Office of the Executive Director Traineeship

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) provides safe and secure European satellite navigation services, promotes the commercialization of Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus data and services and coordinates the EU’s forthcoming governmental satellite communications programme GOVSATCOM. EUSPA is responsible for the security accreditation of all the EU Space Programme components. By fostering the development of an innovative and competitive space sector and engaging with the entire EU Space community, EUSPA contributes to the European Green Deal and digital transition, the safety and security of the Union and its citizens, while reinforcing its autonomy and resilience.

The Office of the Executive Director (OED) is placed directly under the Executive Director and assists him in ensuring an efficient and effective system of management of the Agency as well as effective corporate coordination and outreach, including relations with external stakeholders and institutional partners.

You will be joining a dynamic and operational EU Agency and have the opportunity to work with colleagues from a broad array of different backgrounds and expertise all contributing to one of the most important and ambitious projects ever undertaken by the EU. We are committed to implement the EU Space Programme and turn the EU space ambitions into a reality. For more information on the EUSPA and the EU Space Programme, click here.

The trainee will be placed in the Office of the Executive Director (OED) and will be expected to support its daily running. In addition, he/she will support the Internal Control Coordinator (ICC) and the EUSPA Internal Audit Capability (IAC) as well as the Administrative Board secretariat.

The trainee will carry out under supervision the following duties:

1. General OED tasks

• Assist the Office in its daily activities, including participation in internal and/or external meetings;
• Compilation of reports, documents and presentations under supervision;
• Provide administrative support (e.g. archiving, document management, data entry and processing, organising meetings);
• Support ad-hoc tasks as required;

2. Internal Control Coordinator

• Support the implementation of aspects related to the EUSPA Anti-Fraud Strategy (AF), including but not limited to analysis, monitoring and reporting as well as maintenance of various digital libraries, both internal and public;
• Assist in the roll out of the upcoming EUSPA Internal Control Framework (ICF);
• Support the monitoring of ICF implementation and reporting in 2021 and beyond;
• Support the definition of the EUSPA Internal Control Strategy, supporting ICC and IAC;
• Contribute to the preparation and execution of various audits with EU auditors or third-party private sector auditors, including communication with staff/auditors, monitoring, management of audit libraries, filing reports, etc.;

3. Administrative Board secretariat

• Support the Administrative Board secretariat in the management of all administrative aspects and the proper end-to-end functioning of the EUSPA Administrative Board, working closely with all EUSPA departments;
• Prepare Administrative Board meetings in EUSPA Headquarters;
• Liaise with Administrative Board members on matters related to the functioning of the Administrative Board.

The traineeship is open to applicants who have not previously undertaken a traineeship at EUSPA and who meet the following requirements:

1. Have a nationality of any Member State of the European Union or Norway
2. Possess or pursue a recognised higher education degree (university education or equivalent), evidencing completion of a full cycle of study, or in the case of candidates who are at the end of their studies, an official attestation from their university or school stating the marks obtained
3. Have an initial experience or specific expertise in one of the areas of work of the Agency obtained either through specialisation as part of the applicant’s studies for a university degree, a dissertation or other research project conducted as part of their studies or through professional experience or a previous traineeship or otherwise
4. Possess a thorough knowledge of one official language of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the European Union; one of these languages must be the working language of the Agency (English)
5. Have a clean criminal record

The applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

1. Motivation;
2. Proactive attitude;
3. Attention to detail and organisational skills;
4. Concrete experience in any of the specific fields and tasks under “2. Tasks and responsibilities” above;
5. Good knowledge of IT applications (Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Project and any other is an asset);
6. Excellent English communication skills (verbal and written);
7. Knowledge of one or more EU languages in addition to English is an advantage.

The current call is open to fill any potential vacant places at the Office of the Executive Director. Candidates are advised to apply as early as possible, as positions may arise at any point of time - even while the current call remains open. The pool of applications will be used until a new call is open.

Once a position in the department becomes vacant, the eligibility of the applications will be assessed. The Head of the recruiting department will nominate the department’s evaluators to carry out the selection of the most suitable candidates. The evaluators will assess the eligible applications and select those best matching the selection criteria required for the available traineeship.

The best suitable candidates may be invited for a phone/video interview which may include other appropriate testing.

Engagement for a traineeship will be decided by the Agency’s Executive Director on the basis of a list of suitable candidates proposed by the evaluators. The established list may be used for other similar traineeships depending on the Agency’s needs.

The starting date of the traineeship depends on the Agency's needs and budget availability.

All applicants will be informed after their application has been reviewed and evaluated. 

If an application is unsuccessful, candidates may re-apply to future vacancies for which they satisfy the criteria.

In order to be considered for this position, candidates need to create an account by registering via the EUSPA e-recruitment tool.

Only applications submitted via the e-recruitment tool will be accepted. Applications sent via email or post will not be taken into consideration.

Multiple applications received for the same position via different accounts will lead to the exclusion of the applicant from the selection procedure.

All sections of the application should be completed in English in order to facilitate the selection procedure.

In order to be considered, applications must be received by the closing date indicated in the vacancy notice. Candidates are advised to submit the application well ahead of the deadline in order to avoid potential problems during the final days before the closing date of applications’ submissions. The Agency cannot be held responsible for any last-minute malfunctioning of the e-recruitment tool due to heavy traffic on the website.

Any request for technical support must be sent to: jobs@euspa.europa.eu minimum two working days before the vacancy notice deadline. Please note, that if you submit your request for technical support later, we may not be able to assist you;

If at any stage during the procedure it is discovered that any of the information a candidate has provided is incorrect, the candidate in question will be disqualified.

Please consult the e-recruitment guideline for instructions on completing the application.

Any questions regarding the selection procedure should be addressed only to: jobs@euspa.europa.eu

Applicants have the right to file a complaint to the European Ombudsman or send an application to the General Court of the European Union, should they consider they have been adversely affected by a particular decision.

Details on how to initiate these processes are available here.

Trainees receive a monthly grant for full-time traineeship of €1,200.00¹. If the traineeship is part-time, the grant will be proportionate.

Trainees may also be entitled to the reimbursement of their travel expenses from/to their place of origin.

Trainees shall be responsible for organising their own sickness insurance against health risks and their own accident insurance.

Before the start of the traineeship, the candidate will be required to provide the following documents:

• proof of nationality
• diplomas or academic qualifications needed to prove s/he satisfies the admission criteria
• an excerpt from police records
• a medical certificate confirming that s/he is fit for work and free of any contagious diseases
• documents showing that the trainee has public or private cover for accident insurance and sickness insurance against health risks for the entire duration of the traineeship period
• a statement indicating whether the trainee is in receipt of a grant or other subsistence allowance from another source and if so, the amount of these grants or allowances
• declaration of confidentiality and absence of conflict of interests

For detailed information about rights and obligation related to traineeships, please refer to the Decision of The Executive Director on the Rules governing the Traineeship Scheme of the Agency².

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[1] The official European Commission rates will automatically apply for grants paid in non-Euro accounts. All bank charges for incoming payments shall be carried by the trainee.

[2] https://www.euspa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ed_decision_on_traineeship_scheme_2020.pdf

The Agency is an equal opportunities employer and strongly encourages applications from all candidates who fulfil the eligibility and selection criteria without any distinction whatsoever on grounds of nationality, age, race, political, philosophical or religious conviction, gender or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or other family situation.

The purpose of processing of the data submitted by candidates is to manage each application in view of selection and recruitment as a trainee at the EUSPA. The personal information requested from applicants will be processed in line with Regulation (EU) N° 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, officers and agencies and on the free movement of such data (repealing Regulation (EC) N° 45/2001 and Decision N° 1247/2002/EC).

Please consult the EUSPA privacy policy here: https://www.euspa.europa.eu/privacy-policy.