Vacancy in the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.
This is a non-renewable post for a limited duration of four years and is classified A2-A4 on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale.
Location
ESRIN, Frascati, Italy
You may be required to relocate temporarily to other ESA establishments or another location.
Description
Earth Observation Applications Specialist in the Sustainable Initiatives Office of the Science, Applications and Climate Department, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.
The Sustainable Initiatives Office is responsible for leading new, cross-disciplinary initiatives that aggregate capabilities from various Earth observation (EO) thematic domains and projects. The goal is to migrate these capabilities to large-scale, external programmes co-designed with and led by international user communities and stakeholders. The focus of the Sustainable Initiatives Office is initiatives with the potential to significantly extend the scientific and societal impact of Earth observation.
In the framework of its cooperation with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG-INTPA), in 2022 ESA signed its first Contribution Agreement on implementing a Regional Copernicus Centre in Panama (CopLAC). The main objective of the CopLAC is to facilitate the uptake of Copernicus data in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region with an initial thematic focus on disaster risk reduction and recovery. The CopLAC initiative will rely on cooperation between the European Commission (DG-INTPA), ESA and the Government of Panama as partners. CopLAC is an integral part of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance and is intended as a pilot for the Global Gateway strategy in terms of the development cooperation pursued by the European Commission.
Duties
If selected for this position, you will report to the Head of the Sustainable Initiatives Office and will contribute to the implementation of cross-disciplinary initiatives co-designed and conducted in partnership with international user communities and stakeholders.
The activities to be performed form part of the cooperation between ESA and DG-INTPA, in particular regarding the implementation of the CopLAC initiative.
Your responsibilities will include the following:
- Working in close cooperation with key external stakeholders/user communities in the LAC region to capture and consolidate their main operational requirements for geospatial information with a view to establishing longer-term adoption and acceptance and EO-based information in large-scale operations;
- Together with the key partners and end-user communities of the CopLAC initiative, co-designing, defining and implementing dedicated activities to expand significantly the uptake of EO-based information in a range of thematic areas;
- Managing and supporting ESA activities to implement the main tasks of the CopLAC initiative:
- Stakeholder engagement and awareness-raising for EO in the LAC region;
- Supporting the establishment of a Regional Copernicus Data Centre in Panama;
- Development and demonstration of pre-operational public EO services;
- Knowledge and skills transfer to national and regional stakeholders;
- Supporting the communication of achievements using suitable communication and education channels.
Technical competencies
Behavioural competencies
Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking
Education
A master's degree in remote sensing, geospatial sciences, geography or Earth sciences is required for this post.
Additional requirements
You should have at least five years of professional experience, preferably in a relevant technical domain and including project management experience, obtained following completion of your master’s degree.
Professional language skills in Spanish are a prerequisite, and Portuguese and French are considered assets.
Other information
For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to theESA Competency Framework.
For further information please visit: Professionals, What we offerand FAQ
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.
The Agency may require applicants to undergo selection tests.
At the Agency we value diversity and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us at contact.human.resources@esa.int.
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Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
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 or balanced Member States*.
In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service.
Recruitment will normally be at the first grade in the band (A2); however, if the candidate selected has little or no experience, the position may be filled at A1 level.
*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.