Project Manager

~ The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an Agency of the European Union (EU) and one of the decentralised Union bodies. ~

The EEA aims to support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe’s environment, through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-making agents and the public.

Position Overview

The EEA is organising an open competition with a view to recruiting a contract agent to work as Project Manager in the area of integrated marine resources management and related maritime matters and further with a view to establishing a reserve list. The EEA is seeking to recruit an experienced environmental analyst with expertise on ecosystem-based approaches to managing and enhancing the sustainable use of the natural capital of Europe's seas.

Under the responsibility of the Head of Group – Water and marine, reporting to the Head of the Natural systems and sustainability Programme, the Project Manager shall be responsible for providing strategic planning and operational delivery of integrated and policy relevant assessments contributing to the knowledge base related to the ecosystem-based management which underpins the MSFD and the development of the European Union’s (EU) Blue Growth objectives, which aspire to a sustainable use of the seas.

The main scope of work relates to describing how ecosystem-based management could materialise in the marine context and how to improve marine knowledge, as well as considering future challenges in relation to the long-term sustainability of maritime activities (systems / transition analysis). Human activities are reaching levels that threaten the productivity and resilience of our seas, and our well-being.

Degrading the oceans’ life-support function actually means crossing a critical planetary boundary, which is central to the vision of EU’s 7th EAP. Focus will also be on the effectiveness of main EU policy tools that support determining the 'safe operating space' to allow Europe's maritime sectors to flourish; policies that also provide a framework that can be adapted to deal with further changes and uncertainty in the state of Europe's marine environment.

The successful candidate is professional, creative and motivated by environmental matters at large, has very good analytical skills and can demonstrate excellence in their chosen field, and is able to network with partners across Europe (e.g. EEA member countries, European Commission services, European Parliament, Regional Sea Conventions, ICES and other international organisations).

Responsibilities

The position will entail the following tasks carried out in line with the objectives of the EEA multi annual work programme and the annual management plan:

• Initiate, develop, manage and deliver EEA activities on sustainability assessments of the state of the marine environment and related maritime human activities, following the DPSIR approach;
• Coordinate gathering and integration of information on socio-economic drivers and resulting pressures on marine ecosystems, assess state, impacts and responses linking to a wider sustainability context of food, energy, mobility, health systems;
• Provide marine and maritime contributions to EEA overall state-of-the-environment and Outlook assessments, and contribute to major EEA outputs (Ecosystems assessment, SOER 2020);
• Support EEA activities in MSFD Common Implementation Strategy, Regional Sea Conventions and the Eionet;
• Contribute to the development, maintenance and use of EEA coastal, marine and maritime indicators in support of marine and maritime integrated assessments;
• Steer contributions from the European Topic Centres on Inland, Coastal and Marine Waters to the above functions;
• Support EU policy implementation processes and targets relevant to marine environment and Blue growth agenda, and interact with key external institutional partners and European and international organisations conducting these policies and strategies;
• Initiate and maintain the necessary networks and partnerships with EEA member countries; and
• Contribute to communication activities towards EEA clients and the general public, e.g. in the form of reports, briefings, web and oral presentations.

Qualifications

Candidates applying must satisfy the following eligibility criteria on the closing date for the submission of applications:

• Successful completion of university studies attested by a degree relevant to the field concerned (e.g. marine biology, oceanography) of at least 3 years, plus 1 year of appropriate professional experience; and
• A minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience after achieving the qualification set out above.

In addition, in order to be eligible a candidate must:

• Be a national of one of the member countries of the EEA (Member States of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey);
• Enjoy full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by law concerning military service;
• Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the EEA member countries and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these languages (corresponding to level B.2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages CEFR);
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved; and
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

To Apply

Please be sure to click here and follow the application instructions provided on our website.

Candidates should assess carefully and check before submitting their application whether they fulfill all the conditions for admission laid down in the vacancy notice, particularly in terms of qualifications and relevant professional experience.