Junior Professionals Programme

The Junior Professionals Programme at ESA is a great way to kick-start your career

Each year, talented junior professionals and recent graduates from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway join our Junior Professionals Programme for an 11-month period. During this time, the Junior Professionals will:

Play an active role in the daily work of the different departments
Gain invaluable hands-on experience by working closely with our dedicated staff
Enjoy the opportunity to live and work in a thriving multicultural environment in Brussels
Gain the chance to get to know the workings of other EEA and EU institutions and participate in important meetings with national authorities in the EEA EFTA States
Enjoy a generous package and benefits

Former Junior Professionals regularly go on to work at ESA, national administrations, prestigious law firms, and international organisations and companies.

We are looking for engaged junior professionals or recent graduates who are nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Exceptionally, in light of the under-representation of Liechtenstein nationals at ESA, other EEA or EFTA nationals who can demonstrate close links with Liechtenstein may also be considered.

You will need to have completed a university degree in a relevant discipline for the position you are applying for, prior to starting the Programme. Strong academic results and an interest or specialisation in EEA/EU affairs or Administration as appropriate are required, as is an excellent command of English, ESA’s working language.

Junior Professionals with a legal background work in one of our three legal Departments: Competition and State Aid, Internal Market Affairs or Legal and Executive Affairs. The Communications Junior Professionals work in ESA's Communication's Team.

From time to time, ESA recruits Junior Professionals from other academic and professional backgrounds, such as Economics, Human Resources and Administration. These positions provide the opportunity to handle a diverse array of tasks.

Typical types of work undertaken include:

Competition and State aid (CSA)

Legal drafting and analysis, as a key member of the CSA team
Assisting in CSA's handling of state aid, antitrust and merger cases
Researching national and EU law
Attending meetings with the European Commission, Member States and National Competition Authorities

Internal Market Affairs Directorate (IMA)

Working with officers on a broad range of Internal Market issues as an integral member of the IMA team
Assisting officers with legal drafting, including formal decisions of ESA
Carrying out research and analysis on both national and EU/EEA legislation
Attending meetings with the European Commission, Member States and EFTA working groups

Legal and Executive Affairs Department (LEA)

The role of Legal and Executive Affairs is to ensure a harmonised approach to case decisions. As a result, the LEA Junior Professional will have the opportunity to work with both CSA and IMA staff as well as their LEA colleagues.

Assisting legal officers with litigation preparatory work
Reviewing draft closure decisions, reasoned opinions, letters of formal notice and correspondence with States and complainants
Conducting research on national and EU legislation
Attending hearings at the EFTA Court and the Court of Justice of the EU
Handling requests for access to documents

Communications

ESA's Communications Team is located within LEA and consists of the Head of Communications and one or two Junior Professionals. This means that the Communications Junior Professionals have the opportunity to take part in the majority of ESA’s communications work. This includes:

Coordinating the drafting and distribution of press releases
Updating ESA's external website, social media and intranet
Handling media outreach
Editing and publishing ESA's Annual Report, brochures and other materials
Organising and delivering presentations about ESA
Handling requests for access to documents
Communicating and coordinating events relating to employer branding

The application process for the Junior Professional Programme normally opens each year in January with a closing date in March. Selected candidates commence the 11-month programme from 1 September.

Further questions regarding the Junior Professionals Programme can be addressed to Catherine Vandeput, HR Officer or Aida Mansour, HR Coordinator.

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