
a. Candidates must
• Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union and enjoy full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
• Produce appropriate character references as to his or her suitability for the performance of the duties;
• Be physically fit to perform the duties pertaining to the post as further specified in Article 13 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS);
• Produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.
b. Candidates must have
• A level of education that corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is three years or more;
OR
• Professional training of an equivalent level in a relevant area and after having completed the training, at least the number of years of relevant professional experience as indicated below:
Duration of professional training Additional professional experience required for equivalency
More than 6 months and up to 1 year 3 years
More than 1 year and up to 2 years 2 years
More than 2 years 1 year
• In addition to the above at least 3 years of total professional work experience gained after the award of the diploma.
REQUIREMENTS - SELECTION CRITERIA
a. Professional experience
Essential:
• Proven experience creating Infrastructure Designs for complex and integrated IT infrastructure environments
• Experience integrating core technology in Infrastructure Designs (e.g. Server virtualisation, AD Domains, Windows and Linux servers, LDAP servers, Load Balancers, middleware and application servers);
• Experience analysing and troubleshooting ICT components in complex and integrated IT infrastructure environments;
• Experience with configuration management tools and frameworks (e.g. Ansible, Puppet);
• Experience with scripting on Operating System level (e.g. Powershell, bash, python, etc);
• Experience with recent Microsoft (Server 2019 and above) and/or Linux Red-Hat (RHEL8 and above) server operating systems.
Desirable:
• Experience with DevOps and Micro-Services (e.g. Kubernetes);
• Experience with Cloud Services;
• Experience with Identity and Access Managements systems (e.g.: Microsoft Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, Apache eDirectory);
• Experience in building a roadmap of the technologies, to maintain and improve the actual solutions based on researching existing and emerging technologies.
b. Professional knowledge:
Essential:
• Knowledge and the ability to create Infrastructure Designs for complex and integrated IT infrastructure environments;
• Knowledge in integration of core technologies (e.g. AD Domains, Windows and Linux servers, LDAP servers, Load Balancers, middleware and application servers);
• Knowledge of provisioning infrastructure, servers, networking, storage and cloud, including using and developing automation scripts and tooling;
• Knowledge of monitoring systems performance, analysing performance, security and reliability;
• Knowledge of version control systems (e.g., Git) for managing and tracking changes to source code and files;
• Knowledge of recent Microsoft and/or Linux Red-Hat server operating systems and their security aspects, including how to apply security hardening based on industry best practices;
• Knowledge on integrating security and compliance into the platform with encryption and access management.
c. General competencies:
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.
Analysing & problem solving:
• Keen eye for detail with the ability to maintain standards of accuracy under pressure of tight deadlines;
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills;
• 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:
• Very good interpersonal skills, with the ability to work well, both independently and in a team;
• Ability to remain effective under a heavy workload and demonstrate resistance to stress.
Living diversity:
• Ability to work effectively in an international and multi-cultural environment.
d. Additional conditions:
Fulfil the condition stipulated in Article 5 of the Decision of the Executive Director on the Duration of contracts of employment for Temporary Agents, on the start date of the possible contract of employment which may be offered.
SELECTION PROCEDURE
All applications for Temporary Agent posts must be submitted through the online recruitment system accessible via Europol’s website. For further information, please consult the Europol Recruitment Guidelines.
The Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of Employment (AACC) sets up a Selection Committee, composed of at least three members, consisting of one chair and at least one member from the administration and one member designated by the Staff Committee.
The selection criteria, set out in this Vacancy Notice, will be assessed by the Selection Committee throughout the different stages of the selection procedure. Before the start of the selection procedure, the Selection Committee will decide which selection criteria will be used at each stage of the selection procedure. Certain selection criteria will be assessed only for shortlisted candidates during a written test and/or a competency-based interview.
The Selection Committee will assess the applications received in order to make an initial selection of those candidates meeting all eligibility criteria and matching best the selection criteria (suitability).
The minimum pass-mark for being shortlisted, i.e. invited to participate in a post-related selection procedure, consisting of a written test and a competency-based interview, is established as 60% of the total maximum score.
The Selection Committee will shortlist the 8 highest scoring candidates. All candidates having a score equal to the 8th highest scoring candidate will be invited to take part in the selection procedure. At shortlisting stage, the Selection Committee will establish the pass-mark for the selection procedure.
It is intended for the selection procedure to be conducted remotely. Should the Selection Committee consider it necessary to conduct the selection procedure on-site at Europol in the interest of the proceedings, and subject to budget availability, the candidates invited to participate in the selection procedure will be informed accordingly.
After the selection procedure has taken place, the Selection Committee will establish a list of successful candidates, i.e. those scoring above the pre-defined pass-mark, which is shared with the AACC.
The Selection Committee makes a proposal to the AACC on the candidate(s) to appoint. Following that proposal, the AACC makes a decision of appointment.
Candidates who participated in the interview will be informed of the outcome, i.e. whether they have been successful or not. In view of the list of successful candidates established by the Selection Committee, the AACC retains the discretion to constitute a Reserve List. A Reserve List is valid for 24 months.
The Selection Committee’s work and deliberations are confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with the members of the Selection Committee or for anyone to do so on their behalf.
Detailed information on the selection procedure- including enquiries, measures of redress and their applicable deadlines is available in the Europol Recruitment Guidelines, which can be found on Europol’s website.
COMPENSATION, TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Scale: AD6
The gross basic monthly salary is EUR 6681.51 (step 1) or EUR 6962.3 (step 2).
The step in grade is determined on the basis of professional experience gained after the education required for the post and in line with applicable implementing rules.
Staff pay EU tax at source but salaries are exempt from national taxes. Compulsory deductions are made for health insurance, pension and unemployment insurance.
Subject to the applicable conditions being met, as defined in the EU Staff Regulations (EUSR)/CEOS and further specified in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, allowances such as expatriation allowance (16% of basic gross salary) or foreign residence allowance (4% of basic gross salary), household allowance, dependent child and / or education allowance may be granted.
Staff enjoy worldwide insurance coverage by the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) and are insured against sickness, the risk of occupational disease and accident.
Europol offers flexible working arrangements, a comprehensive provision for annual leave as well as parental leave supporting a healthy work-life balance.
Indicative net salary sample calculation AD6/1:
a) Staff member (single) in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): EUR 6883.74
b) Staff member with two dependent children in their custody in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): EUR 8961.71
The above information is indicative and for information purposes only. It is merely meant to give an indication of the possible net salary in light of the currently applicable amounts of the related allowances and the level of taxation. It has no legal value and no rights can be derived from it.
The information is based on figures applicable as of July 2024.
Contract of employment
The successful candidate will be engaged in the type of post Administrator and function group AD grade 6 pursuant to Article 2(f) CEOS and Annex I to the EUSR.
The initial contract will be concluded for a period of 4 years (full-time – 40 hours a week). The contract may be renewed, in principle, for a period of 2 years. Any further renewal shall be for an indefinite duration.
If the successful candidate is already a member of temporary staff 2(f) in the relevant function group, he/she may be offered the opportunity of contract continuity, should the relevant conditions be fulfilled.
Conditions of engagement
Before the employment contract is concluded by Europol, the successful candidate will have to:
• declare any conflict of interest;
• undergo a pre-employment medical examination to confirm that he/she is physically fit to perform the duties pertaining to the post or, alternatively, receive the confirmation from Europol that he/she fulfils the conditions laid down in the Decision of the Deputy Executive Director of the Capabilities Directorate on the pre-employment medical examination available on Europol’s website;
The place of employment will be The Hague, The Netherlands.
In exceptional cases, where justified in the interest of the service, the AACC may recruit a candidate who is a successful candidate in a selection procedure for temporary staff 2(f) CEOS as contract staff 3(a) CEOS, if the selection procedure is considered to be appropriate to the duties to be performed.
For further information on terms and conditions, please consult the EUSR/CEOS available on Europol’s website.
Probation period
Engagement for this post is subject to the successful completion of a probationary period of 9 months.
If the successful candidate chooses contract continuity, and has already successfully completed the probationary period provided for in Article 14 of the CEOS, in the relevant function group, he/she will not serve the probationary period.
Europol reserves the right to terminate the contract of employment during or at the end of the probation period in accordance with Article 14 CEOS.
Security screening and certificate of good conduct
Candidates who have been recruited to a post at Europol are required to furnish a valid certificate of good conduct before the start of their employment. The certificate of good conduct must be provided to Europol prior to the signature of the employment contract. The certificate of good conduct must be issued by the relevant authorities of the country of nationality of the candidate and must not be older than three months at the time of submission to Europol. Europol reserves the right not to proceed with the signature of the contract based on the content of the certificate or if the candidate fails to provide the certificate to Europol.
The certificate of good conduct does not substitute a valid security clearance required for all Europol staff at the level indicated in the vacancy notice. Failure to obtain the requisite security clearance before the expiration of the probationary period may be cause for termination of the employment contract.
Candidates who currently hold a valid security clearance at the level indicated in the vacancy notice or above do not need to obtain a certificate of good conduct or a new security clearance and must provide a copy of the current security clearance certificate to Europol prior to the signature of the employment contract. Europol shall verify and confirm the continued validity of the security clearance. In case Europol determines that the security clearance is not valid, the candidate will be required to provide a valid certificate of good conduct prior to the signature of the employment contract. Europol may at any time terminate the employment contract if the result of the security screening is not positive and the necessary clearance level is not granted or extended.
The requested level of security clearance for this post is: CONFIDENTIAL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Equal opportunity
Europol is an equal opportunity employer. Europol accepts applications without distinction on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, national, ethnic or social origin, religion or beliefs, family situation, age, disability, or other non-merit factors. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and qualifications, experience and skills.
Europol lives diversity and provides an inclusive work environment to all. Europol strives to recruit, develop and retain a diverse and talented workforce through application of equal opportunity and impartiality.
Privacy Notice
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, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, applies to the processing of personal data carried out in the process of selection and recruitment of staff at Europol, following the application of this Regulation to all administrative personal data held by Europol in accordance with Article 46 of the Europol Regulation.
For additional information, please consult the applicable privacy notice available on Europol’s website, also inserted in the EUROPOL RECRUITMENT GUIDELINES.
Statutory obligations upon leaving the service
Pursuant to Article 16 of the EUSR, EU officials and, by analogy, temporary agents continue to be bound by the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance of certain appointments or benefits after leaving the service. Those staff members intending to engage in an occupational activity within two years of leaving the service shall inform their institution, so that it may take an appropriate decision in that respect. In cases where the intended activity is related to the work carried out by the staff member during the last three years of service and could lead to a conflict with the legitimate interests of the institution, the decision to be taken may include forbidding the staff member from undertaking it or giving its approval subject to any conditions it thinks fit.
Main dates
Publication date: 07 March 2025
Deadline for application: 14 April 2025, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone
Selection procedure: April–May 2025
