Head of the LEO Satellites Programme Office

Description

Head of the LEO Satellites Programme Office in the Directorate of Connectivity and Secure Communications.

Reporting to the Head of the Satellite Programme Department (CSC-P), you will be responsible for the initiation of new LEO satellite partnership projects in close coordination with the Future Programmes Division (CSC-SF) and the management of all satellite projects assigned to the LEO Satellites Programme Office within the Department.
The projects currently assigned to this position are Sunrise, Pioneer, Triton-X, Pacis 3 and Alphasat TDP. The project list may be amended in the future.
You will also be responsible for the coordination of functional and integrated support provided by other ESA directorates and the ESA Security Office.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• initiating and managing new LEO telecommunications partnership satellite projects with private and/or public entities under the ARTES 4.0 Generic Programme Line, including consolidation of the programmatic assumptions in respect of costs, schedule and risks for the new telecommunications satellite projects under Phase 0/A;
• procuring the space segment, comprising satellites and launcher services, and when relevant the associated ground control segment relating to LEO programmes and systems under the responsibility of the Systems, Strategic Programme Lines and Technology Department (CSC-S), apart from IRIS2, in particular the Space Systems for Safety and Security programme and the 5G/6G NTN programme;
• implementing the relevant LEO space segment Core Competitiveness activities directly relating to the space segment activities under CSC-P responsibility;
• consulting with European operator and prime contractor key accounts regarding their future LEO service portfolios, product lines and evolutions in close coordination with CSC-S;
• preparing the ITT/RFQ package to industry, as well as preparation and organisation of the TEB;
• negotiating space segment and satellite phase B/C/D/E contracts and contract signature;
• designing, developing, manufacturing and testing the space segment and, when relevant, the associated ground segment;
• analysing space segment risk and identifying risk mitigation activities;
• regular reporting to CSC-S on space segment activities relating to programme or system activities under CSC-S responsibility;
• identifying compliance waivers or deviations during phase B/C/D/E versus space segment requirements issued by CSC-S for resolution by the relevant programme or system engineering board;
• providing support to the partner operator for the launch and in-orbit commissioning of the space segment;
• monitoring during the initial years of operations of satellite on-board performance and issues in collaboration with the partner operator and industry;
• implementing hosted payload LEO missions and operations management and coordination;
• contributing to the Directorate’s internal and external communications on programmes and projects under the responsibility of the Office.

In the execution of these functions, you will be supported by nominated staff from the Business Control and Programme Management Support Office (CSC-B) for programme and project control and CADM functions and from the Product Assurance and Safety Office (CSC-Q) for programme and project PA&S functions. You will also be supported by ESA technical, functional and integrated support staff in accordance with the relevant service level agreements with the other ESA directorates involved, in particular the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality, the Directorate of Operations and the Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness, as well as the ESA Security Office.

You will also be responsible for identifying, assessing, managing and reporting 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

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

Education

A master's degree in a scientific or engineering discipline is required for this post.

Additional requirements

Solid experience in managing complex space programmes up to launch and in-orbit testing, preferably in the telecommunications domain, is desirable. 

Direct experience of working with a commercial telecommunications company or operator will be a distinct advantage. Experience in Public Private Partnership projects would be an asset.

Previous experience of managing managers and multiple teams is an asset.

You should, in addition, have:

• proven experience of leading, motivating and developing a team of experts in a project environment;
• the ability to provide strategic direction to the individuals and teams within the Programme Office 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, resolve complex issues and relate situations to their context;
• the ability to make solution-oriented, pragmatic and timely decisions of a high standard and with integrity and to support others, such as team members, upper management and 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.