Head of the Space Safety Programme Office

Description

Head of the Space Safety Programme Office in the Directorate of Operations.

Duties

You will report to the Director of Operations and your responsibilities will be to:

• Form part of the OPS Management Team and, as such, contribute to implementing the overall Directorate strategy and related change process;
• Manage the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Programme and related third-party projects (e.g. S3T);
• Manage the Space Safety Programme;
• Manage the work to be performed under the SSA Contribution Agreement with the EC;
• Lead the further evolution of the programmes in close coordination with participating States, maintain user requirements, and liaise with the study programmes;
• Manage the resources delegated to the Space Safety Programme Office, including staff, budgets, industrial contracts and legal agreements;
• Provide frequency management and space debris services for ESA;
• Evolve ESA’s technical competence, outreach and strategic leadership in the following areas:
  • Space weather
  • Space debris
  • Near-Earth objects
  • Clean Space
  • Frequency management.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

Education

You should have a master’s degree in engineering or sciences.

Additional requirements

• Proven experience in managing projects and large units;
• At least two years of working practice in managing ESA programmes;
• First-hand knowledge of Space Safety activities in Europe and a good appreciation of the European and international political contexts in such matters;
• Experience of managing managers and distributed teams on multiple sites;
• A solid standing and recognition within the international Space Safety community, ESA’s partners and media are considered an asset.

As a general requirement for any position at managerial level at ESA, you are expected to have:

• proven experience of leading, motivating and developing a team
• the ability to provide strategic direction to the individuals and teams within the Department and related team objectives to the overall, evolving organisational goals and context
• the ability to drive performance and foster cooperation within and across teams throughout the organisation
• demonstrated excellent leadership, relationship management and communication skills, both oral and written
• a proven track record in representing the Agency’s interests to external interfaces
• excellent cognitive, analytical, delegation, planning and organisational skills
• the ability to anticipate problems, solve complex issues and relate situations to their context
• the ability to reach solution-oriented, pragmatic and timely decisions of high standard and integrity, and to support others (team members, upper management, other stakeholders) in this process.

Previous experience of managing managers and multiple teams, as well as experience outside your home country and in diverse functional areas relevant to the activities of ESA, is an asset.