Trainee Defence Research and Emerging Technologies - Brussels, België - European Defence Agency

Beschrijving

1. BACKGROUND

The European Defence Agency (EDA) was established on 12 July 2004, and is governed by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency. The Agency has its headquarters in Brussels.

The main task of EDA is to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the Union's defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as it currently stands and as it develops in the future.

The Agency is structured into four directorates. The Corporate Services Directorate (CSD) and three operational directorates: Industry, Synergies and Enablers (ISE); Capability, Armament & Planning (CAP); Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI).

2. THE AGENCY'S WAY OF WORKING

The Agency is an "outward-facing" organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the participating Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all of the Agency's functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.

3. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE TRAINEESHIP

EDA's traineeship programme is addressed to university graduates, including those who, in the framework of lifelong learning, have recently obtained a university diploma and are at the beginning of a new professional career.

The aim of EDA's traineeship programme is:

to introduce recent graduates to the professional world and enable them to apply knowledge acquired during their studies, particularly in their specific areas of competence.

to create a pool of young people with first-hand understanding of EDA's mission and activities.

to enrich the work of EDA with a fresh point of view and up-to-date academic knowledge.

to promote European integration and create awareness of European citizenship in a multi-cultural and multilingual environment.

While at EDA, trainees will be working side by side with motivated and highly qualified experts coming from the participating Member States and they will have the opportunity to contribute to specific projects within the Agency.

4. THE RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DIRECTORATE (RTI)

The Research, Technology & Innovation Directorate (RTI) promotes and supports defence research at EU level. Based on the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA), developed together with the Member States, the Directorate coordinates and plans joint research activities and the study of technical solutions to meet future operational needs.

The RTI Directorate provides support to Member States and to the European Commission for the Preparatory Action for defence research, including its implementation, and the research dimension of the European Defence Fund. The RTI directorate also ensures the promotion of innovation in defence and the exploitation of synergies at EU level with civil research in dual-use technology fields.

The RTI Directorate comprises two Units and an RTI Coordination Team, with the following key tasks:

The EU-funded Defence Research Unit: upstream, implementing and downstream support linked to defence research activities funded by the EU budget under delegation by the European Commission

The Technology & Innovation Unit: facilitating the work of the Capability Technology Groups (CapTechs), the Energy & Environment Working Group; development and management of ad hoc research activities based on sectoral Strategic Research Agendas

The RTI Coordination Team: coordination of the RTI Directorate's contributions to EDA's transversal activities (such as CDP, CARD, PESCO, and KSA); overview of the Agency's research portfolio; provision of outlook for research activities and technology watch.

5. THE TRAINEESHIP

Technology and Innovation is a collaborative environment where all members work together for a common objective, promoting and stimulating defence research and innovation in Europe. The activities developed in/by the Technology and Innovation Unit (TIU) require the participation of several members. Dedicating sufficient time to understand, design and prepare the activities with in a multicultural environment with several colleagues is necessary, if not mandatory.

The aim of this traineeship is to contribute to the goals of the Technology and Innovation Unit, especially by:

supporting the Capability Technology Groups (CapTechs) in the identification of technology gaps and common areas of interest for cooperation in the defence domain.

supporting the Technology Foresight activities, including draft technical studies, organize workshops and prepare administrative documentation.

supporting the Actions Plan implementation.

6. TASKS AND DUTIES

Under the supervision of his/her advisor, the trainee will work with colleagues in the area of Research and Emerging Technologies identification, analysis and foresight and will contribute to/be responsible for the following activities:

contribute to CapTechs implementation;

contribute to Innovative Defence Technologies identification;

contribute to the RTI Defence Conference 2024 implementation;

contribute to Action Plans Implementation.

A typical day at work involves the following activities:

be involved in the CapTech relevant meetings;

support knowledge and document management via the different IT tools;

participate in other R&T activities under the responsibility of the Technology and Innovation Unit (TIU);

contribute to the implementation of the Technology Foresight Workshops, in particular preparing and reviewing technology foresight documents, supporting moderation of discussion with subject matter experts in dedicated workshops;

contribute to drafting workshop reports, presentations and meeting minutes;

draft report on the maturity of technologies;

support on administrative tasks (such as preparing invitations, managing participants list, organising presentations and agenda);

perform deep analysis in innovative defence technologies related to the areas identified by his/her supervisor.

7. LEARNING OUTCOMES

A. Project outputs & learning outcomes

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

defence research, technology tools, methodologies and good practices;

emerging defence technologies identification;

technology foresight methodology and tools;

defence research programme and project management.

The experience acquired at the end of the traineeship will provide the selected trainee with a very good understanding and experience of the defence research landscape, stakeholders and technologies. This experience could be an excellent basis for future work in the European institutions and bodies, in national administrations or in industry involved in defence research.

B. Technical / Soft skills to be acquired

From this experience, the trainee will gain:

ability to work in a team in a multicultural environment;

accuracy and attention to detail;

very good organisational and communication skills;

affinity with security and defence;

research and analytical skills;

quantitative and qualitative data analysis;

report preparation and writing skills;

understanding of project management principles;

time management;

multi-stakeholder relations/management;

organisation of (international) meetings and events;

ability to work effectively in an EU environment;

organisation of defence research.

8. 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 his/her full rights as a citizen;

produce the appropriate character references as to his/her suitability for the performance of his/her duties (extract from the "judicial record" or certificate of good conduct will be requested prior to recruitment);

be physically fit to perform his/her 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 his/her duties;

have no personal interest (financial, family relationship, or other) which could be in conflict with disinterested discharge of his/her 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.

Please note the following:

Age limit:

No age limit is imposed on the candidates for traineeships; however, as a matter of priority, traineeships are offered to recent university graduates.

UK nationality:

Due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 31/01/2020, candidates from the United Kingdom who do not hold the nationality of another participating EU Member State, are not eligible.

Languages:

For native English speakers, your ability to communicate in another EU language will be tested during the selection process. To assess your foreign language levels, see: Personnel Security Clearance (PSC):

This is a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared and holds a valid national or EU PSC, and which shows the level of EUCI to which that individual may be granted access (CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above), the date of validity of the relevant PSC and the date of expiry of the certificate itself. Please note that the procedure for obtaining a PSCC can only be initiated by EDA on behalf of the selected candidate;

Non-EU diplomas:

Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration. In the latter case, the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment reserves the right to request proof of such equivalence. For diplomas awarded in non-EU countries, a NARIC recognition is required: UK diplomas:

Qualifications/diplomas awarded until 31/12/2020 in the United Kingdom are accepted without further recognition. For diplomas awarded after this date (from 01/01/2021), a NARIC recognition is required.

9. SELECTION CRITERIA

A. Essential

Candidates shall not apply for more than 2 trainee profiles and are requested to indicate an order of preference.

Only applications meeting all essential selection criteria will be assessed.

(1) Academic

The candidate will be required to demonstrate that he/she has a bachelor's or master's degree (or equivalent) in one or more of the following fields: Science, Engineering, and/or International and European studies.

(2) Linguistic

Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English (level C1/C2).

(3) Technical

Advanced IT literacy, in particular MS Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and SharePoint (or database notions);

Ability to work on collaborative remote applications for meetings (Microsoft Teams, Webex, Skype) and for brainstorming (Mural, Mindmap, Xmind).

B. Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

exposure to an international environment;

previous experience working in a team;

experience and knowledge in technology, research and innovation;

willingness to learn, interest in new technologies, R&T and defence affairs.

10. INDEPENDENCE AND DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Trainees must exercise the greatest discretion regarding facts and information that come to their knowledge during the course of their training. They must not, in any manner whatsoever, disclose to any unauthorised person any document or information not already made public. They will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the Agency's interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests that might be considered prejudicial to their independence. They will continue to be bound by the obligation of confidentiality and professional discretion after the end of their training. EDA reserves its legal right to terminate the traineeship and to pursue any person who does not respect this obligation.

11. TRAINEESHIP CONDITIONS

The traineeship is offered for a 1-year period.

Trainees are awarded an allowance month. Upon presentation of the proper justification, disabled trainees may receive a supplement to their allowance equal to a maximum of 50% of the amount of the allowance. The objective of this extra payment is to help disabled trainees to cover extra expenses transport, cost of special accommodation etc.) which may be required due to their disability.

Health and accident insurance is mandatory. Trainees shall be responsible for organising their own insurance against accident along with health cover and any insurance required for family members for the duration of the traineeship. Trainees whose place of origin is more than 50km from the place of employment are entitled to a reimbursement of travel expenses incurred at the beginning and end of the traineeship. Travel allowances are paid at the end of the training period, provided the trainee has completed a minimum of 6 months of the traineeship.

In exceptional cases only, trainees may be sent on a mission provided that the mission is of a technical and not of a representative character. The authorisation shall be granted by the Director of the respective Directorate. For the reimbursement of these mission expenses, the general procedure of reimbursement provided in EDA's Staff Regulations will apply.

For further information on financial matters, read the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) on EDA's website: > Admission to a traineeship does not confer on trainees the status of temporary agents or other servants of the European Union nor does it entail any right or priority with regard to future engagement in the Agency. Trainees cannot benefit from any privileges and immunities granted by the host country to temporary agents or other servants of the European Defence Agency.

12. FUTURE EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

Admission to a traineeship does not confer on trainees the status of temporary agents or other servants of the European Union nor does it entail any right or priority with regard to future engagement in the Agency. Trainees cannot benefit from any privileges and immunities granted by the host country to temporary agents or other servants of the European Defence Agency.

A person can only benefit from one traineeship experience at EDA. Traineeships are not renewable and may not, in principle, be extended. However, the Chief Executive may grant an extension at the end of each training period, which may not exceed six months. Requests for extensions will only be accepted if the budgetary appropriations and the capacity of the Directorate/Unit to accommodate trainees allow and if objectively justified in the interest of the service.

Regardless of the traineeship, trainees are entitled to participate as candidates in any selection procedures organised by the Agency, provided that they meet the requirements for doing so. If successful, they shall be entitled to a post accordingly.

13. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

EDA is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without distinction on the grounds of age, race, political, philosophical or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or family situation.

14. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Candidates shall not apply for more than 2 trainee profiles and are requested to indicate an order of preference.

Candidates must submit their application electronically solely via the EDA website. Applications by any other means (hard copy or ordinary e-mail) will not be accepted.

Applications must be submitted no later than midnight on the date of the deadline. Candidates are reminded that the on-line application system will not accept applications after midnight (Brussels time, GMT+1).

The Agency defines its requirements for each call and successful candidates are selected on the basis of the educational background, qualifications, competences, and motivation.

EDA's Human Resources Unit assesses compliance of applications with the eligibility criteria. The respective Directorates/Units assess applications against the selection criteria and shortlist a number of candidates that meet the requirements. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for a telephone interview.

Following the interviews, the Directorate/Unit will select the trainee who most closely meets the requirements of the specific profile.

If offered a traineeship, candidates will be requested to supply documentary evidence in support of the statements made in their application. Candidates are requested not to send any supporting or supplementary information until they have been asked to do so by the Agency.

Please note that once you have created your EDA profile, any correspondence regarding your application must be sent or received via your EDA profile. For any prior inquiry, please refer to the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section, or send an e-mail to class="NoticeLabel"> 15. DATA PROTECTION

Please note that EDA will not return applications to candidates. The personal information EDA requests from candidates 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, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) 45/2001 and Decision No. 1247/2002/EC.