European Defence Agency (EDA) - Trainee Strategic Industrial Analysis

BACKGROUND 

The European Defence Agency (EDA) was established on 12 July 2004, and is governed by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency. The Agency has its headquarters in Brussels.

The main task of EDA is to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the Union's defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as it currently stands and as it develops in the future.

The Agency is structured into four directorates. The Corporate Services Directorate (CSD) and three operational directorates: Industry, Synergies and Enablers (ISE); Capability, Armament & Planning (CAP); Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI). 

THE AGENCY'S WAY OF WORKING 

The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the participating Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all of the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction. 

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE TRAINEESHIP 

The aim of EDA’s traineeship programme is:

• to introduce recent graduates to the professional world and enable them to apply knowledge acquired during their studies, particularly in their specific areas of competence. 
• to create a pool of young people with first-hand understanding of EDA’s mission and activities.
• to enrich the work of EDA with a fresh point of view and up-to-date academic knowledge.
• to promote European integration and create awareness of European citizenship in a multi-cultural and multilingual environment.

While at EDA, trainees will be working side by side with motivated and highly qualified experts coming from the participating Member States and they will have the opportunity to contribute to specific projects within the Agency.

THE INDUSTRY, SYNERGIES AND ENABLERS DIRECTORATE (ISE) 

The Industry Synergies & Enablers (ISE) Directorate supports a range of activities critical to collaborative defence capability development in Europe.

On top of leading the work on identifying together with Member States' Key Strategic Activities (KSA) at EU level, the ISE Directorate is responsible for the effective engagement with industry across the Agency’s activities and in support of related priorities set by Member States.

The ISE Directorate facilitates work to address the implications of EU legislation and policies for the defence sector: REACH, procurement, funding instruments and the analysis of developments influencing governmental and industrial stakeholders. The Directorate is responsible for activities on critical enablers to support defence cooperation and enhance interoperability: military airworthiness, standardisation and certification, defence test & evaluation and education and training. The Directorate provides support to CSDP military and civilian operations and missions and EU Battlegroups.

The Directorate facilitates the coordination of military views from and in support of Member States and the relevant international military organisations in the framework of Single European Sky (SES) and acts as the interface with the EU institutions and related bodies. In the wider context of military aviation, the Directorate supports Member States in their efforts to enable RPAS integration in non-segregated airspace and in harmonising military aviation safety issues using the Total System Approach to Military Aviation.

The ISE Directorate comprises four Units:

• The Industry Strategy & EU Policies (ISP) Unit: engagement of industry in the activities of the Agency, determination of Key Strategic Activities at EU level, defence aspects of EU policies varying from legislation (REACH, procurement) to funding instruments
• The Critical Enablers (CRE) Unit: support defence cooperation and enhance interoperability through the identification, development and maintenance of harmonized safety, certification and standardisation requirements, references to the best practice standards and networking of Defence Test & Evaluation capabilities in all military domains 
• The Single European Sky (SES) Unit: facilitation and coordination of military views in the framework of SES; interface with the EU institutions and related bodies to ensure that Military Aviation will continue to provide and further improve effective security and defence in Europe in the changing context of the civil aviation sector 
• The Operations, Training & Exercises (OTE) Unit: promotion of the use in CSDP operations of all relevant EDA projects & programmes; development and management of contracted solutions to support CSDP operations and Member States; initiation, development and management of training and exercise activities for rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, including RPAS, with a view to transfer these activities to Member States when mature.

THE TRAINEESHIP

The aim of this traineeship is to contribute to the strategic analysis and understanding of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) and the impact of wider EU policies on defence. The trainee will also assist with the Unit’s work on industry engagement, including by providing support to the administration and development of EDA-managed industry-related online tools. The trainee will be part of an integrated and diverse team and will be expected to actively contribute to the overarching objectives of the Unit.

TASKS AND DUTIES 

Under the supervision of a traineeship advisor, the trainee will work with colleagues in the areas of strategic analysis, wider EU policies and industry engagement. More specifically, the trainee will contribute to/be responsible for the following activities:

• contribute to the strategic analysis of the EDTIB within the ISP team by facilitating related qualitative and quantitative analysis. This may include in-depth desk-research on relevant topics to the EDTIB, data collection, as well as the management of databases. These tasks will be carried out in support of other EDA-led tools and frameworks, for example Key Strategic Activities reports (KSAs), the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), Capability Development Priorities (CDP) or the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA), but also for other purposes as they may arise. Particular focus under this task will be given to data collection and management, as well as the improvement and exploitation of existing ISP-managed databases; 
• support the work of the Unit on other topics related to wider EU policies, in particular to the work relating to the EDTIB’s access to finance. This may entail monitoring regulatory developments at EU and Member State (MS) level in the area of sustainable finance, and the overall development of financial markets as regards the defence sector. Additionally, the work will entail supporting the work of the Governmental Expert Network on ESG, in the preparation, execution and follow-up of the meetings organised. Finally, the work will include the promotion and increasing the visibility of EDA’s activities pertaining to this topic;
• additionally, in terms of wider EU policies, the trainee will support the work relating to the Security of Supply and defence procurement; 
• in terms of industry engagement, the trainee will support the organisation of industry events, writing notes and related reference materials. Tasks related to industry engagement will also include supporting the implementation and management of current information sharing tools towards industry (B2B platform, IdentiFunding, Industry Engagement platform);
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

A typical day at work involves the following activities:

• monitoring relevant development and providing analysis of the defence industrial landscape and reporting back to ISP colleagues;
• supporting the drafting and providing input to briefing materials requested internally or from other relevant stakeholders;
• updating and managing internal databases;
• providing maintenance and if relevant, updates, of online tools managed by ISP (e.g. IdentiFunding, B2B Platform);
• supporting the organisation and participating in Unit/EDA meetings and other events (e.g. IF CEED conference);
• contributing to the development of existing tools and providing ideas for areas of possible interest for ISP’s strategic analysis work strand. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

A. Project outputs & learning outcomes

The selected trainee will be involved in tasks central to the current push to heighten EU-readiness and ensure the ability of the EDTIB to support EU defence capability development. The selected trainee will become familiar with and will acquire practical experience in topics central to the EDTIB and the dynamics of the European defence equipment market. Additionally, the trainee will get an understanding of the impact of wider EU policies on defence, including those of sustainable finance and of REACH regulations.

Specifically, the trainee will gain:

• knowledge in the field of work of the Agency, including its interfaces with industry and the work to address the implications of EU legislation and policies for the defence sector;
• knowledge of EDA’s main defence industry stakeholders;
• knowledge of the defence industry landscape and the impact in defence;
• experience in preparation of the EDA participation to defence-related events / exhibitions.

B. Technical / Soft skills to be acquired

From this experience the trainee will gain:

• ability to work in a small team and independently in his/her/their area of responsibility;
• database content management;
• very good organisational and communication skills;
• research and analytical skills;
• quantitative and qualitative data analysis;
• web-tool/database management skills;
• multi-stakeholder relations/management;
• organisation of (international) meetings and events.