ESA Graduate Trainee in Public International Law

Our team and mission

ESA’s Legal Services Department provides a broad range of legal services and advice to support the implementation of ESA’s activities and programmes. Our expertise spans a variety of legal disciplines including, but not limited to, public international law, European law, the national law of ESA’s Member States, the law of international civil servants, litigation and arbitration, intellectual property law and export control regulations. As an ESA Graduate Trainee, you will support a team of highly motivated and skilled lawyers in an inspirational, interdisciplinary and multicultural environment.

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

The fulfilment of ESA’s purpose relies primarily on various forms of international cooperation, between Member States as much as with international organisations and institutions and with governments, organisations and institutions of non-member States. Current developments in the space sector and, more generally, on the geopolitical level bring many challenges about and shed new light on the importance of international law, the effectiveness of mechanisms of international cooperation, regional and global cooperation, safety and security, but also the entry of new non-State actors as drivers of the new space age. The success of ESA as a mechanism and an actor of international cooperation builds on an elaborated legal framework, requires the conception, negotiation and implementation of legal instruments (such as, for example, international cooperative agreements, new partnership models or modern procurement methods) and regularly brings new legal questions about.

As an ESA Graduate Trainee, you will report to the Head of the New Initiatives and Commercialisation Division and support the Division, as well as the Legal Services Department at large, in the field of Public International Law, Commercialisation Initiatives, Space Operations, ESA institutional matters. You will discover the legal architectures of the Agency’s institutional relationships with different actors, get acquainted with ESA’s programmes and activities, conduct background research in contemporary legal areas relevant to the mission of the Department, including in UN matters, commercialisation and space sector regulation, contribute to the development of legal instruments of cooperation and can network with colleagues across the Agency. 

You will provide:

• legal support to the development and implementation of ESA’s cooperation with international partners, including governments of non-member states, international organisations and NewSpace actors;
• legal support to the Agency’s programmes and boards and committees within the terms of the Public International Law Division and New Initiatives and Commercialisation Division;
• research in fields of public international law and adjacent fields relevant to the programmes and activities of ESA;
• research and drafting of legal documents in other areas relevant to the work of the Division and the Legal Services Department at large.

Technical competencies

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 should have recently completed or be in the final year of your master’s degree in law, with a focus on public international law.

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.