Our team and mission

Under the direct authority of the Director of Operations, the Strategy and Transformation Office is responsible for preparing and formulating strategies in collaboration with the Director and the Management Team and providing the Directorate’s overarching coordination function.

The main responsibilities of the Strategy and Transformation Office, which works directly with the Director of Operations are: preparing and formulating strategies in collaboration with the Director and the Operations Directorate (D/OPS) Management Team.

This includes:

• Formulating, communicating and evolving the Directorate’s overall strategy;
• Leading the Directorate’s strategy evolution;
• Establishing and leading the Directorate Innovation Governance e.g. through D/OPS-wide innovation cups;
• Coordinating the strategic planning and implementation of the Directorate Research and Technology (R&T) activities, in close cooperation with the relevant other ESA actors;
• Fostering the development and supporting the establishment of the Directorate’s strategic partnerships;
• Coordinating and fostering cooperation and exchange with academia, other space agencies, and industry;
• Developing the Directorate’s Business Intelligence, by monitoring and analysing the external and internal environment and overlooking the socio-economic impact of the Directorate’s business;
• Managing the Directorate’s governance process with respect to the Mission Operations Infrastructure (the overall system infrastructure that is required to operate space missions);
• Investment and Core Technical Expertise strategic planning and budget management.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will work at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC): the main mission control centre for the European Space Agency (ESA). ESOC’s primary function is to operate unmanned spacecraft on behalf of ESA as well as critical launch and early orbit phases, and is home to the Space Safety Programme. As part of the Strategy Office, you will support key initiatives to enhance the Directorate’s impact, communications, and knowledge management. ESOC is to remain at the forefront of innovation in mission operations and space safety to enable European space industry competitiveness on the global market. As part of the Strategy and Transformation Office, you will contribute to driving key initiatives that foster creativity, collaboration, and the integration of innovative solutions across the Directorate. The following is a list of topics you will be able contribute to during the traineeship. The role will involve coordination within ESOC and beyond on these topics, and has a strong element of content development and curation.

Topic 1: Strategy Implementation

• Socio-Economic Impact Analysis
  • Contribute to the assessment of our socio-economic benefits by supporting data analysis and interpretation, and coordination to ensure data alignment and consistency across projects and initiatives;
• Strategic Communications
  • Assist in formulating and refining comprehensive communication strategies to engage stakeholders effectively;
  • Contribute to strategic event planning such as VIP events for satellite launches;
• Knowledge Management
  • Support the optimisation of knowledge-sharing frameworks to improve accessibility and organisational learning;
  • Help curate and organise content for the Knowledge Management system, ensuring that valuable documents, and resources are easily accessible;
  • Collaborate with internal teams to identify and prioritise knowledge assets that need to be documented or shared;
• Official Documentation Preparation
  • Support the development of high-quality reports and presentations for leadership and key stakeholders;
• Special Projects – Visitor Centre
  • Support the development of a strategic roadmap for the design and implementation of an innovative Visitor Centre at ESOC and other initiatives as required.

Topic 2: Innovation Support

• Innovation Cafés & Idea Generation
  • Assist in organising Innovation Cafés – interactive, informal events designed to spark creative thinking and idea generation across teams at ESOC and externally;
  • Support capturing and sharing the outcomes of Innovation Cafés, ensuring they are followed up;
• Innovation Hub
  • Support the implementation of an Innovation Hub, a space dedicated to fostering collaboration, creativity, and the exchange of ideas;
  • Assist in curating content, organising workshops, and coordinating activities that encourage innovation and collaboration;
• Collaboration with the ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) and Startups
  • Work closely with the ESA BIC to identify promising startups and innovation partners;
  • Support engagement initiatives, such as workshops, or joint projects, between ESOC teams and startups to encourage mutual learning and innovation;
• Innovation Project Support
  • Support ongoing innovation projects by helping to track progress, collect feedback, and document best practices;
  • Help organise internal and external events (e.g., hackathons, demo days) to demonstrate new innovations, encourage engagement, and share successes;
  • Support the ESOC Innovation Management Committee and in prioritising projects and strategic opportunities;
  • Help prepare materials for meetings, document decisions, and track the progress of prioritized initiatives.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master’ s degree in Business Administration or Strategic Management, Economics, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Aerospace Engineering or Space Systems Management.

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.