Internship: Policy and Legal Analysis (EU) — ClimaTrust Europe

Background 

Clima Trust (formerly SLYCAN Trust) is looking for an intern for its office in Bonn, Germany, to provide dedicated analytical capacity to its Europe programme. The intern will engage in work related to policy, research, and knowledge management under the guidance of the ClimaTrust Europe Lead, with a particular focus on monitoring function covering EU climate, environment, energy, industrial and development policy, and produces a linked family of outputs: a standing briefing series analysing the competitiveness turn in the European Green Deal, rapid response notes on individual legislative and enforcement developments, and companion analyses of trade, health and developing-country implications.

Clima Trust is an internationally recognised non-profit think tank working on climate change, sustainable development, finance, security, just transition, entrepreneurship and innovation, biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, and social justice, including gender and youth empowerment. Our work spans the national, regional, and global levels, from policy analysis and evidence-based research to on-the-ground implementation, and includes sustained engagement in the multilateral environmental processes (UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD).

Timeframe

The internship is scheduled for three months starting from early / mid-October 2026 (40 hours/week). 

Duty station and places of travel

The assignment is based in Bonn, Germany, with the option of dividing time between Bonn and Brussels indicatively with up to [40] per cent of working time in Brussels.

Remuneration

The intern will receive an honorarium of EUR 1,000 per month. 

Requirements 

Essential

• An advanced degree in public policy, political science, international relations, European studies, environmental policy, law, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated understanding of the EU policy-making process, including the ordinary legislative procedure, comitology, delegated and implementing acts, and the practical operation of soft law.
• Demonstrated ability to work from primary legal sources with confidence, and the judgement to recognise the limits of that competence.
• Excellent synthesis, analytical and drafting skills, and the ability to produce accurate, well-sourced analysis to deadline. Writing samples will be required.
• Spoken and written fluency in English.
• Entitlement to work in Germany, or eligibility to obtain it.

Desirable

• A formal qualification in EU, environmental or public international law.
• Experience of working with or in Global South institutions, or on trade and development files affecting them.
• Familiarity with multilateral environmental processes and their interaction with EU policy.
• Knowledge of German and/or French.
• Familiarity with the Brussels and/or Bonn policy environments and the actors within them.

Application process 

Interested applicants are requested to send a short application including their CV, a letter of motivation of no more than one page, and one analytical writing sample of no more than 2,500 words on an EU policy subject (sole-authored where possible) to [email protected] (deadline: September 30th, 2026). Please state the vacancy number in the subject line of the email: VA03/D/2026

Further information

For further information and clarifications related to the scope and activities of this consultancy, kindly refer to www.climatrust.org/vacancies/internship-policy-and-legal-analysis-eu or write via email to the address above, and address your query to Cristobal Lopez. Please also specify the vacancy number.