EU to Invite Scientists as Risk Assessment Advisors

Posted: September 3, 2008

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Selection Procedure
Preference will be given to candidates who possess: professional experience in the fields of competence of the Scientific Committees; experience in carrying out scientific risk assessment and/or providing scientific advice; analytical skills: analyzing complex information and peer reviewing scientific publications; professional experience in a multi-disciplinary and international environment; and managerial/organizational skills, in particular in chairing and organizing working groups. In its selection process, the Commission will also consider candidates' independence (potential conflicts of interest), representation from different geographic regions, and gender balance. Each expression of interest will be assessed individually by at least two members of the selection board. The European Commission is an equal-opportunity employer and committed to avoid any form of discrimination.

Workload and Indemnities
Applicants for membership in a Scientific Committee should be prepared to attend meetings on a regular basis, to actively contribute to scientific discussions, to examine documents and to make comments during meetings, to attend workshops and hearings on invitation and act as "chairs" and/or "rapporteurs" of working groups, on an ad hoc basis. Most of the working documents are in English and the meetings are also conducted in English. Applicants should take into account that meetings in general involve preparatory work. It is estimated that each scientific committee will meet in plenary sessions between five and ten times per year.

Members involved in working groups will need to attend additional meetings. Candidates should be willing to work with electronic methods for the management and exchange of documents. Meetings usually take place in Brussels. Members of the Advisory Structure and the experts are entitled to an indemnity related to their participation in the meetings of the committees and for serving as a rapporteur on a specific question. Meeting participants are also entitled to travel and subsistence allowances. Interested scientists should consult the soon-to-be-published EC Decision establishing the Advisory Structure and in particular its annexes. Those annexes will contain more details about the fields of competence and the applicable indemnities, which are to be re-assessed in 2009 in accordance with the price indexes. The Decision will be published on this web-site by mid-September or shortly afterwards.

Application Procedure
Starting on Sept. 20, 2008, or soon thereafter, applicants will be invited to fill out and submit the online application form which includes a curriculum vitae and a list of publications as attachments. The application form requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1.2 or higher. The closing date for submitting applications will be Oct. 31, 2008. Please note that registration in the Database of experts will remain permanently open (no deadline set). Only online applications submitted via the internet will be considered. Contact Sanco-call-experts-2008@ec.europa.eu.