Contracts Officer

Join ESA as a Contracts Officer

Description

Contracts Officer reporting to the Head of the Technology Support and Telecommunications Contracts Service, Commercialisation and Technology Contracts Division, Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness.

The Service for Technology Support and Telecommunications Contracts deals with technology and telecommunications contracts while innovating the procurement process with a view to meeting the demands of a changing space business environment. The Service currently supports the following Agency programmes: ARTES 4.0, Civil Security from Space, and GSTP Elements 1 and 2.

You will support the contracts assigned to you and will directly advise the initiating authorities with regard to legal and procedural issues relating to contracts, with an independent hierarchical reporting line to the relevant Head of the Contract Service. This secures the appropriate level of independence to ensure impartiality, transparency, and compliance with the procurement/tendering and contracting process.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• Preparing the various elements of the relevant procurement and contract documentation in close cooperation with the relevant technical services.
• Providing guidelines for application of the relevant, up-to-date legal and industrial policy measures throughout the tendering and contractual implementation processes.
• Organising and coordinating with all relevant ESA-internal stakeholders at all stages of procurement, including the issuing of the invitations to tender and calls for proposals, ensuring that the proposals are duly evaluated and that the contract is negotiated with the selected economic operators.
• Monitoring the implementation of the contracts under your responsibility in accordance with the applicable contractual and industrial policy rules, including the negotiation of all amendments to the contract and eventual termination.
• Training, coordinating and monitoring assistant contracts officers, when assigned for support.
• Building a trust-based relationship with added value with the project and programme managers, technical officers and relevant teams, advising them on all procurement-related matters.
• Ensuring compliance with the relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and innovation of the procurement processes with a view to improving the time-to-contract.
• Promoting awareness and understanding of ESA’s tendering and contracting processes to the relevant stakeholders.
• Dealing effectively with all administrative, contractual, legal, and industrial issues arising, involving regular and direct interaction with industrial counterparts.

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 degree 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 organisation 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 both French and English
• The ability to understand issues of a technical and management nature

Important Information and Disclaimer

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.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

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, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

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.

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.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.