Senior Programme Management Advisor

Vacancy in the Director General's Services.

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

This post is classified A2-A4 on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale.

Location ESA Headquarters, Paris, France or ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Description

Senior Programme Management Advisor in the Project Management Oversight Office, Inspector General’s Office, Director General’s Services.

Reporting to the Head of the Project Management Oversight Office you are upholding the integrity of the Agency's project management and control processes. You actively collaborate in the design and refinement of these processes, ensuring their alignment with the Agency's objectives. Key responsibilities include overseeing project adherence to Agency’s excellence and state of the art standards, engaging in regular audits, and fostering inter-departmental collaboration. Additionally, you assist the Inspector General in the development of the implementation strategy, advocate for process enhancements, and serve as a vital touchpoint for queries and concerns, ensuring a cohesive and consistent project management approach across the Agency.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• Process design and oversight: lead the design, refinement and documentation of project management and project control processes in alignment with the Agency's objectives, as well as regularly reviewing these processes to ensure their continued relevance and efficiency.
• Training and development: coordinate the development and delivery of training modules and workshops to equip the Agency's workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge to comply with Agency and state-of-the-art project management and project control standards.
• Process digitalisation: coordinate the definition of the Project Manager and Project Controller community's requirements for process digitalisation, and liaise with the Chief Digital Officer to guarantee seamless implementation.
• Stakeholder collaboration: engage with various internal teams, including the SPMB (Senior Programme Management Board), the Project Managers forum, the Controllers (projects, corporates and BUCs) community, finance and other related departments, ensuring smooth communication and fostering a collaborative environment.
• Issue resolution: act as a point of contact for queries and concerns related to project management and project control processes, providing guidance and solutions to internal teams and stakeholders.
• Continuous improvement: capture feedback from a diverse range of Agency functions to continuously refine and enhance project management and project control processes and practices, as well as keeping abreast of global best practices in project management and control, ensuring that the processes remain at the forefront of excellence.
• Roadmap assistance: support the Inspector General in the development and monitoring of the implementation roadmap, ensuring alignment with objectives and KPIs.
• Change management: advocate for and support the rollout of new processes or tools, ensuring a smooth transition and minimum disruption for ongoing projects.
• Inter-directorate collaboration: foster strong relationships with directorates across the Agency to ensure cohesive operation, understand their needs and tailor process definition.
• Agency risk management: coordinate the definition of Agency risks and manage the Agency risk register.

Technical competencies

Knowledge of ESA programmes and funding mechanisms

Knowledge of mission risks, costs and schedule aspects

Knowledge of project management

Knowledge of risk management and processes

Knowledge of ECSS standards

Knowledge in the field of programme reviews, procurement processes and standards

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A master's degree in aerospace engineering and/or management is required for this post.

Additional requirements

You should display a strong aptitude for the following:

• Strategic advisory: actively support the Inspector General by offering strategic advice and conducting critical reviews of the Agency's activities to identify areas of improvement and opportunities for advancement.
• Decision-making: demonstrate a consistent ability to reach solution-oriented, pragmatic decisions in a timely manner, even when under pressure or faced with complex challenges.
• Communication: possess solid communication skills, both written (Word and PPT) and oral, ensuring clarity, conciseness and coherence in all communications.
• Interpersonal strengths: demonstrate an innate ability to interface and network with individuals across different grades and departments, fostering collaboration, understanding and mutual respect.

To fulfil the aforementioned requirements, the following would be considered significant assets:

• Industry experience: several years of experience in the space sector, preferably both within ESA and external organisations, demonstrating a comprehensive grasp of the nuances specific to each environment.
• Extensive network: a well-established network of contacts among European institutional and industrial actors in the space value chain. This network should be a testament to your collaborative endeavours and strategic affiliations in the sector.
• Evaluation expertise: prior experience in evaluating European space programmes, demonstrating an ability to critically assess, benchmark and provide actionable feedback for programme improvements.

You should further have:

• The potential to manage individuals or a team;
• The ability to organise their 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 and constructive feedback;
• Strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills;
• Strong results 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.

Other information

For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.

For further information please visit: Professionals, What we offer and FAQ

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

Applicants must be eligible to access technology and hardware which is subject to European and US export control regulations.

The Agency may require applicants to undergo selection tests.

At the Agency we value diversity and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us email contact.human.resources@esa.int.

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Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to internal candidates and secondly to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.

In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service.

In principle, recruitment will be within the advertised grade band (A2-A4). However, if the selected candidate has less than four years of relevant professional experience following the completion of the master’s degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.