Contracts Officer

Contracts Officer

Job Requisition ID: 20086

Date Posted: 26 November 2025

Closing Date: 4 January :59 CET/CEST

Publication: Internal & External

Type of Appointment: 4 years, extendable to indefinite

Directorate: Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness

Workplace:Paris, FR

Grade Band: A2 - A4

Location

ESA Headquarters, Paris, France

Description

Contracts Officer reporting to one of the team leaders in the Space Transportation Contracts Division, Contracts Department, Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness (D/CIC).

This opportunity is for the position of Contracts Officer in the Contracts Department of the Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness. The Contracts Department is responsible for all procurement-related matters, including invitations to tender, requests for quotation, and calls for proposals with or without procurements, in line with the Agency's industrial policy. You will work with one of the teams (Ariane 6 or Ground Infrastructure) of the Space Transportation Contract Division based in Paris and will be in charge of implementing procurement processes and contracts in relation to space transportation activities.

As an ESA Contracts Officer, you will have the crucial role of supporting the Project and/or Programme Managers in conducting all procurement and contractual aspects of ESA space transportation projects. You will also be responsible for ensuring that procurement activities comply with the legal and industrial policy requirements set out in ESA's Contracting Regulations.

You will be part of the Space Transportation Contracts Division with an organisational reporting line to the leader of either the Ariane 6 Team or the Space Transportation Ground Infrastructure Team. This will provide you with the appropriate level of independence, while enabling you to be involved in the activities/projects on which you will be advising to ensure impartiality, transparency and compliance with the procurement/tendering and contracting processes.

This JR may lead to the recruitment of several Contracts Officers.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• ensuring full compliance of all procurement activities assigned to you with ESA's rules, regulations, policies and strategies;
• effectively implementing the internal control, proper design and functioning of a client-oriented procurement/tendering and contracting process;
• ensuring the timely and efficient preparation of the various elements of the procurement and contract documentation in cooperation with the technical services in charge;
• providing guidelines for applying the relevant and up-to-date legal and industrial policy measures throughout the procurement/tendering and contracting process;
• organising and coordinating all stages of procurement, including issuing the invitations to tender, ensuring proposals are received, verifying their admissibility, evaluating them and negotiating the resulting contract with the selected contractor(s);
• promoting the awareness and understanding of ESA's procurement/tendering and contracting processes to the relevant stakeholders;
• monitoring the performance of the contracts in accordance with the applicable contractual and industrial policy rules, including the negotiation of all amendments;
• dealing with any administrative, contractual, legal and industrial issues that may arise, including issues involving regular and direct interaction with industrial counterparts;
• building a value-added relationship of trust with the Project Managers/Technical Officers and their respective teams, advising them on all procurement-related matters.

Technical competencies

Good knowledge of and experience in contract, procurement or international business law, gained in law firms, industry or public administration (minimum of six years of experience)

Good understanding of intellectual property issues

Ability to critically assess technical tender documentation and to draft tailored contract conditions

Knowledge of the European and/or international business sector (from an institutional, commercial and/or industrial perspective), preferably in the space domain

Ability to critically assess contractual clauses, and negotiate and place contractual instruments

Good understanding of economic and financial aspects of contracts

Negotiation skills

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

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

Additional requirements

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written;
• 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 organisational 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 technical and management issues;
• Discretion and integrity.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness

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, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

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 via email at

Important Information and Disclaimer

In principle, recruitment will be within the advertised grade band (A2-A4). However, if the selected candidate has less than four years of relevant professional experience following the completion of the master's degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.

Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

The information published on ESA's careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality and Languages

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

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 Member States*.

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.

• Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.

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