Our team and mission

This position is based at the ESA HQ - Paris, France

Under the direct authority of the Director of Strategy, Legal and External Matters, the Special Advisor for Political Affairs will provide advice on political developments relevant to the Agency and on relations with the political stakeholders in Member States, as well as:

• working alongside with the Cabinet of the Director General on developing the Agency’s relations with the parliaments of Member States, including advice on the European Interparliamentary Space Conference (EISC), as well as the International Astronautical Federation’s activities addressing Members of Parliament;
• providing support on European policy matters and relations at European level;
• preparing analyses on political issues and developments relevant to the Agency;
• leading projects, incorporating the appropriate internal units, that are of political relevance to the Agency.

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Supporting the activities of the 50th Anniversary of ESA Convention

The Special Advisor for Political Affairs has been tasked together with a small project team by the Director General to prepare and conduct the 50th Anniversary of the ESA Convention, which was signed on 30 May 1975. The Anniversary will comprise numerous events in ESA Establishments and in Member States as well as cross sectorial activities in the field of history, education and outreach. The kick-off for the preparatory activities happened at ESA Council in June 2024. Activities in the framework of the 50th Anniversary celebrations will take place throughout the year with a main focus on events in the first half of the year and additional activities and communications efforts in the second half of the year. This will be in view of presenting the results from the first half of the year to the Council at Ministerial level in November 2025. 

Your activities will comprise the support of the project team in the second phase of the Anniversary project (3rd quarter of 2025). It will encompass the support to the activities as the preparation and conduct of dedicated workshops but mostly to support translation of the results from the first half of the year events into policy-oriented communications in view of the Council at Ministerial level. 

Your learning areas will on the one hand be a deep dive into the history, the present and the future of ESA and European space activities, learning about the key themes of Europe in space and interconnecting this with the political relevance of space in Europe. On the other hand, you will learn to work in a project-oriented way with a multitude of contacts internally and externally of the Agency. The internship will thus lead to a thorough understanding of ESA as an institution and space as an important policy area for Europe.

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 must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at Master’s level and you need to remain enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

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.

Knowledge and background in the history of ESA and European space policy is an asset.