ESA Graduate Trainee in the Director General's Cabinet

ESA Graduate Trainee in the Director General's Cabinet (2 Posts)

Job Requisition ID: 20218

Date Posted: 1 February 2026

Closing Date: 28 February :59 CET/CEST

Publication: External Only

Type of Appointment: ESA Graduate Trainee

Directorate: Director General's Services

Workplace:Paris, FR

Grade Band: F1 - F1

Location

ESA Headquarters, Paris, France

Our team and mission

The DG Support and Member States Relations Section within the Director General's Cabinet is responsible for providing all necessary support to the day-to-day work of the ESA Director General, in particular:

• Maintaining relations with ESA Member States, including pre-Council consultations, as well as meetings and visits of the Director General. This responsibility includes maintaining briefing notes and up-to-date dossiers on each Member State and ensuring ESA-wide coordinated preparation.
• Preparing the Director General's internal meetings, providing in particular the secretariat of the Executive Board and organising bilateral meetings with Directorates.
• Preparing the Director General's correspondence, speeches, presentations, reporting and contributions to publications.
• Supporting the Director General's operational activities in coordination with the Director General's Office.
• Protocol service, in particular maintaining a diplomatic network and managing the VIP participation to launch events with the support of the communication services.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website:

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will be integrated into the Section according to your educational background and experience, as well as the priorities of the Section at the time of the training opportunity. Your tasks will be streamlined along the following axes:

• Continuous monitoring of space activities and trends, political developments, and policy-related topics of selected
  
  ESA Member States
• Editing and distribution of the Member States observatory and associated products on a weekly basis, in collaboration with the team's interns
• Contributing to the preparation of background input and presentation material for engagements of the Director General
• Maintenance of up-to-date information on all Member States in a one-page format
• Supporting the preparation of the annual ESA Member States Overview
• Supporting ad-hoc studies and policy analysis in support of the Office's activities
• Maintenance of our intranet presence

Technical competencies

Knowledge of relevant technical/functional domains

Relevant experience gained during internships, project work and/or extracurricular or other activities

General knowledge of the space sector and relevant activities

Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master's degree in a social science, international relations, policy, legal or associated discipline.

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.

You should also have:

• Good knowledge of the space sector players and policies, both at international and national level, including at EU level, together with basic understanding of space activities as seen from a user point of view
• Experience in data collection and analysis, being resourceful in identifying sources and pro-active in proposing new approaches. Experience in drafting policy papers will be considered an important asset
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment, autonomously and as part of a team

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at

Important Information and Disclaimer

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

The information published on ESA's careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality and Languages

Please note that applications can only be considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will be given to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

• Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.

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