Contracts Officer (Reserve list)

This job opening is for the purposes of Reserve list recruitment on multiple positions.

ESA is initiating a Reserve list recruitment process to meet the consistently high demand for Contracts Officers in support of the Agency’s cutting-edge space projects and programmes.

Contracts Officer (Reserve list)

Description

This job requisition within the Contracts Department is intended to build a reserve pool of Contracts Officers, potentially to fill a number of positions at ESTEC (Noordwijk, Netherlands), to be confirmed during the course of 2026 or 2027. The Contracts Department is part of the Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness and is organised into various divisions and services in support of ESA’s programme directorates. The selected Contract Officer may be appointed to those located at ESTEC, namely Earth Observation, Connectivity and Secure Communications, Navigation, Human and Robotic Exploration, Science, Technology, Engineering and Quality, or work in General Procurement.

You will be entrusted with procurement activities, which you will implement autonomously in direct collaboration with the relevant initiating services. To ensure the appropriate level of independence, impartiality, transparency and compliance with the procurement tendering and contracting process, you will report directly and in an independent manner to the Head of the relevant Contracts Service.

Duties

The elements below highlight the types of responsibilities and tasks that a Contracts Officer can carry out when supporting space projects and programmes at ESA. Your specific duties will be further defined depending on the final appointment.

• Preparing the various elements of the relevant procurement and contract documentation in close cooperation with the relevant technical services.
• Organising and coordinating all stages of procurement, including issuing the invitations to tender, verifying compliant submission of proposals and their admissibility.
• Evaluating proposals and negotiating the resulting contract with the selected economic operators.
• Ensuring compliance with the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) and innovation of the procurement processes with a view to improving the time to contract.
• Providing guidance for applying the relevant, up-to-date legal and industrial policy measures throughout the procurement/tendering and contracting process.
• Ensuring awareness and understanding of ESA’s procurement/tendering and contracting processes on the part of the relevant stakeholders.
• Safeguarding full compliance of all assigned procurement activities with ESA’s rules, regulations, policies and strategies.
• Monitoring the performance of the contracts, including the negotiation of all amendments.
• Dealing with administrative, contractual, legal and industrial matters that may arise, including matters involving regular and direct interaction with industrial counterparts.
• Building a relationship of trust with the project managers/technical officers and their respective teams, advising them on all procurement-related matters.

Technical competencies

• Extensive knowledge of contract, public procurement and international business law
• Understanding of intellectual property issues
• Experience with public tendering and contracting
• Ability to assess tender documents and draft tailored conditions
• Knowledge of European and international business environments, ideally in the space sector
• Understanding of financial aspects of contracts
• Strong negotiation skills

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A master’s or equivalent qualification in law or economics is required for this post.

Additional requirements

• Completed advanced studies with a specialisation in (public) contract law.
• At least six years of relevant professional experience in contracts and/or public procurement gained in a public administration setting or in an international organisation, business, or a specialised law firm.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• A customer focus, with sound judgement in solving problems.
• Discretion and integrity.
• The ability to interact with multiple international actors and to work collaboratively in a team to achieve organisational goals.
• Operational efficiency, including excellent planning and organisational skills and the ability to manage several tasks efficiently in parallel.
• Openness to change and flexibility in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to reflect on experience and adapt your approach accordingly.
• The ability to perform consistently, even under pressure.
• The ability to grasp new and large-scale/complex concepts quickly.
• The ability to understand and formulate contractual and legal texts in English.
• The ability to understand issues of a technical and management nature.

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, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.