JOB DESCRIPTION

1. EUSPA AND THE HIRING DEPARTMENT
The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) provides safe, secure, and innovative satellite navigation and communication services for Europe. We advance the commercialisation 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 current vacancy is for an opportunity in the Galileo Exploitation Programme Department which, in coordination with other departments of the Agency, ensures the continuous provision of the Galileo services. The department develops new Galileo Services enabling new applications and ensures the proper management, operation, maintenance, continuous improvement, evolution and protection of the space-based and ground-based infrastructure. It also manages the consistency between technical, planning, financial and risk aspects of all the Galileo exploitation activities and elaborates and maintains the Galileo Exploitation Plans.

The position requires permanent relocation to the Agency’s headquarters in the heart of Europe – Prague – a location with excellent connections to numerous major European cities. The capital of the Czech Republic, in the banks of the Vltava River, is famous for its cultural life, renowned musical life, historic buildings, magical bridges, and recognised museums and monuments.

2. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
We are looking for a Galileo Service Operator Technical Manager who will lead the technical management of the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) contract for the operations, maintenance, deployment and security of the Galileo space and ground infrastructure covering the Galileo Satellites, the Galileo Mission System (GMS), the Galileo Control System (GCS), the GNSS Service Centre (GSC) and their associated set of elements (Ground stations, Ground receivers, Control and Mission elements, etc.) together with their enabling services (e.g. Galileo Data Dissemination Network, Hosting, TSP, GRSP).

Working collaboratively with and relying on the contribution from various teams, the job holder will actively contribute to the fulfilment of the Agency’s duties related to the provision of the current and future Galileo Services and will have the following main tasks and responsibilities:

Ensure the technical management and coordination of the GSOp contract managed by the Agency, in particular the technical coordination between the different teams, and the management of complex and transversal activities as well as support the risk, schedule and budget management;
Participate in the day-to-day coordination as part of the Galileo Service Operations management team;
Manage, maintain and monitor the implementation of the technical baseline of the GSOp Project, ensuring its adequacy, performance and timely modification in line with the Programme needs (e.g. linked to evolution);
Actively participate in the chain of command as defined by the Galileo Mission Rules assessing, in case of contingencies, whether the mission objectives can be met and assisting with declaring the mission impacted, if required (in this context, the jobholder will also be part of a roster of stand-by-duty officers on a 24/7 basis);
Participate as a Member to the Operations Configuration Change Board (CCB), responsible for the technical coordination of the complex activities and the evolution of the technical baseline within the contract;
Chair the splinter Operations CCB, responsible for the approval of the configuration changes of the operational system, ensuring their adequacy to the Programme needs;
Participate to operational and non-operational boards and discussions which could have an impact on the GSOp activities, such as Programme Configuration Control Boards, Working Groups, Schedule Management Boards, Monthly and Quarterly Performance Meetings, Service Incidents Review Boards;
Support the qualification activities associated to the Galileo Infrastructure under evolution (ground and or space segments) and participate to the design and qualification reviews;
Deputise the GSOp Project Manager as necessary;
Liaise with other departments and other Programmes, to foster coordination and commonality in the management and performance of operations, and in the area of Administration, to ensure the execution of related corporate tasks, such as planning, reporting, administration and risk management;
The post will require frequent missions to other EUSPA sites, Munich and Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany), Fucino (Italy), as well as occasional travel to other locations.

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

Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies5 attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more
OR
A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and at least one year of appropriate professional experience when the normal period of university education is three years
In addition to the above, have appropriate professional experience6 of at least nine years after obtaining the required diploma
Be a national of a Member State of the European Union, Iceland or Norway
Be entitled to their full rights as a citizen
Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service
Meet the character requirements for the duties involved7
Have a thorough knowledge (minimum C1 level) of one of the languages of the European Union8 and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum B2 level) of another language of the European Union8
Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post9
Temporary agents (2f) from EUSPA and other EU agencies are also invited to apply in accordance with the following EUSPA rules:
https://www.euspa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2024-04/conditions_of_employment_of_temporary_staff_ta.pdf. The grade bracket applicable for internal and inter-agency mobility is AD8 – AD9.

[5] Only study titles that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are subject to the equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration. Qualifications/diplomas awarded in the United Kingdom until 31/12/2020 are accepted without further recognition. For diplomas awarded in the United Kingdom after this date (from 01/01/2021), a NARIC recognition is required: https://www.enic-naric.net/.
[6] Only appropriate professional experience acquired after achieving the minimum qualification stated in point.1 shall be considered. Where additional periods of training and study are accompanied by periods of professional activity, only the latter shall be considered as professional experience. Compulsory military service or equivalent civilian service accomplished after achieving the minimum qualification stated in point.1 shall be taken into consideration. Internships will be taken into consideration, if they are paid. Professional activities pursued part-time shall be calculated pro rata, on the basis of the percentage of full-time hours worked. A given period may be counted only once.
[7] Prior to the appointment, the successful candidate will be asked to provide a Police certificate confirming the absence of any criminal record.
[8] The languages of the EU are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish. The level shall be determined according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
[9] Before a successful candidate can be appointed, they will be medically examined by a selected medical service so that the Agency will be satisfied that they fulfil the requirement of Article 28(e) of the Staff Regulation of Officials of the European Union.

4. SELECTION CRITERIA
All eligible applications that meet the criteria outlined above will be fairly and objectively assessed against the selection criteria based solely on the information candidates provide in their applications. The Selection Board responsible for this selection will determine the criteria to be assessed in the various phases of the selection procedure (assessment of the application forms, interview and written test) prior to being granted access to the names of the applicants.

The selection is based on a comparative assessment of eligible candidates against all the selection criteria. Even candidates who do not excel in every single criterion may still be successful in the overall assessment and are therefore encouraged to apply.

When completing the online application, please clearly highlight your relevant skills and experiences that demonstrate how your profile aligns with the requirements below.

Professional experience and expertise

Strong technical experience and background in service provision, preferably in Space Systems;
Experience in procurement and contract management, preferably under a service level agreement;
Experience in managing, operating, maintaining, developing and/or specifying complex technical worldwide distributed systems;
Experience in maintaining project baseline and monitoring its implementation;
Experience in end-to-end implementation of new services, from specification to final service declaration;
Excellent command of both written and spoken English;
Required competencies

Motivation for the post;
Effective communication;
Transversal collaboration and working in teams;
Analytical thinking and problem-solving;
Results orientation, prioritising and organising.
We warmly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, experiences, and identities to apply. Your unique perspective and talents are valued and essential to our success.