About this job

The Agency’s Executive Director will be the Agency’s legal representative and will be in charge of its day-to-day leadership and management, in accordance with the Commission guidelines, and under the supervision of the Agency’s Administrative Board. He/she will be responsible for directing and managing the Agency’s staff.

Responsibilities

• Defining the Agency’s vision for endorsement by the Administrative Board and developing and implementing the Agency’s strategic activities in accordance with its mission;
• Defining the organisational structure of the Agency and submitting it for approval to the Administrative Board;
• Recruiting and evaluating Agency’s staff, while fostering a good team spirit and working environment.
• Facilitating cooperation and establishing close working relationships between the Agency and the Commission, as well as with the Member States, third countries and establishing working relations with the European Space Agency (ESA) and other stakeholders, as required;
• Organising and taking part, without the right to vote, in meetings of the Administrative Board and providing its secretariat;
• Preparing and executing the Agency’s budget, in full compliance with the European Union’s budget cycle and the Financial Regulation’srules and principles;
• Proposing and implementing the annual work programme/single programming document;
• Ensuring the most effective use of the financial and human resources of the Agency;
• Preparing the annual report of the Agency’s activities and presenting it to the European Parliament.

Profile

The ideal candidate will be an outstanding and dynamic professional who should fulfil the following selection criteria:

• Management experience, and in particular:
  • Capacity and ability to lead and manage an entity within an international context of closely co-operating organisations, both at a strategic and at an operational level;
  • Capacity to lead and motivate a team with technical competences in a multicultural and multilingual environment;
  • Capacity and ability to manage a wide range of different stakeholders in the public and private sectors; and
  • Knowledge of the budgetary and financial management in a national, European Union and/or international context.
• Technical knowledge and experience, and in particular:
  • Experience in space programmes;
  • Knowledge of the European space policy;
  • Knowledge of and experience in the EU satellite navigation programmes would be an asset;
  • Experience with security-sensitive activities would be an asset;
  • An excellent understanding of the EU institutional system.
• Communication/negotiations skills, and in particular:
  • Excellent written and oral communication and excellent negotiation skills;
  • Ability to communicate to the public and cooperate with stakeholders;
  • A very good working knowledge of English, which is the predominant working language in the Agency. Knowledge of further official languages of the EU would be an additional asset.