Finance Department Traineeship

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) announces a traineeship opportunity for European students and recent graduates. The GSA is responsible for the operations and service provision of the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) EGNOS and Galileo. The GSA’s core mission is to ensure that European citizens get the most out of Europe’s satellite navigation programmes. More information about the agency is available here.

The Finance Department, among other tasks:

• Forecasts GSA's annual revenue and expenditure and, based on this, prepares, implements and controls the budget and annual accounts and provides all related accounting, financial management and reporting
• Manages relations and coordinates activities related to the European Court of Auditors and the accounts discharge process
• Provides regular financial reporting for both GSA core and delegated budget

The trainee shall support the daily operations of the Finance Department of the Agency and will be expected to carry out, under supervision, the following duties:

• Perform financial viability checks for external parties bidding in the Agency’s procurement and grant procedures, as well as assist in the follow-up of such calls for tenders/proposals
• Assist with regular controls on the accounting environment and regularly reconcile specific accounts as requested
• Participate in the elaboration of mechanisms/reports to automatize the accounting treatment of financial data
• Assist in the provision of guidelines to GSA staff on accounting and/or financial issues
• Assist in the setting up of quality processes as well as monitor and provide regular reports on the achievement of key performance indicators
• Contribute to the collection and/or preparation of the necessary information for audits, as well as assist in the arrangement of meetings
• Assist in administrative tasks (e.g. filing, archiving)
• Other relevant finance/accounting tasks, as required
• Assist the Head of Finance and her assignees in the financial implementation of grants
• Provide support in the collection, assessment and follow up of financial part of grant project reports

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

1. 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 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
3. 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)
4. A clean criminal record

The applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

1. University studies in Accounting, Business Administration/Management, Economics, or another relevant field, in particular for example numerate subjects (Maths, Science, Engineering etc.)
2. Demonstrated interest in Financial Accounting/Financial Management
3. Good command of MS Office Excel
4. Experience of multicultural environments, ideally through previous work experience or study abroad
5. Ability to work autonomously
6. Proactivity and ability to  adjust to new tasks in a demanding work environment

The eligibility of the applications will be assessed by the Human Resources Department.

The eligible applications received will be evaluated on a regular basis.

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 about the outcome of their application once the deadline for applying to the traineeship has expired.

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 GSA 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.

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

Applicants have the right to file a complaint to the European Ombudsman¹ or send an application to the General Court of the European Union², should they consider they have been adversely affected by a particular decision.

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.

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[1] http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu

[2] http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo1_6308/

Trainees receive a monthly grant for full-time traineeship of €1,000.00³. 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 European GNSS Agency⁴.

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[3] 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.

[4] https://www.gsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ed_decision_on_traineeship_scheme_july_2018.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 GSA. 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 GSA privacy policy here: https://www.gsa.europa.eu/privacy-policy