Description

The Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration Programmes (D/HRE) is a programme directorate within the ESA matrix structure. Through a partnership between humans and robots, the Directorate is dedicated to exploring destinations in space where humans are already living and working – or will live and work in the future – for the purpose of scientific research, economic development, international cooperation and public inspiration.

The Lunar Resources and Infrastructure Team develops systems and scientific instruments for lunar exploration and, in the longer term, will develop larger infrastructures for a sustainable presence on the Moon, for example for in-situ resource utilisation.

Reporting to the Lunar Projects Group Leader, you will be responsible for the programmatic and technical management of:

–    a portfolio of hosted lunar payloads* of small and medium size covering diverse science and technology topics, for example Prospect;  
–    a small-class end-to-end lunar mission or missions. 

You will liaise closely with the relevant project teams, industrial contractors, international partners and other teams in D/HRE, in particular the Science Teams and the ExPeRT Team. 

As Team Leader, you will also be responsible for planning future hosted lunar payloads and small-class lunar missions from an implementation perspective and will support prioritisation in line with the E3P objectives and in coordination with the D/HRE Chief Exploration Scientist and the ExPeRT Team Leader.

* ESA payloads for Gateway are developed by the Gateway Team (HRE-LG)  

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

project management and technical leadership:

• Manage the translation of exploration, scientific and technology demonstration requirements into viable mission and technical requirements;
• Manage the procurement and the feasibility studies, design, development and operations of all hosted lunar payloads:
• Manage all approved projects within schedule and budget, particularly Phase D/E of Prospect on board a NASA CLPS lunar mission, including planning and controlling the overall cost at completion envelopes of the hosted payloads and the small mission(s);
• Manage the procurement and design, development and operations (Phase B2/C/D/E) of the lunar mission(s), to schedule and within budget, following the feasibility studies under the responsibility of the ExPeRT Team; 
• Provide leadership support to the team members for high-level management tasks, for example interfacing at management level with the industrial consortium when needed;
• Coordinate with the Science Team Leaders regarding scientific activities directly linked with the development, as well as operations preparation and execution.

programmatic leadership and coordination:

• Ensure the coherence of the activities of the Team in line with the E3P objectives;
• Define and plan future mission, science and technology payloads in coordination with the Chief Exploration Scientist and the ExPeRT Team Leader and support their prioritisation;
• Propose the level of risk to be taken during the implementation (Phase B2/C/D/E), specific to each project;
• Consolidate the risks of all the projects and manage the most salient risks;
• For cooperation with international partners, negotiate the high-level agreements and follow up their execution;
• Adapt to programmatic changes and proactively manage their consequences;
• Prepare and provide inputs for E3P programme proposals.

team management and knowledge-sharing:

• Manage the team and its evolutions;
• Liaise with the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC) to ensure that appropriate support is provided by experts to the project teams; 
• Stimulate the collection of lessons learned and their sharing within and outside the team;
• Report regularly to the Lunar Projects Group Leader and to the D/HRE Member State boards.

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 relevant domain is required for this post.

Additional requirements

• At least five years of experience in space projects
• Proven experience in managing space projects in Phases C and D up to operations
• Proven experience in people management and managing a team of teams
• Leadership in driving programmatics and coordination of internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to provide strategic direction to individuals and teams within projects and to relate team objectives to the overall, evolving organisational goals and context
• Ability to make solution-oriented, pragmatic and timely decisions of a high standard and with integrity
• Excellent delegation, planning and organisational skills
• Ability to anticipate problems, resolve complex issues and relate situations to their context
• Demonstrated excellent leadership, relationship management and communication skills, both oral and written, in interactions with team members, upper management and other stakeholders
• The potential to manage individuals or a team of experts
• The ability to organise individual and team activities and ensure a motivating work environment
• Strong leadership capabilities, with proven relationship management and communication skills
• The ability to drive your team’s performance, developing your people by encouraging learning, delegating responsibility and giving regular and constructive feedback
• Strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills
• A strong result orientation with the ability to set priorities and present practical solutions both orally and in writing
• The ability to manage challenging situations proactively and constructively and to be customer-focused

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.

Experience with international cooperation and partnerships is an asset.