1. National expert for Web content management 01/09/ National expert for Air pollutant emissions mitigation

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1 Annex 1 Proposed profiles for National Experts Position available from 1. National expert for Web content management 01/09/ National expert for Air pollutant emissions mitigation ASAP 3. National expert for Environmental information on hydromorphology and floods 01/02/ National expert for Land use data analysis ASAP 5. National expert for Water resources and accounts 16/11/ National expert for Agro-Ecosystems & Agriculture 01/01/ National expert for EUNIS support 01/01/ National expert for Strategic foresight and transitions 01/01/2016 (ASAP) 9. National expert for INSPIRE and data reporting 01/01/2016

2 1. National Expert for Web content management The EEA multi-annual work programme includes objectives to support and inform policy development and implementation for a range of environment and climate change themes by means of data, information/indicators and assessments. The subsequent EEA multiannual communication framework commits the agency to improve the user experience and accessibility on the EEA website, focusing on its content, structure and design. These efforts are necessary as the website is the main platform for communicating EEA knowledge. We also need to optimise our website and other products for communication which is increasingly done through mobile devices. Throughout this work we will strive towards making EEA information available in multiple languages. The National Expert for Web content management will increase the efforts of constantly improving the EEA website as a part of the media, social media and web team. He/she will work closely with EEA communication web & data experts to represent complex information in a structured and accessible way. He/she will contribute to improving the accessibility of the EEA knowledge on our website, whereby the EEA s brand image as a reliable and relevant provider of environmental information will also be strengthened (restructure, improve and update the content; improve the languages; move from paper to web when suitable). He/she will support the ongoing processes of adjusting the overall navigation, integration of different types of knowledge, improving tagging and research results, incorporating responsive design elements, enhancing interactivity and performance, contributing to renewed multilingualism and archiving approaches. The National Expert will work under the responsibility of the Head of the COM3 Group, reporting to the Head of the Communications Programme. Develop and contribute to projects on improving the structure and accessibility of EEA web content; Manage/upload new content, revise and update when needed existing content on the EEA web site, using the Plone Content Management System; Manage/upload translations within the Content Management System; Provide technical web support for EEA colleagues; Provide support to web quality assurance and control, perform functional tests and user tests on the web site; Contribute to optimising content for digital publishing (e-books, briefings, etc.); Manage the incoming requests regarding the EEA website and follow up issues raised by colleagues or externals; Contribute to the management and the improvement of the EEA online forum for the general public; Manage online forum's technical support and the coordination between public enquiries and web activities.

3 2. National Expert for Air pollutant emissions mitigation The European Union s 7th EAP sets the target that by 2020 air quality has significantly improved. The European Commission s recent proposal for a Clean Air Policy Package underlines the importance of reducing future emissions of air pollutants in order to deliver significant benefits to health and the environment. The Package also highlights the need to improve implementation of legislation in the air pollution area, ensuring high quality information is delivered by countries upon which improved policy effectiveness and progress tracking assessments may be made. From 2015 onward the demands for EEA support in the area of air pollutant emissions area will increase. New reporting requirements arising from the amended LRTAP Convention Gothenburg Protocol will start from the beginning of 2015, and EEA will play an important role in supporting its member countries, the European Commission and the LRTAP Convention in their implementation. The proposed revised National Emissions Ceiling Directive also explicitly mentions EEA in the context of a number of new activities, in particular additional review activities to improve the quality of information received from Member States. Complementing such initiatives is also the need of EEA to deliver against the objectives of its Multi-Annual Work Programme by preparing relevant and targeted assessments of air pollution and its impacts, and assessing the effectiveness of mitigation policies and measures. The EEA is therefore looking for further expertise to strengthen data and assessmentrelated activities in the area of air pollutant emissions, in particular supporting the implementation and evaluation of EU and international air pollution policies. Coordinating the implementation of current and future reporting and verification activities relevant for EEA under the proposed revised EU National Emission Ceilings Directive and Gothenburg protocol to the UNECE LRTAP Convention; Contributing to EEA s regular reports assessing air pollution trends, future emission pathways and progress to policy targets, sectoral integration reports, indicators and briefings, including studies that evaluate the effectiveness of air pollutant emission reduction policies; Leading initiatives to improve emissions data quality, including guiding annual data review activities and assisting with development of improved review protocols and processes; Liaising with key EEA partners in the air pollution mitigation area including European Commission, EEA member countries, the European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change mitigation (ETC/ACM) and relevant international organisations (in particular the Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution, LRTAP), NGOs and industry organisations; Organising meetings and workshops with experts from across Europe including contributing to capacity building activities to assist EEA Member and cooperating countries with international and EU reporting obligations.

4 3. National Expert for Environmental information on hydro-morphology and floods Floods, inundations, modifications of the water flow and morphological changes are amongst the multitude of pressures affecting Europe s water bodies. EEA has previously reported on droughts, water scarcity and floods, currently focusses on flooding, the role of floodplains and the impact of hydro-morphological alterations on the ecosystem services floodplains provide. While the aim is to support the implementation of the European Floods Directive (EU 2007) it at the same time looks at EU water and nature policies as well as thematic policies affecting floodplains to identify synergies and approaches to capitalize on them. It looks at the pressures affecting floodplains but also at the wider driving forces having an overall influence on the catchment, like climate change. In , the EEA will prepare an update on the state of EU waters in assessments based on the information that becomes available from the second generation of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs). Included in the update will be flood impacts and flood risk management. The most prominent information on flood impacts and flood risk management at EU level is based on the reporting under the Floods Directive: information on past and future floods, the Flood Hazard and Risk Maps (FHRMs) and the draft Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs). The National Expert will coordinate data analysis in support of EEA water ecosystems assessments that support related and joint implementation of the EU Floods Directive, Water Framework Directive and the Biodiversity Strategy The National Expert will work under the responsibility of the Head of the Water Group (NSS2), reporting to the Head of the Natural Systems and Sustainability Programme. To support and develop regional data exchange mechanisms and further development of WISE agreed with the Eionet or in the context of WFD Floods Directive Common Implementation, especially in the working group on floods; To initiate and maintain the necessary networks and partnerships with key external institutional partners, such as the European Commission (DGs ENV, JRC, CLIMA and Eurostat), UN bodies, as well as EEA member countries (Eionet) and stakeholders in the field of water policy and freshwater ecosystem services; To develop specific assessments related to environmental objectives, impacts, and measures promoted by the Flood Risk Management Plans and their relevance to ecosystem-based management and interactions with their economic and social dimensions, as well as with climate change adaptation; The assessments take into account nature-based solutions and aspects like green infrastructure, flood plain restoration, natural water retention measures, quality of riparian areas as habitat, impacts of dams, reservoirs and different types of hydropower installations and their influence on flow regime, water quantity management and structural changes in connection with navigation, riparian changes and dredging; To steer contributions from the relevant European Topic Centres e.g. on Inland, Coastal and Marine Waters, Biodiversity or Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation, to the above assessments; Organise meetings and workshops with experts from across Europe (including the European topic centres), in support of the implementation of the above activities.

5 4. National Expert for Land use data analysis The developments of European land use patterns raise substantial concern in regard to the achievement of environmental goals. Land use trends such as urban sprawl, intensification or land abandonment put the future for sustainable land use in Europe at risk. These trends moreover endanger the achievement of European environmental goals in areas such as biodiversity protection and water management and they hinder the effectiveness of instruments in these areas, including the Natura 2000 network and the Water Framework Directive to achieve its objectives. While the further development of sound spatial planning instruments in Europe is undoubtedly an urgent demand, the complexity of land use developments and newly arising challenges to the environment such as climate change necessitate the consideration of unconventional policy approaches that can more effectively face current and future threats to our natural resources. EEA has been developing a corresponding information base, integrating many geo-spatial data sets to analyse land dynamics and related issues across scales; the operations by the newly established Copernicus programme will deliver new large data, which EEA will help generate but will also use primarily for assessment purposes. The National Expert will contribute to coordinating land related data analysis, their integration and interpretation for spatial analyses, producing land use/cover assessments and indicators, supporting land data acquisition provided by Copernicus land service and related work areas in EEA multi-annual work program. The National Expert will work under the responsibility of the Head of the Land systems Group (NSS4), reporting to the Head of the Natural Systems and Sustainability Programme. To coordinate the development of guidelines, related dataflows, databases and analytical tools for land use/cover based assessments and indicators; To lead on land cover analysis for individual EEA countries based on Copernicus land service products and support land accounting at European level; To contribute to land-related data acquisition and management and to development of the EEA thematic indicators for land and soil; To coordinate land related tasks of the annual Action Plan for European Topic Center Urban, land and soil systems (ETC ULS); To apply QA/QC procedures for auditing data supply from countries, ETCs and contractors; To support data integration and analysis to thematic spatial assessments (i.e., green infrastructure, territorial analysis, urban sustainability, ecosystem assessments); To organise meetings, workshops and consultations with experts from across Europe (including the European topic centres), in support of the implementation of the above activities.

6 5. National Expert for Water resources and accounts EEA has been implementing in recent years Water Assets Accounts by following the United Nations System of Environmental and Economic Accounting for Water (UN SEEA-W, 2012), in line with developments towards experimental ecosystems accounting (UN-SEEA/EEA, 2013). The current EEA Water Accounts involves main components of physical water balance together with flow accounts between environment and economy; the main purpose of producing the information on European water assets accounts is to prove a reliable, stable and updateable Water Exploitation Index (as part of EEA core set of indicators) with the aim of providing assessment on water scarcity and drought conditions across Europe. The information produced for the WEI supports also Natural Capital Accounting exercise from the Water area; the lowest spatial scale for producing the information on WEI+ and Water Assets Accounts is sub-basin aggregated to River basin districts with monthly temporal resolution. The National Expert will coordinate data analysis in support of EEA assessments on water resources and water quantity in the context of scarcity and drought issues and the related EU policies (implementation of Water Framework Directive (WFD), adaptation to climate change); and, will contribute to information activities towards EEA stakeholders and the general public related to corresponding work areas in EEA multiannual work program (SA1.5). The National Expert will work under the responsibility of the Head of the Water Group (NSS2), reporting to the Head of the Natural Systems and Sustainability Programme. To lead on the calculation of EU-level water balances, the updating and further development of the water exploitation index (WEI) as one of the EEA core set indicators. To lead on related assessments on water quantity / resource issues, bringing the results effectively into the relevant policy frameworks (EU WFD); To coordinate the quality assurance of the information collected, the processing and the presentation of the underpinning accounting methodology and results thereof. To this effect, with the EEA Water European Topic Centre, organise the regular data & information flows (geographical (GIS) and tabular data) relevant for water resource assessments; To organise and lead on the cooperation with the different expert capacities outside EEA (consultancies, EU WFD working groups, JRC and Eurostat) towards harmonising water balances calculations, water accounting results and respective assessments, or using complementary modelling approaches where needed; To compile comparative data for publication, and maintain the datasets used for publication (archiving). Foster data exchange and targeted dissemination, integrating relevant thematic communities in the field of water resources (e.g. research, utilities, statistical offices or environmental administration); To organise meetings and workshops with experts from across Europe (including the European topic centres) in particular towards linking achievements and data infrastructure from other European bodies and research organisations relevant to the work on water resources.

7 6. National Expert for Agro-ecosystems & Agriculture The agricultural sector is an important economic sector and can be expected to become more so in the future in the face of increased demands for food, fiber and energy. As well, covering roughly half of Europe s land territory, agriculture has a substantial impact on soils, water and air quality, biodiversity and landscape amenity value. The European Common Agriculture Policy, therefore, can be seen to sit within a wider framework, consisting of wider food system and green economy consideration on one side, and environmental legislation (notably the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Water Framework Directive) on the other. The EEA contributes to the corresponding information and knowledge base and puts the emphasis on informing progress in response to the new EU Strategy to halt the loss of biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, which targets include: full implementation of EU nature legislation to protect biodiversity; better protection for ecosystems, and more use of green infrastructure; and, more sustainable agriculture and forestry. The National expert will coordinate agriculture-related activities including support to analysis based on the conservation status of species and habitats (Habitats and Birds directive) directly related to agriculture practices, agro-ecosystems assessments, as well as indicators (including high-nature value farmland type indicators) and baselinerelated works following the 2020 Biodiversity Strategy (with major emphasis on the 3 first targets) and the EEA multi-annual Work Plan. The National Expert will work under the responsibility of the Head of the Land systems Group (NSS4), reporting to the Head of the Natural Systems and Sustainability Programme. Maintain the rolling plan for agriculture and agro-ecosystems assessments coordinating its implementation across the EEA in support of the 2020 Biodiversity Strategy in relation to agriculture and rural development biodiversity related actions, Present EEA approaches and results in the working area in external policy and scientific fora relevant for profiling EEA assessments; Establish and maintain partnerships on behalf of EEA, with other relevant organisations that are active in agriculture and agro-ecosystems assessments, including DG ENV, DG AGRI, JRC, EUROSTAT, FAO, OECD; Develop and organise indicators (SEBI, AEI, CMEF), deliver them through BISE and use them in EEA assessments, outputs and publications; Coordinate gathering and integration of information on drivers and pressures into agro-ecosystem, assess, state, impacts and responses liaising with major EEA assessments (Ecosystems assessment; SOER); Liaise with member states regarding national approaches to agriculture biodiversity and agro-ecosystems assessments, through the respective NRC and in support of Target 2) activities (working groups on mapping ecosystems and their services, and ecosystem restoration); Liaise with European Commission working groups responsible for agroenvironment and biodiversity indicators development (including AEI, CMEF) and internally with the EEA core set and SEBI; Coordinate responses in support of assessments and policy making about the future of agricultural and rural areas their linkage between economic and biophysical domains and the linkage between global and local scales, including inputs to scenario development, relevant to ecosystems assessments; Coordinate agro-ecosystems assessments in relation to agri-environmental management tools, as well as grasslands, wetland and scrublands conservation and restoration;

8 Provide support to the up-date and review of the 2010 Biodiversity Baseline in relation to agriculture and agro-ecosystems; Actively liaise with the EEA forest ecosystems activities within a Green Economy perspective.

9 7. National Expert for EUNIS support The EU and global biodiversity targets for 2020 call for an enhanced capability of monitoring, reporting and assessing progress in the thematic area of biodiversity. A review of the available tools used to describe components of biodiversity at a European scale is a necessary preparatory action to meet the needs of the new biodiversity targets. The EEA hosts and maintains the Biodiversity Data Centre, where European data sets and information on sites, species and habitats of Europe are coordinated and published. The EEA has developed the EUNIS habitat and maintains it as part of the Biodiversity Data Centre. The aim of the EUNIS habitat classification is to provide a pan- European reference set of habitat units with a common unit description within a hierarchical classification aiming to fulfil specific objectives and support specific applications related to biodiversity monitoring and reporting at the European scale. Such applications include reporting for the implementation of the EU Habitats Directive and the Bern Convention, as well as providing information in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Regional Development Funds. A European standard list of habitat types is also necessary for the implementation of the INSPIRE Directive, to which other national or regional classifications will have to make reference to be comparable. The National expert will help to coordinate, integrate and keep updated the information on species and habitat types mentioned in international legal instruments relevant to European countries and on European Red Lists into the EUNIS web application*. To contribute to information activities towards EEA stakeholders and the general public related to work areas in EEA multi-annual work program (SA1.7). The National Expert will work under the responsibility of the Head of the Biodiversity Group (NSS1), reporting to the Head of the Natural Systems and Sustainability Programme. To develop particularly the species component of the EUNIS web application. To contribute to the further integration of species information to the habitat types component and the protected sites component of EUNIS; To determine which exact species, sub-species and synonyms should be in the focus of EUNIS, following the already established priority species groups; To ensure that for each international legislation the original species names listed in the legislation can be visualised with their cross-linkages to those species names listed in other legislations, even when legal names are incorrect; To maintain and improve the presentation of the legal status of species; To improve in particular the EUNIS web interface when presenting additional information from the reporting under the nature directives (Art. 17 and Art. 12) for species and habitat types; To improve the information on European Red Listed species and their threat status; To improve the information on European Red Listed habitat types and their status (when available); To present taxonomic issues and ambiguities in a coherent and consistent manner based on the advice from taxonomic experts in the ETC/BD and taxonomic references like Catalogue of Life and PESI; To present the information on species (and habitat types) linkages to ecosystems as delivered by the ETC/BD; To further develop the use of interactive maps in the species component;

10 To improve the user documentation about EUNIS; To coordinate and follow the implementation of the species information with IT colleagues. *The European Nature Information System (EUNIS) integrates and presents information on species and habitat types mentioned in international legal texts and European protected sites.

11 8. National Expert for Strategic foresight and transitions The European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) serves to link the countries with the EEA by creating national and thematic networks to underpin work on monitoring and reporting on the state of the environment. The National Expert for strategic foresight and transitions will work in the Integrated Environmental Assessments Programme and contribute to strengthening EEA cooperation with member and cooperating countries on knowledge developments for the European Environment State and Outlook Report 2020 (SOER 2020). This can, inter-alia, be best achieved through a process of co-creation of knowledge, where countries and EU institutions work closely together to support each other, identify gaps and avoid overlaps. In particular, with this post the EEA shall seek to reinforce its efforts with countries on the application of foresight methods and assessments for improving the development and implementation of mid- and long-term policies aimed to promote societal transitions towards a green, circular, low-carbon economy. Suitable candidates should be very familiar with the work of Eionet and the Forward Looking Information and Services (FLIS) platform. Experience with state of the environment reporting through the NRC SOE would be advantageous. Candidates should have thorough understanding of and experience with working across topic areas, good networking skills, and a good command of the English language (working language of the network). Support EEA and Eionet s involvement in and contribution to improvements in the knowledge and evidence base, as outlined in priority objective 5 of the 7th EAP, in support of SOER 2020; To this end, support the further development and strengthening of the Eionet in the areas of Foresight and Transitions, in particular through the collaboration with the E3I EIONET Group and NRCs FLIS/SOE; Support the E3I NFP/Eionet group in the preparation of and input to NFP/Eionet meetings and Management Board discussions in the area of transitions; Contribute to the wider understanding and use of the use of the Forward Looking Information platform FLIS within Eionet and EEA; Contribute to the integration of these developments.

12 9. National Expert for INSPIRE and data reporting The EEA is contributing to the implementation of an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe, as defined by the INSPIRE Directive (DIR 2007/2/EC) in close cooperation with DG Environment, DG Joint Research Centre and the member states. The supporting tasks are related to data and service sharing and to the monitoring of the implementation in most of EEA Member Countries. The INSPIRE implementation is scheduled until The implementation of INSPIRE will improve better interoperability and harmonisation of data within and across environmental domains to support environmental integrated assessments. This is key for the streamlining of reporting, addressing information requirements for the ecosystem assessments and other priorities of the 7EAP. EEA s role is to support Eionet with the thematic implementation of annex II and III data in the area of environment. For the coming years, the support to thematic implementation is prioritised along the requirements from the acquis. Under the responsibility of the head of the data management group, reporting to the head of the ICT and data management programme, the National expert will support the EEA and Eionet with the implementation of INSPIRE in the area of environment and contribute to the INSPIRE maintenance group, especially related to the work programme priorities of the EEA Multi-Annual Work Prorgamme. The National expert will also help the EEA in the implementation of various reporting tasks related to data flows managed with partners in the Member Countries and linked to the streamlining of environmental reporting. Support the EEA/Eionet involvement in INSPIRE by o engaging with relevant NRCs and NFPs related to national implementation issues and collect needs from Eionet; o jointly developing best practises and blue prints for implementation; o contributing to the INSPIRE maintenance framework by bringing in EEA/Eionet needs; Support the implementation of EEA and Eionet core data flows; Participate in and contribute to the EC INSPIRE governance; Support the EEA on contributions to the streamlining of reporting activities under the better regulation initiative of the EC in relation with INSPIRE; Organise meetings, workshops and consultations with experts from across Europe (including the European topic centres), in support of capacity building and the implementation of the above activities.