We offer:

Traineeships of up to 6  months within the following sections of the EU Delegation to Serbia, starting in October 2023:

• Traineeship in the Political Section (POL):

The Political Section is responsible for following political relations between the EU and the Republic of Serbia.  It monitors elements related to political criteria of the accession negotiations, the area of rule of law, fundamental rights and follows Serbia's foreign policy. Its main interlocutors are government officials, members of the parliament, politicians, academic institutions/think tanks, civil society leaders, and foreign diplomats. The Section is headed by a Head of Section and consists of a team of six people.

Main tasks:

• Short translations and summaries of incoming mail for the political section;
• Researching and preparing necessary background material on various political, legal and rule of law related matters  and assisting in monitoring and reporting on Serbia’s progress in meeting criteria of the accession negotiations, particularly related to Chapters 23 and 24;
• Organising events and related logistics;
• Attending events, conferences, meetings, taking notes and reporting back;
• Drafting invitations, replies to letters, minutes and reports from meetings;
• Summarising official documents, articles, opinion polls etc;
• Table and power point presentations on political and legal topics;
• Filling in for ad hoc and urgent requests;
• Compiling and contributing to briefings and reports;
• Creating contact lists, mailing lists and keeping them up to date.

Qualifications or special requirements (POL):

• University degree in political sciences, social studies or law; 
• Fluent in English and Serbian both written and spoken (important to be able to have good understanding of topics in the local language);
• Good knowledge of the EU commitments and understanding of the political developments and the European integration process in Serbia;
• Good analytical skills and capacity to formulate these in a structured manner;
• Ability and willingness to work in an international environment;
• Ability to deliver good quality work output in tight deadlines;
• Computer literate with practical experience in Microsoft packages;
• Initiative, flexibility, good organisational skills and ability to work in a team is an advantage.

• Traineeship in the Cooperation Section (COOP):

Main tasks:

• Support to the Head of Cooperation and the team in relation to the programming, monitoring and evaluation of pre-accession funds (IPA III), including assistance with document management, reporting, internal and external communication, information provision and research.
•  Support for data processing in database of programmed / ongoing contracts.
• Support implementation of Civil Society Facility, the EU Delegation’s flagship programme for civil society – tasks will include participating to external meetings,  reporting, supporting collection of information and update of tables / databases.
•  Tasks related to the monitoring of grants' implementation within Belgrade.

Qualifications or special requirements (COOP):

• Minimum Bachelor degree in a discipline relevant to financial cooperation;
• Sound drafting and communication skills;
• Fluency in English language, with Serbian language an asset;
• Computer literate with practical experience in Microsoft packages;
• Ability and willingness to work in an international environment;
• Ability to deliver good quality work output in tight deadlines;
• Interest in Serbia's accession process and in related financial cooperation activities;
• Initiative, flexibility, good organisational skills and ability to work in a team is an advantage.

• Traineeship in the Operations 1 Section (OPS 1):

Main tasks:

• Support to the work of the Operations 1 Section, including for the programming and implementation of the financial assistance  
• Researching and compiling documentation, drafting reports and analysis, preparing briefings and answering queries related to the work of the section (justice, home affairs, social inclusion);
• Organising, attending and reporting from relevant events (conferences, meetings, round tables).

Qualifications or special requirements (OPS 1):

• Minimum Bachelor degree, preferably in law, political or social science;
• Sound drafting and communication skills;
• Fluency in English and Serbian language;
• Good understanding of the Rule of law sector in Serbia, including policies and priorities under the Chapters 23 and 24, in particular fundamental rights.

• Traineeship in the Operations 2 Section (OPS 2):

The Operations 2 section is responsible for the areas of Public Administration Reform, Public Finance Management, Private Sector Development, Innovation and Research, Education, Decentralization and local development. Work focuses on policy dialogue, monitoring of policy developments, identification and formulation of projects, management and monitoring of projects, coordination with national and international stakeholders, communication and public diplomacy etc. The intern will support the work of the section and report to the Head of section.

Main tasks:

• Contribute to the analysis of sector policies, laws and regulations
• Participate in sector related public or project event and draft summaries of meetings
• Contribute to the identification and formulation of new projects
• Support Project Managers in the management of projects
• Contribute to sector related knowledge management activities
• Contribute to outreach and communication activities

Qualifications or special requirements (OPS 2):

• Minimum Bachelor Degree, preferably in social sciences
• Good analytical skills
• Ability to fluently communicate in English, both in writing and speaking
• Previous experience in working in international organizations and/or project management is considered an asset;
• Previous working experiences in one of the above sectorial areas is considered as an asset;
• Good team player and communicator.

How to apply?

Candidates must apply to the e-mail address DELEGATION-SERBIA-ADMINISTRATION@eeas.europa.eu  and send the following documents:

• A detailed standard Europass curriculum vitae (CV) https://europa.eu/europass/en (CVs in other format will not be considered)
• a cover letter describing why you want to participate in a EU traineeship
• and an application form

Please mention in the subject of your e-mail: Funded Traineeship - POL/COOP/OPS 1/OPS 2 (you may only apply to 1 traineeship per delegation, however based on your profile, the delegation could offer you a traineeship in another section).

Important information to read before applying

Before applying you are requested to examine the dedicated website as well as the general eligibility criteria for a paid traineeship (Article 8 of the Decision ADMIN(2017)28 – Paid traineeship)

Each selected trainee will receive a monthly grant to cover living expenses. All costs related to travels, visa, insurance, accommodation must be borne by the trainee.

Applications from non-eligible candidates will not be considered. After the evaluation of all applications, shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited for an interview. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified by email. In case the selected candidate is not able to present the required documents, his/her candidacy will be rejected.

The traineeships can only be offered in compliance with the local legislation as well as the legislation of the country of origin.

Citizens from EU Member states:

• must provide proof that they will be covered against the risk of a pandemic and the costs of repatriation;
• must undertake to apply for a relevant entrance visa and / or temporary residence permit where applicable,  based on the traineeship agreement, the duration of the traineeship, and in compliance with the local legislation.

The Delegation informs that even if our Headquarters confirm the eligibility of the selected candidate, traineeships could be postponed, suspended or even cancelled considering the context of the COVID-19 in the host country as well as in the country of origin where applicable.