The European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European
Commission (EC) have once again established a high-level traineeship programme
which gives an opportunity to highly qualified junior professionals from the EU
Member States to work in the EU Delegations worldwide. The aim of the programme
is to enable young people to gain first-hand experience in the work of
Delegations and an in-depth understanding of their role in the implementation
of EU external policies.
In line with the Joint Decision of the European Commission
and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy, which establishes a High Level Traineeship Programme in the Delegations of the European Union and the
Rules Governing this Programme in Partnership with the Member States of the
European Union, the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) is once again
seeking to deploy Junior Professionals in Delegation (JPD) as from
September/October 2023.
The European External
Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission (EC) will finance
a minimum of 54 JPD posts (two (2) per Member State)
for the 2023-2025 round. In this regard, 27 JPD posts will be offered in the
EEAS and 27 in the EC. The JPD is aimed at graduates at Master’s Level or
equivalent who satisfy the below conditions for eligibility. Applicants are to
apply either for sections under the competence of the EEAS (political, press and
information sections), OR for sections under the
competence of the Commission (aid
management,
trade and economic issues).
Regarding the location for the traineeship, candidates are to
indicate up to three geographical preferences (ideally regions and countries)
such as: North Africa (eg Morocco), Southern Africa (eg South Africa and
Namibia), East Africa (eg Rwanda), the Middle East (eg Jordan, Lebanon), Eastern
Europe (eg Georgia, Moldova) and the Balkans (eg Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Serbia, Albania, N. Macedonia) for their potential assignment as well as the
function (see italics above or EEAS website) they are applying for. A list of
the EEAS’ delegations over the world can be accessed on the EEAS Website.
The traineeship agreement
is for twelve (12) months with a possible renewal for another period of twelve (12) months.
Selected trainees will be awarded
a monthly basic grant for the entire
duration of the agreement. The amount
of this grant is set at €2,000.00 per month. Additionally, trainees are also
entitled to a monthly accommodation contribution set at €1,500.00 as well as a monthly
hardship contribution, depending
on the Living Conditions Allowance in a Delegation (from
10% to 30% - see LCA table). For security reasons,
there are no JPDs allocated in countries with a higher LCA.
Furthermore, JPDs will also be granted an installation contribution
of €2,340.00 at the beginning of their traineeship, a contribution for the cost of the journey of
€2,926.00 for each period of 12 months of traineeship and a contribution of €1,800.00
for the insurance cost for each period of 12 months of traineeship.
Applicants must undergo a pre-selection process that will be carried
out by the Ministry for Foreign and European
Affairs and Trade (MFET). The final selection will be performed by the EEAS and the Commission.
Prospective
applicants are urged to read carefully the Joint Decision and the Implementing Rules of
the High Level Traineeship Programme before applying for this
traineeship programme. Both decisions can be viewed
through the
EEAS
Website.
Conditions of Eligibility
To be considered eligible, candidates must satisfy the following
requirements on the closing date for the submission of the applications:
- be a national of an EU Member State;
- hold at least a university degree equivalent to a Master's degree (see Diplomas Annex) in a domain relevant to the activities of the EU Delegations;
- have excellent command of English and/or French; knowledge of other languages is an asset;
- show a great interest and motivation to work in an EU Delegation;
- professional experience and
extra-curricular activities such as volunteering or publications are important
assets;
- No professional experience is required to apply for this high-level traineeship programme. However, preference shall be given to candidates with, by the closing date for applications, up to 4 years of professional
experience with relevance to the programme (of which maximum
1 year with the EEAS, the European Commission or another EU institution or body as indicated above).
Applicants undertake to supply, when so requested by MFET and/or
EEAS, supporting documentation regarding the above criteria. Any false
statement or omission on the part of the applicant, even if unintentional, may lead to the cancellation of his/her application. Candidates, through their application, give their consent for the EEAS to contact,
if necessary, any of the
schools, universities, enterprises, institutions or persons given as
references for above eligibility criteria in connection with their application
for the programme.
Submission of applications
Applications are to be submitted
solely in accordance with the standard
application form.
Interested applicants can either download an application form
directly from the Ministry’s website JPD Application Form, the EEAS Website or request a copy from MFET
via mail jpd.mfet@gov.mt.
Applications must be sent exclusively to MFET as Malta’s Contact
Point. Spontaneous applications sent directly to the EEAS or to the Commission will be rejected.
Applications may be submitted either by e-mail
on jpd.mfet@gov.mt or delivered
by post or handed to the
Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, at 331, Allied House, St
Paul Street, Valletta, by Thursday, 31
January 2023. Late applications will not be considered.
For any further
enquiries, please contact
jpd.mfet@gov.mt. All applications will be duly acknowledged.