Trainee Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO)

EDA - European Defence Agency

Brussels, Belgium

THE TRAINEESHIP

The aim of this traineeship is to provide the trainee the opportunity to learn about EU defence cooperation, in particular the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) as a framework for multilateral cooperation, and to develop skills, knowledge, and experience in the implementation of PESCO.

TASKS AND DUTIES

Under the supervision of a trainee advisor, the trainee will work with colleagues in the area of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and will contribute to/be responsible for the following activities:

support the annual assessment of Member States’ National Implementation Plans (NIPs) and the preparation of the PESCO projects’ progress report, including providing analytical insights on the progress on the fulfilment of more binding commitments and the implementation of PESCO projects;
conduct user registration and management for EDA’s electronic workspaces for PESCO, and provide support to users regarding their access and use of the workspaces;
support strategic communication on PESCO, including updates on the PESCO website;
support the updates on country profiles;
provide support in organising workshops with the Member States;
take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

A typical day at work involves the following activities:

contributing to the activities of PESCO Project Officers, including the engagement with PESCO participating Member States;
the user management of different workspaces, including engaging with users;
participating in meetings and taking notes with a view to preparing the official minutes of the meeting;
supporting analysis related to NIPs and PESCO projects.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Project outputs & learning outcomes:

The selected trainee will become familiar with and will acquire practical experience in:

the PESCO projects, analysis of the NIPs, and development of the High Representative report on the PESCO implementation;
the development of electronic workspaces as the main information gateway to outside stakeholders;
supporting the organization and conduct of PESCO related events.

The trainee will gain knowledge in:

the European defence landscape;
the EU institutional framework in the area of CSDP and internal working dynamics of the PESCO Secretariat;
Member States’ defence policies and the multilateral projects in the area of defence;
user management for IT tools and databases.

Technical/Soft skills to be acquired:

From this experience the trainee will gain:

affinity with security and defence issues;
ability to work effectively in an EU environment;
ability to work in a team in a multicultural environment and independently in his/her/their area of responsibility;
webtool/database content and user access management skills;
organisational and communication skills;
insight into drafting policy papers, reports, and articles;
skills related to organisation of international meetings and events;
research and analytical skills;
knowledge in quantitative and qualitative data analysis;
reporting and writing skills;
multi-stakeholder relations/management skills.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To be considered eligible to take part in this selection procedure, on the closing date for the submission of applications candidates must satisfy all the eligibility criteria as specified below:

be a national of a Member State participating in the Agency;
be entitled to their full rights as citizens;
produce the appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties (extract from the “judicial record” or certificate of good conduct will be requested prior to recruitment);
be physically fit to perform their duties;
have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1 oral and written) of one of the languages of the participating Member States and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2 oral and written) of another of these languages to the extent necessary to discharge their duties;
have no personal interest (financial, family relationship, or other) which could be in conflict with disinterested discharge of their duties within the Agency;
hold, or be in a position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (national or EU PSC at SECRET UE/EU SECRET level);
have completed at least the first (minimum three-year) cycle of a higher education course (university education) and obtained a full degree or its equivalent by the closing date for applications;
have not previously undertaken for more than six weeks a paid or unpaid traineeship or any kind of employment in another EU institution, Agency, or body.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Only applications meeting all essential selection criteria will be assessed.

The pre-selection of candidates to be invited to an interview is based on a comparative assessment of all applications against the selection criteria and additional assets.

It should be highlighted that the selection criteria constitute a minimum threshold and that only candidates considered as most suitable are invited to an interview.

Essential:

On the closing date for the submission of applications candidates must satisfy all the essential criteria as specified below:

a University degree (or equivalent academic degree) in at least one of the following fields: International Relations, Political Science, European Studies, or similar;
advanced IT skills, particularly in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook);
a very good command of written and spoken English (minimum level C1).