Description

Head of the Earth Surfaces and Interior Section in the Earth and Mission Science Division of the Science, Applications and Climate Department, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes (D/EOP).

Duties

You will report to the Head of the Earth and Mission Science Division in the Science, Applications and Climate Department, and your main tasks and responsibilities will include:

• managing the Earth Surfaces and Interior Section’s team of scientists;
• strategic planning and development of your Section’s work plans and management of the corresponding science activities, including manpower allocation and oversight of activities to address the objectives of the Division, the Department and the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes;
• providing scientific expertise for the development of Earth observation (EO) missions across the Earth surfaces and interior Earth system science domains;
• providing support for the identification and critical review of requirements originating from the EO user community and advice to the Head of Division on the interests and aspirations of the community;
• managing the implementation of the independent peer review of mission ideas or mission concept proposals in response to Agency calls;
• managing the Section’s scientific study support to new mission concepts, preparatory and mission development activities and to in-orbit commissioning to meet research and operational user needs and aspirations;
• managing the scientific support and advice provided by the Section to EO missions in the relevant FutureEO, Earth Watch and Copernicus domains and maintaining the external interface with the European Commission and EUMETSAT in relation to the corresponding mission advisory structures;
• providing mission scientist support to approved mission candidates and projects throughout their preparation, development, commissioning, calibration/validation and operations phases to ensure that the payload and the end-to-end system fulfil the necessary mission requirements;
• communicating research results in connection with ESA’s missions and serving as an ESA ambassador to external scientific organisations and at relevant national and international events, scientific conferences, user consultations and media events;
• managing, supervising and monitoring Section-led external scientific study contracts, KPI reporting and quarterly reporting and ensuring that Section tasks are carried out in accordance with Department objectives and work planning within agreed planning and financial constraints and, if necessary, identifying and proposing corrective measures.

In performing these tasks you will be expected to work closely with the Future Missions and Architecture, Projects, Mission Management and Ground Segment Departments to coordinate delegated activities requiring your Section’s scientific expertise and manpower support.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A PhD in a relevant Earth observation satellite remote sensing based Earth science discipline is required for this post.

Additional requirements

You should have a demonstrated reputation and credibility in the science community, built on experience in performing independent research in a relevant Earth surfaces and interior domain.

You should be familiar with current and future planned concepts and instrumentation under study or implementation within the relevant EOP domains. Particular importance will be attached to your ability to manage a team, your credibility within the Earth observation remote sensing user community and your familiarity with the programmatic outlook in the Earth Explorer, Earth Watch and Copernicus programme domains.

You should have:

• demonstrated potential to manage individuals or a team;
• the ability to organise individual and team activities and ensure a motivating work environment;
• strong leadership capabilities, with proven relationship management and communication skills;
• the ability to drive your team’s performance, developing your people by encouraging learning, delegating responsibility and giving regular, constructive feedback;
• strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills;
• a strong result orientation with the ability to set priorities and present practical solutions both orally and in writing;
• the ability to manage challenging situations proactively and constructively and to be customer-focused.

People management experience is an asset, as is international experience, i.e. outside your home country, as well as experience in diverse functional areas relevant to ESA activities.