Junior Professionals in Delegation (JPD)
Selection round 2023 – Traineeship period 2023-2025
High Level Traineeship Programme in the Delegations of the European Union
Deadline: 31 January 2023 (by midnight, Italian local time)
The European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission (EC) have established a high-level traineeship programme which gives an opportunity to highly qualified junior professionals from the EU Members State to work in the EU Delegations worldwide. The aim of the programme is to enable young people to gain a first-hand experience in the work of Delegations and an in-depth understanding of their role in the implementation of EU external policies.
The JPD programme is based on the:
- Joint Decision JOIN (2017) 22
of 19.06.2017 of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy amending the Joint Decision JOIN (2012) 17 of 12.06.2012 establishing a High Level Traineeship Programme in the Delegations in Partnership with the Member States;
- The Decision ADMIN (2017) 8 of 21.06.2017 of the Director-General of Budget and Administration of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG DEVCO and DG HR of the European Commission on the implementing rules of the high level traineeship programme in the delegations of the European Union in Partnership with the Member States of the European Union amending the Decision EEAS DEC (2014) 002 of 22.01.2014 of the Chief Operating Officer of the EEAS in agreement with the Directors-General of DG DEVCO and DG HR of the European Commission.
- The Decision ADMIN(2021) 14 REV 1 of 29.11.2021 of the Director-General for Resource Management of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA and DG HR of the European Commission amending the Decision ADMIN (2017) 8 of 21.06.2017; the Decision ADMIN(2022) 57 of 03.10.2022 of the Director-General for Resource Management of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA and DG HR of the European Commission amending the Decision ADMIN(2017)8 of 21.06.2017 and the Decision ADMIN(2022) 74 of 14.12.2022 of the Director-General for Resource Management of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA and DG HR of the European Commission amending the Decision ADMIN(2017) 8 of 21.06.2017
Before applying to the JPD, applicants are strongly encouraged to read all documents carefully and to consult all other documents relating to this traineeship programme (for information, visit the EEAS website)
How to apply
- Carefully read ALL documents concerning the JPD Programme and its eligibility criteria. These are available from the EEAS website
- Download the standard Application Form.
- Fill out the Application form and carefully follow all indications provided.
When preparing your application,please take note of paragraph 2.2 of the Decision EEAS DEC (2014) 002 of 22.01.2014. - Print, sign and scan your Application Form.
- Save the application in PDF format on your computer. Please note that the size of this PDF document must not be greater than 3MB.
- Click here to access the online submission form through which you must submit your application.
- Fill out all of the fields requested.
- Upload your Application Form in PDF.
- Carefully review all data entered and press SUBMIT. After submitting your application, an automatic receipt message will be sent to the e-mail address indicated by you in the online submission form.
Candidates can apply only to one of the positions (i.e. EEAS or Commission) under the JPD Programme. Candidates applying to both positions will be disqualified.
Should you wish to withdraw your JPD application, kindly fill out the online form available here.
N.B. Please ensure you have at hand a copy of the “Acknowledge Receipt” email of your original JPD application submission.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Yes, you are eligible but can submit only one application to one Member State. On the Application Form you must indicate this Member State in the section “Citizenship at birth” and include others as appropriate in the section “Other Citizenships”.
You must download the JPD Application Form from the UN/DESA or EEAS website and complete all sections as required. Your application must be signed by hand and must also include the hand-written mention “read and approved”. The finalized Application Form must be submitted via the online tool available on the UN/DESA webpage. It is not possible to submit applications via alternative channels.
No, you must hold by the closing date for applications at least a university degree equivalent to a Master’s degree (see Diploma Annex document).
There is no age limit to apply to the JPD Programme. However as indicated in Section 3.2 of the Joint Decision Document, preference shall be given to candidates with up to four (4) years of professional experience with relevance to the Programme (of which maximum one (1) year with the EEAS, the Commission or another EU institution or body).
There are no specific restrictions mentioned in the University Diploma paragraph of Section 3.1 of the Joint Decision Document, If you have any doubts concerning the validity of advanced degrees awarded by an EU-based university, you may consult the Diplomas Annex document available from the EEAS JPD webpage.
You must refer to the indications provided in Section 2.2 of the Implementing Rules Document. If you wish, you may refer to the list of geographical regions/delegations available from the EEAS webpage EU in the World.
While it is up to your discretion what you indicate as your Preferred Domains of Activities, it is recommend you consult the useful information contained in the ‘Standard Description’ documents available from the links in the WHERE ARE THE CANDIDATES POSTED section of the EEAS webpage.
You should provide the name of your spouse and children (if any) as appropriate, i.e. “familiari a carico”.
No. At this stage, you are not requested to submit any documentation other than the duly completed JPD Application Form.
The Implementing Rules Document makes no specific mention of interviews/written tests. Section 3. Pre-selection and Selection informs that “an evaluation of the eligible pre-selected candidates is organized in principle on the basis of the written applications”.
The last round of the JPD Programme received 1.287 valid applications, of which 720 were for EEAS and 567 for Commission. Once the pre-selection process is concluded, only the pre-selected applicants will be notified. The large volume of applications makes it extremely difficult to provide individual feedback.