Budget and Verification Unit

The Directorate-General for Finance, hereinafter DG FINS, is responsible for Parliament’s budgetary and financial management. Based in both Luxembourg and Brussels, it draws up Parliament's budget, keeps Parliament’s accounts and prepares its financial statements, manages Members' allowances and entitlements, and finances Parliament’s political groups, as well as political parties and foundations at European level. DG FINS consists of three Directorates, 17 Units and the Central Secretariat. DG FINS plays a key and varied role in Parliament’s administration and is a trusted interlocutor for Members and political authorities. Joining DG FINS as a trainee will certainly boost your career. We value diversity, promote equal opportunities, and foster inclusion. 

The Budget and Verification Unit is based in Luxembourg. The Unit is directly attached to the Director-General and includes sixteen colleagues, all based in Luxembourg. The Unit is responsible for four main areas: 

• It coordinates the budgetary tasks for the DG, such as the preparation of the budget and the follow-up throughout the budgetary cycle. Its direct clients encompass therefore the whole of DG FINS;
• The financial ex ante verification sector is mainly in charge of the verification of over 2 500 financial transactions per year, i.e. a review to ensure the legality and regularity of operations in accordance with the Financial Regulation;
• The ex post verification of the expenditure (i.e. small audits), based on the multiannual work programme established after a risk assessment. It is also responsible for the assessment of internal management controls of DG FINS, such as the implementation of control standards on risk assessment and on ethical values;
• The procurement sector is in charge of initiating and follow-up of all tender procedures of DG FINS. The main tasks of this sector are the preparation of procurement documents and the coordination of all procurement procedures.

The trainee collaborates mainly in two sectors: financial ex post verification/ internal controls and public procurement.

During your internship in the ex post verification/ internal controls sector you will participate in ex post verification work carried out in accordance with standard audit methodology (planning the work, implementing and documenting checks, validating and reporting the findings). Depending on the situation and interests, you may be involved ad hoc in other work for which the Unit is responsible (e.g., review of the internal control framework, specific ex ante verification tasks).

In the procurement sector, you will contribute to the drafting of tender specifications and the follow-up of at least one complete procurement procedure. You will also be able to follow the procurement procedure from the initial publication of a tender on the Official Journal of the European Union. You will check the details of the tender documents and you will contribute in all the process of the official procedures.

• You are a dynamic, curious, open-minded, methodical and rigorous candidate who would like to learn about the financial and legal aspects of the work in the European Parliament’s administration;
• You are ready to be part of our team for five months, composed of colleagues of diverse nationalities driven by their love of figures and correct accounts, while learning about the operation of a large, international administrative organisation;
• You are graduated in Business Management/Accounting/Finance and considering a future career in auditing/accounting. Background in the financial or the legal field would be an asset;
• A good knowledge of English and/or French is required as these are our internal working languages.