Space Policy and Sustainability Traineeship

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is an operational EU Agency that provides safe and secure European satellite navigation services, develops the GOVSATCOM Hub, promotes the commercialisation of Galileo, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Copernicus, and the Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) data and services, and operates the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) Front-Desk. EUSPA is also responsible for the security accreditation of all the components of the EU Space Programme. Lastly, it is foreseen that the Agency will be entrusted with IRIS² tasks. For more information on the EUSPA and the EU Space Programme, click here.

The SST Front Desk, located at the GSMC-ES, is the main interface to deliver SST information and services (e.g. collision avoidance, re-entry and fragmentation) to the SST users’ community, through the so-called SST Portal. It has an operational team that supports users of these services, including spacecraft owners and operators, EU institutions and EU Member States, among others. The Front Desk also performs activities related to user coordination and engagement, service performance, and communication.

This traineeship aims to support the SST activities, namely on assessing European and international frameworks for space safety and sustainability activities, while contributing to develop overall regulatory schemes.

The position requires relocation to Madrid, an international city with several things to offer: breath-taking art, complex culture, exquisite food, and rich history. The capital of Spain has excellent connections to the rest of the country, as well as to the rest of the world, and is famous for its vibrant nightlife and welcoming people. 

It shall be noted that the GSMC-ES is located in La Marañosa, near San Martín de la Vega, and may not be easily reached by public transportation. Driving license and own car are recommended.

The trainee will be expected to carry out under supervision the following duties:

• Support the monitoring of space policy related developments in the European and international schemes, e.g. documents review, information collection, compilation and presentation;
• Contribute to the development of activities on space safety and sustainability issues, focused on regulatory and legislative matters, e.g. registration, life-cycle assessment, compliance, standards;
• Provide administrative support, e.g. document management, organising meetings.

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

1. Have a nationality of any Member State of the European Union, Iceland 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;
3. 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;
4. 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);
5. Have a clean criminal record.

The applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

1. Motivation;
2. Education or work experience in the area of legal and/or space policy matters;
3. Education or knowledge in sustainability issues applicable to space;
4. Excellent analytical and synthesis;
5. Good organisation skills;
6. Effective communication skills, including the ability to summarise information;
7. Good English communication skills (verbal and written).

The current call is open to fill any potential vacant places at the Space Surveillance & Tracking Front Desk. Candidates are advised to apply as early as possible, as positions may arise at any point in time as long as the call remains open. Once a position in the department becomes vacant, the eligibility of the applications will be assessed. 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 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 after their application has been reviewed and evaluated. 

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 EUSPA 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.

Any request for technical support must be sent to: jobs@euspa.europa.eu minimum two working days before the vacancy notice deadline. Please note, that if you submit your request for technical support later, we may not be able to assist you;

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.

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

Any questions regarding the selection procedure should be addressed only to: jobs@euspa.europa.eu.

In addition, candidates having any personal relationship within the EUSPA have the possibility to declare such situation to: jobs@euspa.europa.eu.

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

Details on how to initiate these processes are available here.

Trainees receive a monthly grant for full-time traineeship of €1,500.00¹.

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 Agency².

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[1] 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. If the traineeship is part-time, the grant will be proportionate.

[2] https://www.euspa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/euspa-traineeship-decision-2022.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 EUSPA. 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 EUSPA privacy policy here: https://www.euspa.europa.eu/privacy-policy.