Trainee Space

Trainee Space

EDA - European Defence Agency

Brussels, Belgium

THE TRAINEESHIP

The aim of this traineeship is to contribute to the Information Superiority Unit’s work overall and in the field of Space initiatives, as well as assist with related project management tasks. The trainee will provide support to the work of the Expert Groups in this area, together with EDA’s project officers, by getting a full understanding of EDA’s way of managing projects, understanding the purpose/objectives of active projects, etc.

The Expert Groups are active groups of governmental experts, in charge of shaping and monitoring policy and project work in areas such as Defence in Space, Space Situational Awareness, Space Based Earth Observation among others. It has strong exposure to other institutions’ work (European External Action Service, EU Military Staff, European Commission, etc.).

The trainee is expected to:

• assist in the implementation of the concept Paper on Collaborative opportunities in the Space Domain through the development of a Letter of Intent to be submitted to the Steering Board;
• assist in the management of projects delegated to the Agency;
• assist in EDA’s contribution or support to specific projects.

TASKS AND DUTIES

Under the supervision of a trainee advisor, the trainee will contribute to/be responsible for the following activities:

• in general, support Project Officers in their project management activities;
• contribute to the development a Letter of Intent stemming from the Concept Paper on Collaborative Opportunities in the Space Domain;
• support the implementation of the Letter of Intent;
• review project status/issues/updates between team sessions;
• create the agenda for team meetings (by comparing objectives and action lists from previous ones);
• communicate with project/team stakeholders;
• support the organization of and participate in meetings, acting as meeting secretary/notes taker;
• interacting with the team representatives via the EDA Collaboration Platform (ECP) relevant workspaces containing documents, action lists, forums, calendar management;
• update the progress of Projects in the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) tool;
• contribute to the definition of action plans;
• support the creation of new initiatives;
• prepare Food-For-Thought papers and other notes for discussion;
• assess emerging trends and relate them to the team’s work programme;
• support other activities within the Unit as required;
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

A typical day at work involves the following activities:

• supporting the preparation and conduct of project activities;
• participating in meetings;
• in consultation with the project officers, providing input to internal (intra-directorate and cross-directorate) work;
• drafting internal documents for reporting or dissemination activities;
• keeping regular communication with representatives/experts in the participating Member States;
• participating in project deliverable analysis sessions and contributing with feedback.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Project outputs & learning outcomes:

The selected trainee will be involved in relevant implementation activities of EU collaborative projects and will contribute by shaping a comprehensive programme of work in the area of Space for defence. The trainee will show confidence in advanced defence policies such as Capability Development Plan (CDP), Priority Implementation Roadmaps, Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) and Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence (PESCO). The selected trainee will become familiar with and will acquire practical experience in project management skills, and will also gain knowledge in current EU and international developments regarding Space, state-of-the-art technology and how the information domain in the EU and its Member States will be shaped from policy down to technical capabilities in the future.

Technical/Soft skills to be acquired:

From this experience the trainee will gain:

• ability to work in a small team and independently in his/her/their area of responsibility;
• very good organisational and communication skills;
• flexibility and ability to communicate with different counterparts (government and industry);
• report preparation and writing skills;
• understanding of project management principles;
• result-orientated planning and execution;
• time management;
• multi-stakeholder relations/management;
• drafting policy papers;
• organisation of (international) meetings and events.

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: Telecommunications, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering/Science, Geomatics, International Relations, Political Science, EU Affairs, International Law, or similar;
• advanced IT skills, particularly in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and video conference software;
• a very good command of written and spoken English (minimum level C1).

Desirable:

The following will be considered an advantage:

• exposure to an international environment;
• exposure to Space matters, space-based services;
• project management exposure and/or certification;
• good interpersonal skills;
• interest in information technology and cyber matters;
• understanding of EU initiatives on Space or of a related area including scientific, technical, strategic aspects.

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