Senior Agent – Software Testing, Solution Delivery Unit (FGIV)

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

This selection procedure is intended to establish a reserve list of successful candidates, which may also be used to fill posts funded by external assigned revenue (e.g. EU grant funding). It is envisaged to start using the reserve list in Q3/Q4 of 2024.

The post of Senior Agent – Testing is located in the Quality Assurance Team, Solution Delivery Unit, 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 the Information and Communication Technologies and Systems that ensure enhanced criminal information analysis and exchange among Europol, Member States and third parties.

The Solution Delivery Unit is responsible for the development and quality assurance of ICT solutions. This includes Application Delivery, Quality Assurance (requirements management, testing), and Law-Enforcement Accelerated Provisioning services that provide technology support to fast-moving operational activities.

The post holder is mainly responsible for performing day-to-day testing activities in assigned projects by designing and executing test plans/cases that are to be executed in a manual and automated manner that includes structured and exploratory testing, developing/maintaining automated test scripts for regression testing and non-functional testing activities.

This role may also be performed in the framework of projects funded by external assigned revenue.

Reporting lines: The incumbent reports to the Senior Specialist - Head of Team – Quality Assurance.

FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

The incumbent carries out the following main functions and duties:

• Actively participate as an automation tester during the application development phase of in-house developed and/or outsourced applications;
• Define/maintain test cases and test conditions;
• Design/maintain test scripts for manual and automated testing;
• Execute various types of tests for solution quality assurance including non-functional testing;
• Document test results and defects;
• Execute end-to-end test process through various iterations (incl. support for user / operational acceptance testing);
• Perform any other task assigned by ICT Line Management to assist in dealing with ICT related issues.

The functions and duties may also be associated with a project funded by external assigned revenue. In the case of a project funded by external assigned revenue, the duties would be of a limited duration in time.

REQUIREMENTS - ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA

REQUIREMENTS - ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

1. 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 position (prior to appointment the successful candidate will be medically examined by one of the institution’s medical officers in order that the institution may be satisfied that the candidate fulfils the requirements of Article 12(2)(d) 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.

1. Candidates must

• Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is 3 years or more.

• Professional training of an equivalent level, and after having completed the training, at least the number of years of relevant professional experience as indicated below:

More than 2 years 1 year

REQUIREMENTS - SELECTION CRITERIA:

1. Professional experience

Essential:

• Relevant professional experience of preferably three years or more in the field of software (automation) testing.
• Experience in software testing on various test levels including user or operational acceptance testing;
• Experience in test planning and test management;
• Experience with design, code and execution of automated regression tests on web applications based on BDD-tools (for example Specflow/Cucumber) with Selenium Web Driver and using a programming language, such as Java / C# (or other .NET languages);
• Experience with design and execution of regression tests of APIs based on REST /SOAP web services using http client libraries such as Rest Sharp or Rest Assured;
• Experience with design and execution of non-functional tests covering one or more of the following test types:

1. Professional knowledge

Essential:

• Knowledge of fundamental test process activities and Dev Ops concepts, (e.g. Continuous Testing) using a combination of experience-based, model-based and specification-based test techniques;
• Knowledge of how to design and code automated GUI regression tests with BDD tools (for example Specflow/Cucumber) & Selenium Web Driver and programmed in JAVA / C# (or other .NET languages) running in continuous integration and using a test automation framework;
• Knowledge of performance or security testing or in other non-functional disciplines or knowledge how to test ICT infrastructure (e.g. firewalls, networks, servers & workstations);
• Knowledge of how to test APIs implemented as REST/SOAP web services in XML/JSON using http client libraries such as Rest Sharp or Rest Assured;
• Knowledge of SQL databases and Container technologies (Docker Swarm or Kubernetes);
• Knowledge of documenting test approaches/progress and defects.

1. General competencies

Essential:

Communicating:

• Very good communication skills in English, both orally and in writing;
• Very good drafting skills and attention to detail.

Analysing & problem solving:

• Keen eye for detail with the ability to maintain standards of accuracy under pressure of tight deadlines;
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills including the ability to anticipate potential problems determine and implement solutions;
• Competent user of Microsoft Office applications (MS Word, Excel, Power Point 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

All applications for Contract Agent posts must be submitted through the online recruitment system accessible via Europol’s website.

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 of Europol and one member designated by the Staff Committee.

Certain selection criteria will be assessed only for shortlisted candidates during a written/practical 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/practical test and a competency-based interview, is established as 60% of the total maximum score.

The Selection Committee will shortlist the 10 highest scoring candidates. All candidates having a score equal to the 10th 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, for establishment of a Reserve list. A Reserve list is valid for 24 months.

Candidates who participated in the interview will be informed of the outcome, i.e. whether they have been successful or not.

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.

All enquiries related to a selection procedure should be addressed to the Europol HR Operational Support Team at the following email address: C2-12@europol.europa.eu. 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

The AACC shall classify contract staff in their function group taking into consideration their qualifications and professional experience at the time of entry into service.

The basic monthly salary is: grade 13 (EUR 4,102.30), grade 14 (EUR 4,641.55) or grade 16 (EUR 5,941.96)

16 More than 17 years

Staff pay EU tax at source but salaries are exempt from national taxes. Compulsory deductions are made for medical 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.

1. Staff member (single) in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): (FGIV: grade 13 EUR 4,411.77, grade 14 EUR 4,958.68, grade 16 EUR 6,222.10)
2. Staff member with two dependent children in their custody in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): (FGIV: grade 13 EUR 6,246.51, grade 14 EUR 6,821.51, grade 16 EUR 8,182.42)

The above information is indicative and for information purposes only. It is merely meant to give an indication of your 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 January 2024.

The successful candidate will be recruited as Contract Agent FGIV pursuant to Article 3(a) of the CEOS.

Contract linked to duties not funded by external assigned revenue (e.g., EU grant funding)

The initial contract will be concluded for a fixed period of 4 years (full-time – 40 hours a week). The contract may be renewed, in principle, for a fixed period of 2 years. Any further renewal shall be for an indefinite duration.

Or

Contract linked to duties of limited duration in time, funded by external assigned revenue (e.g., EU grant funding)

The initial contract will be concluded for a fixed period of between 13 months and 4 years (full-time – 40 hours a week, unless otherwise specified), depending on the requirements and duration of the post funded by external assigned revenue.

The contract may be further renewed for another fixed period for up to 2 years and, subsequently, for an indefinite duration, subject to the interest of the service and the availability of external assigned revenue. The end of such funding constitutes a valid ground for non-renewal or termination of the contract.

In case of successive contracts under Article 3a) of the CEOS, the duration of the contract offered will be set in accordance with the provisions of the Decision of the Management Board of Europol of 4 October 2019 governing the conditions of employment of contract staff employed under the terms of Article 3a) thereof.

Specifically, the successful candidate is required to hold an EPSO validated language certificate or diploma of at least level B2 - as referred to in the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

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.

Security screening and certificate of good conduct

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.

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: CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL.

For further information on terms and conditions, please consult the EUSR/CEOS available on Europol’s website.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Engagement for this post is subject to the successful completion of a probationary period of 9 months.

In case of successive contracts under Article 3a) of the CEOS, a candidate may be exempt from the requirement to serve another probationary period in accordance with the provisions of the Decision of the Management Board of Europol of 4 October 2019 governing the conditions of employment of contract staff employed under the terms of Article 3a) thereof.

Europol reserves the right to terminate the contract of employment during or at the end of the probation period in accordance with Article 84 the CEOS.

Equal opportunity

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

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.

Recruitment procedure: January 2025

Application process and selection procedure

For further details on the application process and the selection procedure, please consult our FAQs or refer to the EUROPOL RECRUITMENT GUIDELINES available on Europol’s website.

In case of further questions please call or +31 (0)70 3531154.