Compliance and Procurement Unit

As the voice of citizens, the European Parliament stands for European democracy. The Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) amplifies its message of the Parliament to reach every corner of Europe. We help connect Members of Parliament to the people they represent, and we communicate what the Parliament is, what it does, and what it stands for. When Parliament speaks, we make sure it’s heard.

We are committed communication professionals coming from various professional and academic backgrounds.

The Compliance and Procurement Unit (CPU) provides legal advice to authorizing officers in all possible matters related to the implementation of their budget with procurement procedures and grants. This includes assistance in Intellectual Property Law. The role of our unit is finding the right legal instruments enabling DG COMM (directly or through different actors) pursuing this objective. Concretely, our unit looks for and checks the financial instruments that the European Parliament put at the disposal of different actors for communicating and disseminating on the EU project.  

The Compliance and Procurement Unit (CPU) contributes to the internal control environment of the DG ensuring the ex-ante control of legal commitments and the implementation of ex-post controls. The Compliance and Procurement Unit (CPU) guarantees the document management of contractual documents and assists other services of the DG in these matters.  

Our daily works involve forecasting the needs of DG COMM in terms of communication and translating these needs into concrete legal and financial instruments. We closely cooperate with the other European Institutions in order to streamline the methods for the implementation of the different budgets, find economies of scale, pool resources and maintain strategic approach to procurement and grants in the area of communication.   

We are looking for a trainee able to help us analyse the above-mentioned needs. 

Concretely, (s)he will be part of CPU dealing with procurement, contract, intellectual property law and grants in the field of communication.  

The assigned tasks will mainly be the following:

• Assisting the team in matters related to procurement and intellectual property rights (e.g. legal research, drafting legal opinions and analysis, writing of internal guidelines, etc.);
• Supporting the team and the unit in administrative matters (e.g. organisation of trainings sessions, creation of presentations, updating webpages, etc.);
• Assisting the team in launching of calls for proposals, organising the evaluation process, answering legal and financial questions, including amendments and resolution of other contractual queries;
• Supporting the team in assisting applicants and beneficiaries on legal and financial issues relating to calls for proposals and/or grant agreements;
• Compiling, checking and analysing data.    

You have:   

• Obtained or will obtain a university degree (level 6 of EQF or higher) at least three months before the starting date of the traineeship in the domains of Law or Public Administration (a Masters' degree is a plus);
• Excellent command of English; 
• Basic knowledge of grant procedures;
• Knowledge of public procurement and/or of intellectual property law;
• Excellent organisational skills and sense of responsibility;  
• A proactive approach and a strong sense of initiative;
• Proven drafting and communication skills.    

The following skills would be an asset:  

• Good command of French and good writing skills;
• Previous experience or specialisation in public procurement;
• Previous experience or specialisation in intellectual property law;
• Previous experience or specialization in grants procedure (i.e. experience in managing projects, experience in grant management);
• Worked with databases and Excel tables;
• Interest in and/or experiences in communication policies and methods;
• Service mindedness in direct contact with the public at large.    

The European Parliament is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We welcome all candidates, regardless of their geographical, racial or ethnic origin, political or religious beliefs, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, civil status, or family situation.