EPP Group is looking for a Trainee Generalist

About us

The Group of the European People's Party (EPP Group) is the largest political group in the European Parliament. It brings together centre and centre-right pro-European political forces from the Member States of the EU, coming together to advance the goal of a more competitive and democratic Europe, closer to its citizens, and a social market economy. Its multinational Secretariat provides political, administrative and technical support to its MEPs.

What we offer?

The EPP Group’s traineeship programme offers an excellent opportunity to university graduates and undergraduate students to gain experience and practical knowledge of working in an international, multilingual and multi-cultural environment of the EPP Group and the European Parliament. We offer the following types of traineeships in our Secretariat in Brussels (Belgium):

• Option 1) 5 months full-time (40hrs/week) paid traineeship for graduates

• Option 2) maximum 3 months full-time (40hrs/week) unpaid traineeship for undergraduates

Compensation and Benefits

• monthly allowance of 1.500 EUR to cover living costs in Brussels for graduates;

• reimbursement of mission costs (travel and accommodation) to attend one plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg;

• sickness and accident insurance.

When?

Approximate timetable

Spring Traineeship starting in February:

Deadline for the application - 15 November 2024, 12:00 CET.

What will you do?

You will be assigned to one of the Directorates and actively contribute to its daily political and administrative work. One of our experienced supervisors will follow your work and guide you in all assigned tasks and projects during your traineeship. The nature of your duties will depend on the specific Directorate to which you will be assigned:

Directorate

Press Directorate

• Daily monitoring and preparation of the press reviews on the national and European press

• Editing of the weekly highlights

• Research and media monitoring of EU hot topics

• Following the European Commission midday briefing and report on it

• Following speeches on plenary sessions and preparing draft press releases

• Drafting main messages for topics in related to the legislative work;

• Drafting the EPP Group highlights for topics foreseen relevant in the coming week

• Drafting suggestions of tweets

• Following of the relevant meetings and writing minutes/briefings;

• Assisting in the organisation of the press conferences and media events

• Proof readings, translations

Campaigns Directorate

• Researching market options, providing recommendations for service providers, assisting in drawing up tendering procedures

• Preparing concepts for photoshoots to support Communication Campaigns

• Researching, drafting prefaces and proof reading Group Publications in English

• Providing administrative support to the Events, Protocol, Publications and Programmes Unit team of the EPP Group

• Attending weekly Events Unit, Press Directorate and Group forward planning meetings

Outreach Directorate

• Assisting in preparation of topical meetings with Members of the national Parliaments, Summits of EPP Group Chairs, Young Members Network, Erasmus for EPP Parliamentarians, SME Circle, Committee meetings

• Drafting notes and minutes from meetings, events and conferences

• Contact with MEPs' offices in relation to the Directorate’s activities

• Preparation of briefings, background research

• Assisting in the organisation of thematic events

• Assisting in preparation of publications, reports and newsletters

Presidency and Chairman’s Cabinet Directorate

• Writing notes on European policy issues

• Carrying out background research for speeches, articles and briefings

• Support in organization of external bureau meetings and EPP Group Academy events

• Monitoring of opinion polls

• Research and support in analysis of political documents

• Participation in relevant meetings of the European Parliament, other European Institutions and stakeholders

Parliamentary Work Directorate

• Assisting in legislative work: drafting amendments, analysing reports, preparing comments on draft compromises, preparing committee and plenary voting lists

• Assisting in committee coordination: checking members attendance committee votes, coordinating members speaking slots, supporting liaison and coordination with the Committee Secretariat and the Coordinator’s office, preparing preparatory meetings

• Taking minutes of Coordinators’ meetings

• Drafting comments on the items to be voted at the next plenary session, ahead the Group week

• Writing summaries of EC proposals, minutes of internal meetings, attending stakeholders’ events

External Policies Directorate

• Attending the committee and Inter-parliamentary Delegations’ meetings, drafting minutes and reporting to the supervisor

• Monitoring parliamentary activities, perform background research, attend the events, draft briefings and speaking points related to the work of the assigned Committee and Delegation;

• Assisting with drafting and preparation of the Committee reports, amendments and urgency resolutions

• Assisting with preparation and follow-up plenary discussions on matters related to the WG Foreign Policies

Internal Organisation

• Drafting minutes, briefing notes and other documents

• Preparing statistics reports on various topics linked to the activity of the unit

• Assisting the ICT systems administrators in maintaining the Group’s Intranet, Website, internal databases

• Assisting in preparation of financial statements and analysis

• Contributing to the realisation of the work assigned to the unit

Who can apply?

Table 1: Admission Requirements

Option 1) Paid Traineeship

• are a national of a Member State of the EU or of an associated or candidate country;

• have a very good knowledge (at least CEFR B2 level) of two official EU languages, one of which should be English, French or German (EU citizens) OR have a very good knowledge of English language (non-EU citizens);

• have not been granted a paid traineeship in the EU Institutions/MEP Office or not have already been in gainful employment after the completion of their studies;

• have a university degree or have completed three years of study (at least six semesters) at a university or an equivalent institute of higher education;

Option 2) Unpaid Traineeship

• if not having a university degree, or not having completed three years of study (at least six semesters) at a university or an equivalent institute of higher education, candidates must provide an attestation from the university stating that a traineeship is required in the framework of the studies and its required length.

How to apply?

Table 2: Admission Documents

• complete the online application form available on the EPP Group’s Traineeships page in English;

• upload a Europass CV in English;

• upload a one page pdf document in English answering to the following questions:

• Why have you chosen this traineeship in the EPP Group?

• Why do you apply to the specific Directorate/Unit? (Your answers must be in Times New Roman font, size 12 and contain maximum 250 words per question);

• upload following supporting documents as a single PDF file including:

• letter of recommendation from a university professor;

• documents proving the knowledge of the languages (certificates or diplomas);

• ID card or Passport;

• (optional) letter of recommendation from a political figure (local, national or European) belonging to the EPP family;

• university studies diploma(s) OR a certificate proving that you completed at least six semesters at a university;

• an attestation from the university stating that a traineeship is compulsory within the framework of the studies and its required length (maximum 3 months).

Qualified candidates with technical, HR and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) backgrounds are welcomed.

We wish specifically to encourage qualified candidates with disabilities to apply for the traineeship.

CANDIDATES WHO DO NOT MEET ALL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS OR FAIL TO UPLOAD ADMISSION DOCUMENTS WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE ELIMINATED FROM THE SELECTION PROCEDURE.

Candidates can apply only for one of the currently open Calls for Interest for trainees. In case of multiple applications, your application to the Trainee Generalist Call will be disregarded.

Please note that your selected option of the Directorate in which you would like to undertake your traineeship does not constitute an automatic placement. The final decision lies with the Selection Committee while taking into account the availability of the traineeship positions and the Group´s needs.

Only in case of technical problems you can contact the Human Resources Unit of the EPP Group by email epp-stages@europarl.europa.eu.

You applied and what is next?

We will contact you as soon as possible to inform you about the admission to the traineeship, based on the above-mentioned criteria. Here is an indicative timeline of the traineeship selection procedure.

Equal Opportunities

The EPP Group is an equal opportunities employer that is committed to diversity and to creating inclusive working environment. We encourage applications from qualified women and men who fulfil the job requirements, regardless of their age, race, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, sexual identity or any other characteristic.

Personal Data

The EPP Group ensures that applicants' personal data are processed in line with Regulation (EU) 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, particularly as regards their confidentiality and security and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC.