Before I submit my CV, any advice or insight appreciated!

it's very hard to give advise without knowing the background. I gathered from your post you applied to a school as a teacher. or to a university as a lecturer. is that correct? is your application in german, or english?

the europass style CV is a little bit different than the usual german style CV, but the formats are slowly changing. depending on the company you apply for the europass CV will either be looked at at modern, or they might think you don't know the german style of a CV. so that's really hard to say. if your application is in english I think the europass CV will be fine. cover letters in germany seem to be more formal than the ones in the US. in general, germany is more formal. you would never address someone (for example a recruiter) by his first name.

maybe you can give some information on what type of institute you applied for.

Thank you Vroni. I did a bit more research and submitted my application materials a day ago.

Open question to anyone: on average how long does one typically wait to hear back from company?

Is it customary to send an email about two weeks after application submission or would this be a faux pas?

Thanks everyone

Which CV is or isn't appropriate highly depends on the style and personal preference of the company/hirer, which of course you don't know. The only general rule I found is that, in Germany, a CV must have your picture (which is a no-no elsewhere, e.g. USA).
In previous times (pre-Email), an application needed to include all certificates, diplomas, etc. and all applications were answered and certificated returned by mail. But this no longer applies, although a lot of companies (but not all!) still reply to all applications received.
If you know the person in charge of the hiring process, it is a good idea to write or call about the status, especially if you didn't hear from them after an interview.