The European Defence Agency - Trainee EU SatCom Market

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 

EDA’s traineeship programme is addressed to university graduates, including those who, in the framework of lifelong learning, have recently obtained a university diploma and are at the beginning of a new professional career.

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 

This traineeship will support the activities of the Operations, Training and Exercises Unit (OT&E), with a focus on the EU SatCom Market and Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) programmes.

The EU SatCom Market (ESM) goals are:

• pooling the demand to provide cost-effective commercial Satellite Communications (SatCom) and Communications & Information System (CIS) solutions for contributing members (i.e. EDA Member States, CSDP operations and missions, EU bodies);
• to reduce costs and ease access to SatCom capabilities and improve operational efficiency for contributing members (see ESM factsheet: https://eda.europa.eu/what-we-do/all-activities/activities-search/eu-satcom-market).

This EDA joint procurement project constitutes an efficient pay-per-use solution that does not impose any binding financial commitments beyond services requested. It is quick and flexible, reducing the administrative burden for members who do not have to run their own tender processes since they can rely on EDA framework contracts (FWCs). EDA administers the project and manages the tender process and all FWCs.

The GOVSATCOM Pooling and Sharing Demonstration project (GSC DEMO) goals are:

• to provide EDA Member States and European CSDP actors with access to reliable, secure and cost-effective GOVSATCOM capabilities based on existing, pooled, governmental SATCOM resources provided by EDA Member States;
• to demonstrate the benefits of a Pooling and Sharing collaborative model (see GOVSATCOM factsheet: https://eda.europa.eu/docs/default-source/brochures/2022-01-05-factsheet-govsatcom4adabb3fa4d264cfa776ff000087ef0f.pdf). 

On behalf of the contributing members, EDA manages the project arrangement, order requests, invoicing, etc. Through this, EDA brings a clear added value both to contributing members and EU defence. 

TASKS AND DUTIES 

Under the supervision of a traineeship advisor and the Project Officer in charge, the trainee will work in close contact/cooperation with project members and other stakeholders, undertaking the following tasks:

• the processing, ordering and follow up of specific contracts (order requests) for satellite communications, CIS and GOVSATCOM services within the scope of the established FWCs;
• the preparation and evaluation of new Framework Contracts for Satellite Communications and Communication & Information System (CIS) services;
• the administration of financial processes, e.g. calls for contributions, invoices and payments;
• the set-up, execution and follow-up of meetings with project members and industry;
• participation at SatCom meetings and conferences;
• updating and developing the projects’ websites, shared web-based workspace, factsheets including the project’s IT tool for ordering SatCom services;
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

A typical day at work includes the following activities:

• performing administrative contractual work (e.g. assessing offers and assuring allocation of funds for those services, in close contact with the project members and other stakeholders) and participating in meetings with different stakeholders to follow up on services and programme execution;
• managing and following up of financial activities including calls for contributions, invoices and payments for the projects; 
• keeping the project’s data updated on various websites, including in the projects’ IT tools; 
• ensuring coordination and communication with EU Member States, Civilian and Military Missions actors, and contractors on the management of the projects and their activities;
• assisting in the planning and coordination of meetings, workshops, conferences, and other events, including to the preparation of materials and the drafting of accurate meeting minutes.

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

A. Project outputs & learning outcomes

The selected trainee will be involved in many meetings at EU level with Member State representatives and SATCOM/CIS industry and will become familiar with and will acquire practical experience and knowledge in:

• project management of a major joint defence procurement project at EU level that includes liaising with a wide variety of stakeholders (Member States, EU bodies, CSDP operations and missions and industry);
• management of large FWCs and specific contracts for provision of SatCom and CIS services including computer networks, terrestrial and satellite communications solutions with related services; 
• financial management of a large defence joint procurement project;
• information/data management and IT-platform development;
• commercial and technical dialogue with SatCom/CIS defence industry suppliers;
• meeting/event organisation and multi-stakeholder relations/management;
• project promotion and marketing, gaining hands-on experience in strategies to increase the visibility and impact of major projects.

B. Technical / Soft skills to be acquired

The trainee will acquire the following skills:

• ability to work effectively in a team and independently in his/her/their area of responsibility in a multinational/multicultural and complex environment; 
• accuracy and attention to detail; 
• flexibility and ability to communicate with different stakeholders (e.g. government, military, and industry); 
• analytical and report-writing skills; 
• understanding of project management principles and practices, including result-oriented planning and project management IT tools; 
• understanding of information management and financial management principles;
• a good understanding of multinational governmental programmes and joint procurement;
• awareness of commercially and governmental available Satellite Communication and CIS services.