Administrative Officer & Common Recruitment Exam
(1) Recruitment of Administrative Officer; and
(2) Application for taking Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test (Degree / Professional Grades) (CRE and BLT) outside Hong Kong
(1) ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
Salary:
Master Pay Scale Point 27 (HK$55,995 per month) to Master Pay Scale Point 44 (HK$110,170 per month)
Entry Requirements:
Candidates should have -
(a) (i) A first or second class honours bachelor’s degree from a Hong Kong university, or equivalent [Note (1)]; or
(ii) A postgraduate degree from a Hong Kong university, or equivalent, where the qualifications considered in totality are comparable to the requirement in (a)(i);
(b) A Pass in the Aptitude Test in the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) [Notes (2) and (6)];
(c) A good command of both Chinese and English and have met the language proficiency requirements of Level 2 in the two language papers (Use of Chinese and Use of English) in the CRE, or equivalent [Notes (2) to (6)]; and
(d) Resided in Hong Kong for not less than seven years and must be permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) at the time of appointment.
(Remark: Candidates will be required to pass the Joint Administrative Officer Recruitment Examination (JRE) to be held tentatively on 5 December 2020 [Notes (7) to (11)].)
Duties:
Administrative Officers are multi-skilled professional administrators who play a key role in the HKSAR Government. They are involved in policy formulation, resource allocation, implementation of major government programmes and promotion of the interests of Hong Kong in the Mainland and overseas. Posted around different bureaux and departments at regular intervals, they enjoy variety in their career and contribute to different areas of work in the Government.
Terms of Appointment:
A new appointee to the Administrative Officer rank will normally be appointed on civil service probationary terms for three years. Upon passage of probation bar, he/she may be considered for appointment on the prevailing permanent terms.
Prospects:
We recruit the best candidates who possess directorate potential, and we offer them excellent career prospects. The most able and aspiring officers may fill leading positions in bureaux or departments.
ENQUIRY ADDRESSES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
For Administrative Officer Post –
Hong Kong:
Administrative Service Division, Civil Service Bureau (Address: Room 918, 9/F., West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong / Tel. No.: (852) 2810 3155 / E-mail address: csbasd@csb.gov.hk)
Outside Hong Kong:
The Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing and the following Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) -
(a) The Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing
[No. 71, Di’anmen Xidajie, Xicheng District, Beijing 100009, China (Tel. No.: (8610) 6657-2880)];
(b) New York ETO
[115 East 54th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA (Tel. No.: 1-212-752-3320)];
(c) San Francisco ETO
[130 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA (Tel. No.: 1-415-835-9300)];
(d) Sydney ETO
[Level 1, Hong Kong House, 80 Druitt Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2000, Australia (Tel. No.: 61-2-9283-3222)];
(e) Toronto ETO
[174 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2M7, Canada (Tel. No.: 1-416-924-5544)];
Vancouver Liaison Office of the Toronto ETO
[Suite 500, Park Place, 666 Burrard Street, Vancouver B.C., V6C 3P6, Canada (Tel. No.: 1-604-331-1300)]; and
(f) London ETO
[18 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3JA, United Kingdom (Tel. No.: 44-20-7499-9821)]
NOTES:
(1) Current final year undergraduates may also apply; if selected, appointment will be subject to their obtaining the requisite academic qualification within the current academic year (i.e. 2020/21).
(2) Candidates’ results in the Aptitude Test (AT) paper of the CRE are classified as Pass or Fail, while the results of the Use of Chinese (UC) and Use of English (UE) papers of the CRE are classified as Level 2, Level 1 or Fail, with Level 2 being the highest. Level 2 and Level 1 results of the two language papers and Pass result of the AT paper obtained from December 2006 onwards are of permanent validity. Applicants with valid requisite results in the AT, UC and UE papers obtained in previous CREs are deemed to have met the entry requirements (b) and (c) of the four posts.
(3) Level 5 or above in Chinese Language of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE) is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UC paper of the CRE. Level 5 or above in English Language of the HKDSEE is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE.
(4) Grade C or above in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature of the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UC paper of the CRE. Grade C or above in Use of English of the HKALE or in English Language of the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) (GCE A Level) is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE.
(5) An overall band of 6.5 or above with no subtest score below band 6 obtained in the same sitting in the Academic Module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) within the two-year validity period of the test is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE. The IELTS test result must be valid on any date during the application period.
(6) Applicants who do not possess the requisite CRE results, or equivalent, must have made a separate application for taking the coming CRE in October 2020 in Hong Kong or make a separate application for taking the CRE to be held tentatively on 5 December 2020 in seven cities outside Hong Kong (namely Beijing, London, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney). Otherwise, they may not meet the entry requirements of the post(s) they apply for. For applicants who will take the above CRE, their applications will be processed subject to their obtaining the requisite CRE results.
(7) Eligible applicants with the requisite CRE results, or equivalent, will be arranged to sit the JRE to be held tentatively on 5 December 2020. Candidates residing or studying outside Hong Kong may take the JRE on the same date outside Hong Kong. For the examination outside Hong Kong, it may only be held subject to the regulations and prevailing measures in that particular city in light of the development of the COVID-19. If the situation warrants, the examination may be deferred or cancelled. Any updates of the examination arrangements will be announced on the Civil Service Bureau (CSB)'s website at www.csb.gov.hk.
(8) As it takes time to process all applications, an invitation to the JRE does not imply that an applicant has met the entry requirements of the post(s) being applied for.
(9) Eligible applicants with the requisite CRE results, or equivalent, should immediately contact the Civil Service Examinations Unit by phone at (852) 2537 6429 or by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk if they do not receive the e-mail notifying them of the relevant details of the JRE by 23 November 2020.
(10) Any request for review of examination results of the JRE should be made in writing and should reach the Civil Service Examinations Unit at Room 718, 7/F., West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong within 7 calendar days from the date of notification as to whether an applicant is invited to attend selection interview. Late requests will not be entertained. Please note that a review of JRE results may lead to upward, downward or no adjustment to the original marks.
(11) For the purpose of heightening public awareness of the Basic Law (BL) and promoting a culture of learning of BL in the community, applicants for civil service jobs will be assessed on their BL knowledge. The BL test for degree / professional grades will be held on the same date of the CRE, and the result will be one of the considerations in the assessment of a candidate's suitability.
(12) There is no overseas recruitment for the Executive Officer II, Assistant Trade Officer II and Transport Officer II posts. Nonetheless, applicants residing or studying outside Hong Kong may choose to take the JRE to be held tentatively outside Hong Kong on 5 December 2020. Applicants should however note that selection interviews of the Executive Officer II, Assistant Trade Officer II and Transport Officer II recruitment exercises will be conducted in Hong Kong only.
HOW TO APPLY:
All completed application forms must be submitted on or before the deadline for application via one of the following means -
(i) through on-line application system on the Civil Service Bureau (CSB)'s website (https://csboa1.csb.gov.hk/csboa/clientconfigcheck/CCC_001_showProblem.action#csboa); or
(ii) by post to CSB at Room 722, 7/F., West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong (the postmark date on the envelope will be regarded as the date of submission of application). To avoid unsuccessful delivery of mail items, please ensure that the address on the envelope is clear and correct and sufficient postage has been paid. Mail items bearing insufficient postage will not be delivered to this Bureau and will be returned to the sender or disposed of by the Hongkong Post, where appropriate. An applicant will bear any consequences arising from not paying sufficient postage.
Application Forms [CSB 606 (Rev. 9/2020) and CSB 606A (Rev. 9/2020)] (https://www.csb.gov.hk/english/grade/ao/files/CSB606_and_606A_Rev_9_20). They are also available at any Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department, any Job Centres of the Employment Services Division of the Labour Department, and the Information Counter on 1/F., Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City, Hong Kong.
Applications not made in the prescribed application forms [CSB 606 (Rev. 9/2020) and CSB 606A (Rev. 9/2020)] or submitted by fax or e-mail will NOT be accepted.
Deadline for Application:
9 October 2020 (Friday) at 5:00 p.m. Hong Kong Time. Late or incomplete applications will NOT be accepted. Towards the deadline for application, the on-line system would likely be heavily loaded with large volume of applications, and it may render applicants unable to complete their on-line applications in time. Applicants should therefore submit their applications as early as possible.
GENERAL NOTES:
(a) Candidates must be permanent residents of the HKSAR at the time of appointment.
(b) As an Equal Opportunities Employer, the Government is committed to eliminating discrimination in employment. The vacancy advertised is open to all applicants meeting the basic entry requirement irrespective of their disability, sex, marital status, pregnancy, age, family status, sexual orientation and race.
(c) Civil service vacancies are posts on the civil service establishment. Candidates selected for these vacancies will be appointed on civil service terms of appointment and conditions of service and will become civil servants on appointment.
(d) The entry pay, terms of appointment and conditions of service to be offered are subject to the provisions prevailing at the time the offer of appointment is made.
(e) The information on the monthly salary and maximum pay point is for reference only and may be subject to changes.
(f) Fringe benefits include paid leave, medical and dental benefits, and where appropriate, assistance in housing.
(g) Where a large number of candidates meet the specified entry requirements, the recruiting departments may devise shortlisting criteria to select the better qualified candidates for further processing. In these circumstances, only shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend selection interview.
(h) It is the Government's policy to place people with a disability in appropriate jobs wherever possible. If a disabled candidate meets the entry requirements (including passing the JRE to be held tentatively on 5 December 2020), he/she will be invited to attend the selection interview without being subject to further shortlisting. Applicants who have declared disabilities found suitable for appointment may be given an appropriate degree of preference over other applicants whose suitability for appointment is considered comparable to that of the former. The Government's policy and other related measures on employment of persons with disabilities are set out in the booklet “Employ People Based on Their Abilities – Application for Government Jobs by Persons with Disabilities” which is available for reference on the Civil Service Bureau's website at www.csb.gov.hk under “Administration of the Civil Service – Appointments”.
(i) Holders of academic qualifications other than those obtained from Hong Kong institutions/Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority may also apply but their qualifications will be subject to assessments on equivalence with the required entry qualifications. They should submit copies of their official transcripts and diplomas/certificates stating the mode of delivery (e.g. full-time/part-time, on campus/distance learning, etc.) of the study programmes. To facilitate assessment of qualifications, the documents on any prior qualifications obtained should also be supplied as far as possible. Do not send any originals of diplomas/certificates. Those who apply on-line should submit copies of their official transcripts and certificates by post to the Civil Service Bureau at Room 722, 7/F., West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, and quote the candidate number on the documents. Current final year undergraduate students should state in their applications the qualifications they would attain on completion of the final examination. Copies of local qualification documents are not required at this stage of application.
(j) Civil service vacancies information contained in this column is also available on GovHK on the internet at www.gov.hk.
2. Application for taking Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test (Degree/Professional Grades) to be held outside Hong Kong
For the convenience of those studying or residing outside Hong Kong, the CRE and BLT is also tentatively scheduled to be held on 5 December 2020 in seven other cities, namely Beijing, London, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney. Applications for taking the examination outside Hong Kong will be called later this year.
[Note: For the examination outside Hong Kong, it may only be held subject to the regulations and prevailing measures in that particular city in the light of the development of the COVID-19. If the situation warrants, the examination may be deferred or cancelled. Any updates of the examination arrangements will be announced on this webpage.]
Persons who wish to apply for the CRE and BLT tentatively scheduled for December 2020 outside Hong Kong should visit this webpage regularly for the latest information and also read the "Frequently Asked Questions - https://www.csb.gov.hk/english/recruit/cre/files/FAQ_Eng.pdf" for more information.
Important Note:
Applicants may choose to take any of the CRE papers and / or the BLT paper in this examination either in Hong Kong or in one of the cities outside Hong Kong. Persons who have applied for sitting the examination in October 2020 in Hong Kong will NOT be allowed to apply again for sitting the examination in December 2020 outside Hong Kong.