Director of Operations

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Closing Date: 5 September 2025 23:59 CET/CEST

Location
ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany. Regular travel to other ESA sites is required.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe\’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe\’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA’s annual budget for 2025 is 7.7 billion Euro with a workforce of about 6449 comprising staff and contractors.

You will report to the Director General and will be responsible for contributing to ESA-wide management as a member of the ESA Executive Board, supporting the Director General in his responsibilities in the pursuit of ESA\’s overall objectives, fostering efficiency, and ensuring compliance with the applicable regulatory framework.

Furthermore, as Head of Establishment at ESOC, you will be responsible for relations with the administrative authorities of the host country, for on-site health, safety, environmental, and security provisions.

The Directorate of Operations has a workforce of around 600 staff and contractors spread across various sites in Europe, and an annual budget of about €400m.

Duties

In the framework of the ESA matrix organisation comprising programme directorates and support directorates, and under delegation from the Director General, you will be responsible for both a programme component and a support component. The support component entails the preparation and conduct of flight operations for the Agency’s missions and other missions assigned to the Directorate, and the management, engineering and operations of the corresponding ground segment elements during the complete mission life cycle.

In addition, the Directorate drives technology, innovation and standardisation in operations. You will be tasked with the implementation of an ESA-wide coherent approach to operations and ensure that the Agency and the related industrial ecosystem are at the forefront of space operations both within Europe and globally. Cost efficiency and the use of the latest technologies shall be key drivers in pursuit of these goals.

The programme component encompasses activities related to space safety and associated operational services. In this capacity, you will be ESA’s representative in the Space Situational Awareness Programme Board. You will also be responsible for the ESA-wide radio frequency management and coordination.

You will actively work to ensure the well-being, motivation, training and career progression of your Directorate workforce, incentivising a spirit of initiative, transparency, information flow and coordination with other directorates.

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

In-depth knowledge of and experience in the space operations field, including close cooperation with partner organisations and industry

More than 10 years\‘ experience in senior management positions at executive level and in the management of teams and programmes of significant size in terms of budget and human resources, preferably in an international context

Proven experience in business management, e.g. ability to develop innovative strategies to increase operational efficiency, being open to disruptive innovation and new concepts and strategies

Building strong relationships with key stakeholders to drive successful business outcomes

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

Applicants for this post should have at least a master’s, preferably in a technical or scientific domain.

Additional requirements

Key qualities required for the post are an innovative spirit and a strategically oriented mind, a proven capacity to lead change and manage people and teams, excellent relationship management, negotiation skills and the ability to influence high-level decisions.

In addition, you should have:

• an excellent understanding of state-of-the-art operations concepts and their future evolution, including disruptive technologies, processes and tools;
• the ambition to reduce costs and increase efficiency while delivering top quality services;
• demonstrated excellent leadership, relationship management and communication skills;
• the ability to reach solution-oriented, pragmatic, timely decisions of a high standard and with integrity as well as to support others (team members, upper management, other stakeholders) in this process.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
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, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

Important Information and Disclaimer
Applicants must be eligible to acquire the security clearance by their national security administrations.

Please note that applicants will be required to undergo psychometric testing and other assessments, and, if invited for interview, asked to provide references.
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.

For further information:

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

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.

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