Description

Concession contract – Officer in the Telecommunications and Earth Observation Contracts Division, Contracts Department, Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness.

On 15 March 2023, the European Parliament and the EU Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2023/588 establishing the Union Secure Connectivity Programme for the period 2023-2027. 

The Union Secure Connectivity Programme aims at deploying an EU satellite constellation: ‘IRIS²' (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite). It will provide for a Union satellite-based, multi-orbital communication infrastructure for governmental use, while integrating and complementing existing and future national and European capacities in the frame of the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme.

The “ESA Programme related to EU Secure Connectivity”, hereinafter referred to as the ESA Programme, intends to support the effective development and validation of the EU Secure Connectivity (IRIS²) Governmental Infrastructure, which is to be developed, deployed and operated under a Concession Contract signed by the EU with a private consortium, and the services provided by it; to support validation and demonstration of services based on the Commercial Infrastructure developed by the contractor(s) delivering the EU Secure Connectivity Governmental Infrastructure.

The European Commission and ESA will set up an Integrated Programme Team (IPT) to manage the EU IRIS² Programme and in particular its related Concession Contract, as well as for ensuring close coordination between all IRIS² related activities.

The Concession Contract Officer (CCO)will be under the hierarchical authority of the ESA Head of the Earth Observation and Telecom Contracts Division, as part of the ESA Contracts Department within the Directorate of Commercialization, Industry and Competitiveness.

The Concession Contract Officer will report functionally to the Deployment Manager and the Exploitation Manager who are in charge.
The CCO will be responsible for the day to day management of the contractual aspects of the concession contract in support of the Project team and under the authority of the Exploitation Manager. 

Initial assignment to Brussels is until Q1 2028 with a possible extension, within the framework of the 12 year Contribution Agreement between ESA and EC. At the end of the assignment, you will be reassigned to a position within CIC Directorate.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• Preparing the various elements of the relevant contract(s)  in close cooperation with the IPT and in compliance with the relevant legal framework and ESA/EU policies and standards;
• Providing guidelines to apply the relevant, up-to-date legal measures throughout any further tendering and contractual implementation processes in coordination with the IPT Legal officer;
• Organising and coordinating with the IPT and line management as necessary all stages of procurement, including the preparation and issuing of the tenders, evaluation of proposals and contract negotiations as the case may be; 
• Monitoring the implementation of the contracts under your responsibility in accordance with the applicable rules including the negotiation of all amendments to the contract;
• Interfacing internally with the members of the Integrated Project team and in particular the Deployment manager, the Exploitation Manager and project controllers and their respective teams, advising them on all contracts-related matters. 
• Coordinate closely with the ESA contract Officer and Project team in charge of the EU Entrusted tasks and/or of the ESA Partnership Programme in accordance with the respective allocation of tasks and responsibilities ad defined in the Project Management Plan. 
• Interfacing with industry on matters related to the IRIS² contract management.
• Regular report and request assistance as needed to Line Manager on the status and issues faced in the implementation of the work. 
   

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A master's in law is required for this post.

Additional requirements

• Excellent communication skills, in verbal and written form;
• Customer orientation with sound judgement in solving problems;
• Ability to interact with multiple international actors and to work collaboratively in a team to achieve organisational goals;
• Excellent planning and organisation skills and the ability to manage several tasks efficiently in parallel;
• Strong capacity to adapt to a fast-paced environment;
• Knowledge of French and English as well as the ability to understand and formulate contractual/legal texts in both languages;
• Ability to understand issues of a technical and management nature; 
• Discretion and integrity.