Trainee (Communicating with young audiences)

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is a decentralised agency of the European Union (EU), located in Amsterdam. It is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the EU.

Traineeship: Communicating with young audiences

About the traineeship programme

The Agency is looking for motivated, qualified recent graduates or students on an Erasmus+ or other programme, or PhD students or Master's students (who possess a previous degree), who are interested in gaining experience and contributing to the Agency’s work for every patient in Europe. The purpose of a traineeship at the Agency is to perform tasks that are predominantly in the interest of the trainee’s training and principally serve to increase the trainee’s knowledge and to gain relevant experience.

Placement description

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is looking for a trainee in the Digital Communication Office.

Specific objectives and projects

The European Medicines Agency works to protect public health across the European Union by evaluating and monitoring medicines. Communicating this work in a clear and engaging way is essential, especially for younger audiences who increasingly rely on social media to understand health topics. The Digital Communication Service is developing new approaches to reach these audiences with accessible, trustworthy and creative content.

Project description

The trainee will contribute to a dedicated project aimed at strengthening the Agency’s connection with younger Europeans. The main output of the project will be a series of social-media-ready content pieces that explain the Agency’s mission, key initiatives and values in a format that resonates with younger audiences. This traineeship offers the opportunity to take part in the strategic development of youth-focused communication, from concept to content creation and performance analysis. It is well suited for graduates interested in digital communication, public health, storytelling and audience engagement.

Main activities

• Contributing to the design of a youth engagement programme, including proposing content ideas, formats and approaches that appeal to younger audiences across the European Union.
• Developing creative, youth-friendly content for platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, following an editorial plan and adapting complex topics into accessible formats.
• Contributing to the development of multimedia materials, such as short videos, visual explainers and other formats suited to younger users.
• Contributing to collaboration with health content creators, helping identify opportunities to reach harder-to-reach audiences through partnerships and multipliers.
• Monitoring and analysing social media performance, contributing to reports that track trends, audience behaviour and online conversations relevant to the Agency’s work.
• Participating in strategic discussions on how to strengthen the Agency’s presence among younger audiences and how to communicate scientific and health-related topics in an engaging way that helps build trust.
• Working with colleagues to create engaging content for young audiences across channels, including the corporate website.

Learning outcomes

This traineeship offers hands‑on experience in digital communication within an international public service environment. The trainee will gain insight into how public health information is communicated to diverse audiences across Europe.

By the end of the traineeship, the trainee will:

• Understand how digital communication works in an international public organisation, including planning, coordination and evaluation processes.
• Gain insight into the role of social media in institutional communication, and how different platforms serve different audiences.
• Learn the principles of science and health communication, including how to translate complex information into clear and engaging messages.
• Experience working with content creators and other multipliers, and understand how partnerships can expand outreach.
• Develop skills in social listening and audience analysis, learning how to extract insights from online conversations.
• Build experience in producing targeted content, especially for younger audiences and in multimedia formats.
• Strengthen video and visual storytelling skills, from concept development to production.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for consideration for this placement, you are required to:

1. Enjoy full rights as a citizen of a European Union Member State or Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway.
2. Possess a university degree in Journalism, communication, science communication or related (minimum of three years or more) that must have been obtained between 6 May 2025 and 6 May 2026 or be a university student on an Erasmus+ or a similar programme or a PhD student or a Master's student with a previous fully finished degree in the areas mentioned before.
3. A thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1) and good knowledge of other official EU language (at least B2) of the Common European Framework for Languages.

Additional skills

• Ideally videography and video editing
• Visual design

Behavioural competencies

You will demonstrate the following behavioural competencies:

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Working with others
• Adaptability
• Research and analytical skills
• Learning and development

Conditions of traineeship

The traineeship is offered for 10 months (1 October 2026 – 31 July 2027) and takes place at the Agency’s premises in Amsterdam with possibility for teleworking up to 40% of working time from The Netherlands and occasional teleworking from outside The Netherlands. Traineeships are offered for either full-time or part-time (80% or 50%) if combined with university studies.

The Agency pays a monthly stipend of €2,049.77 for a full-time traineeship (reduced accordingly for 80% or 50%) and a travel contribution upon joining the Agency.

Each trainee will have a mentor at the Agency who will guide the trainee through the programme.

Who we are

Serving a population of 500 million citizens, we promote and protect public animal health in EU Member States, as well as the countries of the European Economic Area, by ensuring that all medicines available on the EU market are safe, effective and of high quality.

What we offer

• Meaningful work contributing to protecting the health of every individual and animal in Europe within a multinational, multidisciplinary team
• Development opportunities (e.g. internal mobility, mentoring, peer coaching, career reflection programme, etc.)
• Work-life balance (flexible working arrangements, teleworking, generous annual leave plus official holidays)