Head of the ESA Washington Office

 

Location
ESA Headquarters, Paris, France  with a resident assignment to Washington, D.C.

Description

Under the direct authority of the Head of the External Relations Department, the Head of the ESA Washington Office represents the Agency in the United States and Canada. 

You will be responsible for monitoring and supporting the implementation of the Agency’s cooperation with these two non-Member States; identifying new areas for potential collaboration; maintaining the Agency’s relationship and interface with relevant government bodies and entities and proactively monitoring and analysing the North American space sectoras well as related international developments.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• managing the day-to-day operations of the ESA Washington Office;
• representing the Agency at relevant levels before the Governments of the United States and Canada, as well as towards relevant agencies, institutions and entities in these two non-Member States; 
• establishing and developing relationships with administrations, institutions and agencies, monitoring their space-related activities, and collecting, analysing and distributing the relevant information to the Agency;
• providing analysis of all relevant national and international developments to support the definition of Agency positions in response to these developments;
• recommending actions to foster current and future cooperation between the Agency and the United States and Canada, based on insights and intelligence gathered locally;  
• strengthening relations with representatives of ESA Member States, the European Union and European industry based in the United States and Canada, including the regular exchange of information and, where appropriate, coordination and/or joint initiatives; 
• supporting ESA staff working in the United States and Canada, particularly in facilitating formal procedural interaction in the context of their assigned functions;
• contributing to the promotion of the Agency’s programmes and activities in the United States and Canada.

Technical competencies

Knowledge of the ESA institutional framework, policies and programmes across domains, as well as of the institutional and operative environment of the AgencyKnowledge of the European and international space sector (institutional, commercial and/or industrial)Knowledge of the space sector of the United States and Canada, including public and private space actors, policies, programmes and activitiesKnowledge of, and experience in, international space cooperationExperience of managing a large network of contacts and interfacing with internal clients, delegations and international partners

Behavioural competencies

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

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

Education

A master's degree in a relevant domain is required for this post.

Additional requirements

You are required to have

• a sound knowledge of the Agency’s activities and functioning;
• proven experience in international relations with the ability to establish and manage high-level contacts collaboratively within peers and international circles;
• a strong track record of representing business interests to external counterparts with credibility, reliability, discretion and integrity;
• demonstrated ambassadorship, including the ability to build trust and foster effective collaboration across diverse institutional and cultural boundaries;
• the capacity to work independently and autonomously and to take responsibility for managing the day-to-day operations of the Washington Office;
• excellent analytical, planning, organisational and delegation skills, coupled with the ability to anticipate problems and assess situations within their broader context, and provide clear direction;
• the ability to propose high-quality, pragmatic and timely solutions while supporting team members, senior management and stakeholders in doing the same;
• excellent mastery of English, including both writing and presentation abilities;

International work experience is an asset, including outside your home country, as well as experience in diverse functional areas relevant to ESA activities.

This position is subject to rotation. Th