Article 11 Head of the ESDC
United Kingdom
The Head shall:
be responsible for the ESDC activities;
be the sole legal representative of the ESDC;
be responsible for the financial and administrative management of the ESDC;
advise the Steering Committee and the Board and support their work; and
act as the representative of the ESDC for training and education activities within and outside the network.
Candidates for the position of Head shall be persons with recognised long‐standing expertise and experience in training and education. Member States may put forward candidates for the position of Head. Staff of the Union institutions and the EEAS may apply for this position, in accordance with the applicable rules.
The pre-selection process shall be organised under the responsibility of the HR. The pre-selection panel shall be composed of three representatives of the EEAS. It shall be chaired by the Chair of the Steering Committee. On the basis of the pre-selection results, the HR shall submit to that Committee a recommendation with a shortlist of at least three candidates, drawn-up in the order of the pre-selection panel's preference. At least half of the candidates on the shortlist should come from Member States. During the selection process, the candidates shall present their vision for the ESDC to that Committee, after which Member States shall be invited to rank the candidates in a written, secret vote. The Head shall be appointed by the HR as a member of the EEAS staff for a period not exceeding three years.
Before the end of the period referred to in paragraph 3, the performance of his or her tasks by the Head shall be evaluated by the Steering Committee, in particular against the objectives set in the vision he or she presented during the selection process. On the basis of this evaluation, that Committee shall then either propose to extend the mandate of the current head or to launch a new selection procedure to select a new Head. In the latter case, the current Head may not apply for that position. In case of extension, the total duration of the mandate of the Head shall not exceed five years.
The tasks of the Head shall in particular be to:
take all necessary steps, including the adoption of internal administrative instructions and the publication of notices, to ensure the effective functioning of ESDC activities;
draw up the preliminary draft annual report of the ESDC and its preliminary draft work programme to be submitted to the Steering Committee on the basis of the proposals submitted by the Board;
co-ordinate the implementation of the ESDC work programme;
maintain contacts with the relevant authorities in Member States;
maintain contacts with relevant external training and education actors in the field of CFSP and CSDP;
conclude where necessary technical arrangements on ESDC training and education activities with the relevant authorities and training and education actors in the field of CFSP and CSDP;
perform any other task attributed to him or her by the Steering Committee.
The Head shall be responsible for the financial and administrative management of the ESDC, and in particular shall:
draw up and submit to the Steering Committee any draft budget;
adopt the budgets after their approval by the Steering Committee;
be the authorising officer for the ESDC budget;
open one or more bank accounts on behalf of the ESDC;
negotiate, submit to the Steering Committee and conclude any financing agreement and/or technical arrangement with the Commission, the EEAS or a Member State regarding the financing and/or the implementation of the ESDC expenditure;
select the staff of the Secretariat, assisted by a selection panel;
negotiate and sign on behalf of the ESDC any Exchange of Letters for the secondment to the ESDC of Secretariat staff;
negotiate and sign on behalf of the ESDC any contract of employment for staff paid from the ESDC budget;
generally, represent the ESDC for the purpose of all legal acts with financial implications;
submit to the Steering Committee the ESDC annual accounts.
The Head shall be accountable to the Steering Committee for his or her activities.