A new institution will premiere in the next period in the Greek public administration. This is the Human Resources Development Advisor, who will be the liaison between the Ministry of the Interior and the State agencies for a number of issues related to personnel such as evaluation and careers.

An Advisor position is provided in every ministry, except for Foreign Affairs, Citizen Protection, National Defence, Maritime & Islands Policy and Climate Crisis & Civil Protection.

The legislation allows for the optional appointment of an Advisor to OTAs, autonomous agencies, decentralized administrations, NPDDs and NPIDs belonging to the General Government if this is deemed necessary due to the body’s responsibilities and the number of employees serving in it.

Its institutionalization – in 2022 – was deemed necessary in order to address a problem found in the international literature and concerns the difficulty of implementing policies, which are horizontal and more staff in nature, such as those related to human resources.

“The innovative institution of the Councilor is one of the “tools” of a horizontal character, placed at the disposal of public services and supervisors to support the approach of the conversion to the skills of the human capital of the public administration and the need to have a stable and fully specialized network of communication, guidance and support for the people and services that are called to implement the policies of the Ministry of the Interior”, emphasizes the Deputy Minister of the Interior Vivi Charalambogianni to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.

The specific Advisor is the specialized link of the Ministry of Interior with the State agencies. Acts as a point of contact for the relevant organizational unit for human resources issues, such as issues of implementation of the evaluation system, development plans for employees and supervisors, learning and career paths for employees, as well as planning actions for the development of the personnel of each organization.

Its central mission is to ensure a framework for the effective implementation of the State’s human resources management policies and procedures, as well as the provision of supportive, informative and advisory services to the competent units for human resources management issues.

He also closely monitors the implementation of human resources management procedures in his agency, informs the Ministry of Interior of any problems and submits the Annual Report and other reports on the activities of his agency.

The benefit from the establishment of this new institution is expected to be twofold as the competent ministry expects that on the one hand the functioning of the services will be improved through the upgrading of administrative support, on the other hand the performance of the employees will be enhanced due to better information.

The positions will be filled by highly qualified public administration officials with the relevant experience.

Those interested should register in the Register of Human Resources Development Consultants that will be maintained electronically by the General Secretariat of Human Resources Public Sector of the Ministry of the Interior and will be hosted in the special electronic application of the Census.

The right to register is for permanent or indefinite-term political administrative employees, category PE or TE or special scientific staff, they have the first degree and at least five years of real public service.

The time and manner of submitting an application, the process and the criteria for evaluating their applications will be determined by an invitation from the Ministry of Interior which is expected soon.

Candidates attended a special 150-hour certification program of the National Center for Public Administration and Self-Government that was completed in November, as the granting of a relevant certificate of proficiency is necessary for registration in the Register.

The evaluation of the candidates is done by a three-member Committee after taking into account the required qualifications and invites the three best candidates for each position to an interview, which is taken into account for their final selection.

The Councilors are expected to be installed in their post with the new year.

Their term of office is three years, with the possibility of renewal for another three years, during which time they will be seconded to the Ministry of the Interior without occupying an organizational position.