Secretariat of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural development

The Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (DG IPOL) is responsible for organising the work of the Parliament’s committees dealing with the EU’s internal policies, and for assisting Members in the exercise of the legislative, budgetary and oversight powers conferred upon the European Parliament.

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural development (AGRI) Committee is responsible for the development of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), including the activities of the relevant financial instruments. The committee also has competence over quality policy for agricultural products, veterinary and plant health, animal feeding, animal husbandry and welfare, forestry and supplies of agricultural raw materials, as well as on Trade agreements.

The Secretariat provides the necessary administrative assistance to the Chair and all Members of the Committee. The main activities consist of providing MEPs with written and oral assistance on files, organising the work of the committee (agenda, minutes, inter-institutional contact, etc.), carrying out procedural tasks in line with parliamentarian activities, preparing hearings and workshops, drafting briefing notes, organising missions and taking part in various working parties. We are a unit of approx. 19 colleagues, often working independently but within the context of a high team spirit. We are looking for a trainee to assist with the main tasks of the Secretariat.

We offer the opportunity to integrate into a very dynamic, inclusive, supportive and motivated team, working in a challenging but interesting and highly political environment.

The tasks to be performed are linked to the legislative process on the one hand, and the preparation of the new legislative term, on the other hand. The work also includes providing technical, legal and scientific support to the administrators responsible for a specific file.

The trainee may also be invited to contribute to the preparation of, or participation in, various meetings at different levels (eg. Comitology meetings). The job provides some visibility, as it may entail interaction with other administrative services within the Parliament’s Secretariat, MEPs and political groups.

We seek a dynamic, highly motivated colleague with excellent interpersonal skills, a basic knowledge of (or at least a genuine interest in) agricultural policy in all its dimensions, agronomy, veterinary field and all other relevant background.

A natural science and/or agricultural, agronomic, veterinary background or experience would be an asset. In addition, very good critical thinking and judgement, as well as good drafting skills in English, and possibly French, are required; other languages would constitute an asset.

The candidate should have:

• Very good analytical skills with an eye for detail that would allow him/her to grasp complex technical and legal issues;
• Very good sense of initiative and be able to autonomously seek for information and backgrounds;
• Very good organisational skills and a resilience to work under pressure and to adapt to variable/flexible pace and hours of work;
• Very good oral and written communication skills, in order to communicate efficiently with internal and external stakeholders;
• Fair knowledge of the EU legislative system and Institutions.

A personal, creative and well-structured motivation lettre will constitute a key element of the selection. Full artificial intelligence (AI) generated letters will be disregarded, as impersonal or standard letters.