Trainee Air Domain

EDA - European Defence Agency

Brussels, Belgium

THE TRAINEESHIP

The aim of this traineeship is to contribute to, and support, the daily activities of the Air Domain Unit (ADU). This traineeship offers a unique opportunity to experience working within the EDA ADU and immerse the trainee in all areas related to Air Superiority and Air Mobility from a multinational perspective at EU level.

The ADU is a four-person unit tasked with a wide range of responsibilities essentially dedicated to support EU Members States in maturing and initiating collaborative Capability Development Projects meeting their needs as well as EU priorities. This activity is conducted in close coordination with national military capability experts. The Project Officers’ responsibilities, with which the trainee will work and provide support, can broadly be categorised within four main areas:

Air Combat: The Air Combat capability-related projects are addressing manned and unmanned, fixed and rotary wings, combat platforms and their related weapon systems, including Precision Strike capabilities;
Airborne Command and Inform Capabilities: Projects in that domain are focused on air manned platforms dedicated to Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR), Airborne Early Warning (AEW), and including all types of Unmanned Air Systems;
Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD): IAMD is of strategic importance for Europe, increasingly facing a degree of contested environments and thus the need and a growing interest for multinational cooperation. Projects in that domain are addressing multi-layered IADM systems including counter rocket/artillery/mortar, counter UAS, MANPADs, short and Medium Range Air Defence systems, surveillance radars, command and control systems;
Air transport: Air Transport projects are dedicated to tactical manned/unmanned, fixed and rotary wings platforms, as well as strategic transport platforms.

TASKS AND DUTIES

Under the supervision of a trainee advisor, the trainee will work with all colleagues and have the opportunity to explore the responsibilities and activities of each Project Officer in the ADU.

In particular, the trainee will contribute to/be responsible for the following activities:

develop a European and international “events and conferences” overview, to build a focused and recurrent annual planning;
prepare official communications to Member States;
organize and participate in internal and multinational meetings;
support the preparation of Food-For-Thought and Concept Papers on Air Domain related topics;
scan open media for news of interest in support of the work of ADU;
develop media content for topics related to ADU work strands (in close cooperation with the Media and Communication Unit for external use, such as conferences, networking, etc.);
update databases for the areas Air Combat, Airborne Command and Inform, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, and Air Transport;
take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

A typical day at work involves the following activities:

supporting the organisation of meetings/workshops and relevant communication with participating Member States;
participating in meetings/workshops and preparing minutes and related documentation;
supporting in preparing internal and external presentations;
managing data and records on the EDA Collaboration Platform (ECP) and internal ADU SharePoint;
updating the EDA Air Domain website by collaborating with the Media and Communication Unit;
supporting Project Officers in conducting meetings on EDA premises;
supporting the Head of Unit in gathering the conclusions of these meetings;
conducting ad-hoc research on topics of interest for ADU activities;
drafting and circulating a weekly newsletter on key developments in the Air domain;
supporting the knowledge and document management of the ADU via different IT-tools.

Daily tasks and activities may vary significantly in a small team environment such as the ADU. Each day the trainee will work closely with a Project Officer, planning project meetings, engaging with member states, and exploring capability development activities across all project areas. The trainee will need to be able to work autonomously and show initiative under the guidance of a trainee advisor. A creative or innovative mindset is always an asset.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Project outputs & learning outcomes:

The selected trainee will be involved in international project management and will become familiar with/will acquire practical experience in conducting international meetings. The trainee will gain:

knowledge on international project management;
knowledge on European defence policy and the decision-making mechanisms within the EU security ecosystem;
knowledge of the European Air domain landscape, understanding of CARD, PESCO, EDIDP and EDF;
understanding of European collaborative opportunities in the defence domain;
experience in data and information management;
experience in multinational meetings;
research experience in Air-related affairs and defence industry;
experience in data analysis;
broader knowledge/understanding of the Air capabilities landscape.

Technical/Soft skills to be acquired:

From this experience the trainee will gain:

ability to work effectively in a multinational/multicultural and complex environment;
ability to work in a small team and independently in his/her/their area of responsibility;
accuracy and attention to detail;
user access management;
organisational and communication skills;
affinity with security and defence;
research and analytical skills;
increase versatility skills;
report preparation and writing skills;
web-tool/database management skills;
understanding of interproject management principles;
ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
result-orientated planning and execution;
time management;
multi-stakeholder relations/management;
organisation of (international) meetings and events;
ability to work effectively in an EU environment;
organisation of defence research.

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: Political Science/International Affairs (with a focus on security and defence) or Aerospace Engineering, 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).