EUSPA: EU Space Innovation Officer

UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees


JOB DESCRIPTION

he European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) provides safe, secure, and innovative satellite navigation and communication services for Europe. We advance the commercialization of Galileo, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), and Copernicus data and services, while engaging in secure SATCOM (GOVSATCOM & IRIS²), and operating the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) Front-Desk. Our work strengthens European autonomy in space technologies, fosters innovation, and supports critical sectors such as transport, agriculture, and economic development across the EU. For more information on the EUSPA and the EU Space Programme, click here.

At EUSPA, we aim for our workforce to be representative of European society and strongly welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We actively seek to create a workplace where each staff member feels valued and respected, can give their best and can develop to their full potential. We believe that diversity drives excellence and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to our shared mission. To promote diversity and establish a geographically balanced pool of candidates, we strongly encourage applicants from Member States which are underrepresented in the Agency workforce to apply. These Member States are currently Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden. Recruitment will, however, remain strictly based on the merits of all applicants and no advantage will be given and no positions will be reserved for nationals of any specific Member State.

The Market Downstream and Innovation Department’s main responsibilities are related to the development of the market and uptake of EU space technologies. One of the main objective is also to foster the entrepreneurship and start-ups, and to support the creation of innovative applications and user technology via Research and Innovation and other programs.

The position requires permanent relocation to the Agency’s headquarters in the heart of Europe – Prague.

2. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

We are looking for a dynamic proactive person for the role of EU Space Innovation Officer. The job holder will be responsible for managing several aspects of Research & Innovation, market and user uptake in the governmental and resilience domain5 as well as in other market areas and contribute to the overall objectives of increasing EU industry competitiveness and growing opportunities for new space companies.

The EU Space Innovation Officer will have the following main tasks and responsibilities:

  • Implement user uptake and market development activities in the governmental and resilience domain, across all the EU Space Programme components (e.g. Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, GOVSATCOM and in the future possibly IRIS²);
  • Establish collaboration with key national and/or European stakeholders to promote and maximises the use of data and services offered by the EU Space Programme components, also fostering innovation and implementing dedicated actions (e.g. pilot projects);
  • Ensure technical understanding of how the EU space data and services, from robust navigation to secure satellite communications, can be used in various application areas, with particular emphasis on applications requiring resilience and trustworthiness and advise downstream companies on how to leverage space data in their solutions and business;
  • Implement actions of “A vision for the space economy” European Commission communication, as well as of “EU Preparedness Union Strategy” and other relevant initiatives, for the part assigned to EUSPA;
  • Support the Market Downstream and Innovation department in the management and valorisation of the Research and Innovation projects portfolio and its network of start-ups and SMEs;
  • Implement contracts and grants, including evaluations, financial and legal tasks in coordination with the related departments;
  • Create partnerships with larger companies that could be interested in testing solutions with start-ups or procure products or value-added services from start-ups or from results of R&I projects;
  • Support the administration aspects of the department, including definition and implementation of new processes and improvement of existing ones, reporting to the European Commission and to the Administrative Board, etc.;
  • Contribute to other tasks of the Department as deemed necessary and liaise with other departments, notably in the area of Administration and Operations, to ensure the execution of related corporate tasks, such as planning, reporting, administration, financial & budget management, risk management.

 

3. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We welcome applications from all candidates who meet the following eligibility criteria, on the closing date for application:

  1. Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies6 of at least three years attested by a diploma
  2. Appropriate professional experience7 of at least three years after having obtained the required diploma
  3. Be a national of a Member State of the European Union, Iceland or Norway
  4. Be entitled to their full rights as citizen
  5. Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service
  6. Meet the character requirements for the duties involved8
  7. Have a thorough knowledge (minimum C1 level) of one of the languages of the European Union9 and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum B2 level) of another language of the European Union9
  8. Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post10


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