• Function title: Debt Collection Assistant
• Reference: NOC-CF-2024-FGIII/828
• Location: Brussels
• The selected candidate must reside either at this location or within a reasonable proximity that allows for the satisfactory execution of their duties – Information about living in Brussels
• Nature of the competition: Internal and external competition
• Applicable regulations: Conditions of Employment of Contract Staff at EUROCONTROL
• Function group: Function group III
• Job level: 8-10 – Check salary simulations for the basic grade
• Generic post: Assistant
• Number of posts: 1
• Duration of engagement: 5 Year(s) – extension or conversion of the contract is possible – see “Useful information” section
• Security clearance: Security vetting may be required in accordance with the relevant EUROCONTROL security policies
• Directorate/Service: CF/CRCO – Central Route Charges Office Division
• Working arrangement: Hybrid work (A blend of onsite and remote work). Please note that EUROCONTROL does not offer full-time remote working arrangements.
• Competition publication date: 04/07/2024
• Competition closing date: 15/08/2024 (23:59 Brussels time)
• Reserve list: Applicable – See details in the “Useful information” section

Your team

Within the Directorate Central Route Charges Office and Finance, EUROCONTROL collects route charges on behalf of its Member States through its Central Route Charges Office (CRCO). The CRCO operates an effective and centralised system that ensures the recovery of these charges, which are essential to funding the European air traffic management system.

Our services include billing, collecting and disbursing route charges to Member States. We also offer similar services for terminal navigation charges and communication charges for Member States, as well as air navigation charges (en-route and terminal) for non-Member States.

Our route charges system is a regional cost-recovery system, aligned with ICAO’s charging policies and the Single European Sky regulations. We bill airspace users on a monthly basis, collect charges and distribute the amounts collected to the States and air navigation service providers.

This job is assigned to the CRCO Collection service which is one of the key services EUROCONTROL provides to the Member States.

Your role

Your role will be to:

• Perform the debt recovery of air navigation charges for a portfolio of airspace users, and prepare payment plans and ensure the proper follow-up.
• Coordinate the recovery process and requests with airspace users, aircraft owners, bankruptcy administrators, ANSP’s and States (late payment, insolvency, irrecoverable debts, etc), as well as the recovery actions by administrative means.
• Prepare relevant files for the Legal Service to proceed further with judicial recovery procedures.
• Prepare write-off proposals in case of irrecoverable debts and liaise with the Accounting team for further processing.
• Act as focal point for the collection activities with regards to bilateral agreements and provide information to States on measures taken on a specific airspace user.
• Produce reports and maintain relevant data on airspace users.
• Analyse and report on systems malfunctions, identify appropriate alternatives and improvements, and take part in User Acceptance Tests to validate the solution.
• Review, identify and recommend improvements on processes, tools, description of functional requirements, etc. and develop new procedures as required.
• Carry out any other task in line with the main purpose of the job.

Required qualifications, experience & competencies

• Post-secondary education preferably in a relevant field (e.g. business administration, finance or accounting) followed by 3 years’ relevant professional experience.
• Experience in business administration, finance, accounting, accounts receivable or debt collection proceedings.
• Experience in litigation proceedings would be an asset.
• Knowledge or understanding of the charging of air navigation fees would be an asset.
• Experience in the use of standard Office applications, in particular Excel, SharePoint, Teams, as well as business intelligence tools (data retrieval & reporting).
• Communication: You are able to foster two-way communication.
• Customer focus: You know how to respond effectively to customer enquiries.
• Analytical Thinking:You know how to break down information into logical components.
• Result focus: You seek to improve personal performance.
• Quality focus: You deliver a consistent quality in work.
• Ability to work in a multinational and multicultural environment.
• Professional conduct in line with the corporate behaviours of the Agency, i.e. result-driven, readiness to change, customer focus, integrity and team-player approach.
• The working languages of the Agency are English and French.Candidates must be proficient users of English at level C1/C2.The selected candidate will have to acquire at least a basic knowledge of French at level A1/A2 before the end of the probation period. For this particular function, the knowledge of other languages would be an asset.
  The levels relate to the European-framework-reference Common European Framework of References for languages (CEFR).

Useful information

• Applications will be accepted from nationals of EUROCONTROL Member States only.
• The selected candidate will be offered a contract of 5 Year(s) and it may be renewed up to a maximum of 9 years or converted into an undetermined contract pursuant to the provisions of the Conditions of Employment of Contract Staff at EUROCONTROL. Before being established in the post, he/she will be requested to provide certified copies of his/her degrees and successfully serve a probationary period of 9 months.
• The successful candidate shall be engaged in principle at the basic grade of the advertised grades.
• Candidates declared suitable who are not selected for the post will be placed on a reserve list for similar roles. The reserve list will be valid for one year from the closing date of applications.
• Information on salary and benefits can be found on our Careers site
• EUROCONTROL is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to equality and diversity. In the event of equal merit, preference may be given to the applicant from the under-represented diversity characteristics in order to complement diversity of teams and rebalance the workforce.
• Candidates should go to our Careers site and read the tips on how to apply.