Description

You will report to the Head of the Science, Applications & Climate Department, and are responsible for developing EO-based green solutions serving science, policy, industrial competitiveness and society at large.

You will do that by engaging scientific, public and commercial-sector user communities and stakeholders, identifying their needs, implementing solutions and projects to address those needs. You will progressively transfer results from research to operational solutions. You build up new scientific and end-user communities and work with them in targeted R&D activities, ranging from open science up to pre-commercial applications development (in coordination with Φ-lab), to advance Earth system knowledge, maximise the impact in society and to underpin the definition of future EO systems. In close coordination with the other divisions, you foster the development and use of state-of-the-art digital technologies in such green solutions. The focus is on open software and standards that have the potential to significantly enlarge the impact of Earth Observation products and results. You are responsible for coordinating EO training and education activities and for the Earth System Science Hub, and you are supporting the preparation of Earth Observation elements of the accelerators (S4GF and R3).

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• managing the science and planetary action programme elements, enabling Earth system and climate science, policy-driven applications and services, support to planetary emergency, long-term action and partnerships based on EO products and generally maximising the impact of all EO missions;
• maximising the scientific impact of EO missions and advancing Earth system science initiatives in collaboration with the scientific community and international partners, in particular DG RTD;
• developing cutting-edge digital solutions focused on open and reproducible scientific exploitation, advanced information systems and dashboards;
• coordinating cooperation actions with DG RTD and DG INTPA;
• managing EO-related civil security activities including the EO components of the Civil Security from Space programme and of the Rapid and Resilient Crisis Response (R3) Accelerator;
• developing EO education, capacity building and training activities, fostering open science with Member States, the EC and international partners;
• ensuring a solid scientific content for the DTE and DestinE programmes;
• managing the activities of the EO Science Hub;
• contributing to the Agency’s outreach and communication on EO;
• supporting the work of Young Graduate Trainees and Research Fellows in cooperation with nominated tutors, as applicable;
• and coordinating with the other Directorates of the applications area (D/NAV, D/CSC, D/CIC), the Directorate of Science (D/SCI) and the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC) on topics of common interest.

You will also be responsible for identifying, assessing, managing and reporting on the health and safety risks in your area of responsibility.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A Master’s degree in physics, engineering or a relevant Earth Sciences and applications discipline is required for this post.

Additional requirements

Previous experience working on a multi-agency, cooperative programme is an advantage.

Furthermore, you should have:

• proven experience of leading, motivating and developing a team in a project environment;
• the ability to provide strategic direction to the individuals and teams within the Project and to relate 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 of 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 a high standard and with integrity as well as to support others (team members, upper management, other stakeholders) in this process;
• 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.

You should also have an established profile based on several years’ experience of EO data exploitation and extensive professional experience of developing applications using EO data. You bring solid experience as a team leader, with extensive understanding of management and procurement processes. You also have a proven track record in programme definition and implementation in coordination with ESA Member States.