Job details

PROFILE

IT services - IT Applications Test Manager

POSITION TITLE

IT Applications Test Manager M/F

CONTRACT

Contract agent

GRADE

FGIV

SALARY RANGE

25-35 k€

MISSION DESCRIPTION

The IT Applications Test Manager will work under supervision of the Head of IT Sector. He/she will be responsible for the application testing and overall quality assurance of software developments. He/she shall work closely and collaborate fully with the colleagues of the Agency.

TASKS

IT applications testing
• Defining application test plans
• Organising/Running tests: 
Functional tests: customer scenario testing, stress testing, performance testing and scalability testing.
Applications testing: develop automated integration and functional tests, system testing.
Users acceptance testing: Defining test scenarios to run during acceptance testing.
• Organise and provide users training.

Development of IT project management system
• Develop and maintain the quality management system including: the IT quality policy, the organisation, IT quality management processes and IT quality plans.
• Develop and maintain internal IT procedures related to software quality management: Project Management methodologies, checklists, tools, indicators and practices for quality assessment and control.

Effective participation and contribution to team work 
• Under the leadership of the team leader, carry out his/her tasks in a timely and effective manner and work together with other team members, to support the mission and priorities of the Unit and the Agency. 
• Contribute to the definition of the Unit's overall strategic objectives, work programme and specific objectives. 
• Maintain effective communication and share information with the rest of the team.

INTERVIEW PERIOD - FROM :

09/03/2015

INTERVIEW PERIOD : TO

27/03/2015

SELECTION PROCEDURE

A - Written test (30 min) 
A case study in English designed to test:
 - your knowledge in the field of the profile,
 - your ability to understand, analyse and summarise,
 - your drafting ability.
This test will be marked out of 40 (pass mark: 20).

B – Oral test (30 min)
Interview with a selection board in English to assess:
 - your suitability to carry out the duties of a IT Application test Manager,
 - your specialist knowledge in the field of IT Application test,
 - your communication, inter-personal and problem-solving skills;
 - your general knowledge about the Agency and related policies;
 - your motivation and your ability to adjust to working as a Contractual Agent in a multicultural environment.
This test will be marked out of 100 (pass mark: 50).
Both the oral and written tests will be combined on a total of 140. Pass mark: 84 out of 140.

Candidates receiving at least the pass mark (84 out 140), all tests combined, will be included in the reserve list of suitable candidates. Please note that inclusion in the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

For applications to be valid, candidates must submit:
- a detailed curriculum vitae, in EU CV format ;
- a letter of motivation, including his/her views on the mission of the proposed position (2 pages maximum).
- The EPSO letter informing the candidate of having successfully passed the competition.
Your EPSO candidate ID number must be mentioned in your CV and motivation letter

Please note that the motivation letter forms an essential basis for the pre-selection decision.

Applications must only be sent through the recruitment online system. 
Closing date: 
Applications must be sent no later than 13th February 2015.

Supporting documents showing evidence of the provided information may be requested at a later stage. No document will be sent back to candidates.
Candidates are invited to apply in English to facilitate the selection process.
In no circumstances should candidates approach the selection committee themselves, either directly or indirectly concerning this recruitment. The authority authorised to conclude contracts reserves itself the right to disqualify any candidate who disregards these instructions.

APPOINTMENT AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The jobholder will be appointed on the basis of a shortlist proposed by the selection committee.
The jobholder will be recruited as contract staff, in function group IV, pursuant to Article 3a of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS).
The basic monthly salary within this function group will depend on the number of years of relevant professional experience at appropriate level (in function group IV, either grade 13, grade 14 or grade 16).
The jobholder will serve a probation period of nine months.
The initial contract will be for a duration of 2 years and may be renewed. 
The place of employment will be Brussels where the Agency has its activities.
For reasons related to the Agency's operational requirements, the candidate will be required to be available at short notice.
For further information on the legal framework of contract agents see the web site of the Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security (DG HR) on the internet at
ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/toc100_en.pdf

Publication date

PUBLICATION START DATE

16/01/2015

PUBLICATION END DATE

13/02/2015

Candidate criteria

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

 A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma;
 Or, When in a member state of the European Union access to a profession of an equivalent level to function group IV is by State examination, professional training or any other equivalent procedure, the authority authorized to conclude contract of employment may agree to recognize this qualification as being equivalent to a university degree;
 Thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Communities and a satisfactory knowledge of another EU language to the extent necessary to perform his/her duties.

In addition, in order to be eligible a candidate must:
 be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union;
 be entitled to his or her full rights as citizen;
 meet the appropriate character reference as to his/her suitability for the performance of his/her duties;
 have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service, and;
 be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

OTHER ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Candidates must be included in the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) data base for contract agents in function group IV in a field appropriate to the profile of the post and have successfully passed the EPSO selection tests for that function group or having successfully passed a competition that has been certified by EPSO.
Please note that candidates who are on a valid EPSO list published in 2010 (CAST2010) are eligible on the condition they have successfully passed the complementary tests (DB3), as an Annex to the selection procedure CAST2010. The candidates concerned are invited to consult the letter they received from EPSO for further information.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential
 Proven experience in areas relevant to the job description
 Knowledge of the Software Development Life-Cycle
 Project Management experience - Agile / RUP
 Experience in documenting results, including faults and progress
 Experience in liaising with users and understanding users requirements
 Experience in liaising with developers to resolve faults and identify possible resolutions
 Good command of the English language

Advantageous
 Knowledge of JAVA or similar, RDBMS systems, SQL language
 Experience in programming of test scenarios (Selenium or similar)
 Knowledge of build and deployment systems (Bamboo, Jenkins or similar)

Personal qualities essential for the position (evaluated during the interview): 
 High degree of organisational skills and ability to work under pressure.
 Good interpersonal and communication skills.
 Proven ability to work as a team member.
 Ability to appreciate and follow priorities.

The Agency will invite to the interview and test phase the best candidates, with a maximum of 10 candidates invited.

LANGUAGES

• English (Proficient C1)
• French (Independent B2)

UPDATES ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS

An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to all candidates by email to confirm the reception of their application. 
All candidates will be informed in due time about the processing of their application, either they are invited for the selection procedure as described above or not. These notifications will be sent by email only.
A candidate may request clarifications about the processing of his/her application by sending an email quoting the reference of the vacancy notice concerned, at the following address: INEA-HR-INFO@ec.europa.eu.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES, APPEAL PROCEDURE & DATA PROTECTION

Equal opportunities
The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Appeal procedure
A candidate who feels that a mistake was made in the assessment of his/her profile may ask to have it re-assessed by sending, within 15 calendar days of the date on the email notifying the rejection of his/her application, a request for review, quoting the number of the selection procedure concerned to the Chairman of the Selection Committee at the following address: INEA-HR-INFO@ec.europa.eu 
The selection board will reconsider the application and notify the candidate of its decision within 15 working days of receipt of the letter.

Data protection 
The purpose of processing of the data submitted by candidates is to manage the applications in view of a possible pre-selection and recruitment at the INEA. The personal information requested from candidates will be processed in line with Regulation (EC) N°45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.