Project Officer Communication and Information Systems (CIS) Support to Operations

4. DUTIES

Under the supervision of the Head of Sector for Contracted Services, and in the framework of the EU SatCom Market (ESM) project, the jobholderwill, be responsible for / contribute to the following activities:

ESM CIS service portfolio, project and contract management

• manage the ESM CIS service portfolio throughout its lifecycle, from the identification and validation of user requirements to procurement, delivery, acceptance, invoicing, payment and administrative closure;
• act as responsible Project Officer for the management and evolution of Framework Contracts (FWCs) and related specific contracts under the Joint Procurement Arrangement (JPA), ensuring alignment with user needs and applicable EDA procedures;
• prepare and coordinate procurement activities, including tender documentation, change requests, clarification exchanges and tender evaluation, and support the development of future contractual arrangements whilst ensuring compliance with EDAs legal framework;
• manage contractual and budgetary activities, including financial contributions, invoicing, payments, available balances and forecast expenditure, in compliance with applicable JPA provisions, contractual conditions, EDA financial and procurement rules, security requirements and internal governance processes;
• monitor contractor performance, deliverables, service levels, milestones and risks, and ensure timely follow-up of deviations, corrective actions and contractual issues;
• maintain an up-to-date overview of the ESM CIS portfolio, including operational priorities, financial status, contractual milestones, dependencies, risks and performance indicators, and provide appropriate reporting and documentation, recommendations and auditable project records.

Contributing members and stakeholder coordination

• act as a principal point of contact for contributing members and collect, analyse and consolidate their operational and capability requirements, translating them into service specifications, engineering activities and procurement actions;
• strengthen engagement with contributing members and promote wider participation by identifying common requirements, service gaps and opportunities for collaborative procurement;
• prepare and coordinate meetings with contributing members, contractors, EU stakeholders and other relevant actors, including decision records and systematic follow-up of agreed actions;
• liaise, as appropriate, with relevant Council of the European Union preparatory bodies, the European External Action Service, EU institutions and agencies, CSDP structures, missions and operations, service providers and other relevant stakeholders;
• coordinate within EDA with Legal, Procurement, Finance, Security, IT, Media and Communications and other relevant services concerning the management and evolution of the CIS portfolio.

Service development, uptake and continuous improvement

• develop outreach and promotion activities to increase the visibility, relevance and uptake of ESM CIS services among CSDP missions and operations;
• identify opportunities to expand the CIS service portfolio and introduce additional capabilities in response to evolving operational, security and technological requirements;
• capture lessons identified and lessons learned and use them to improve service delivery, contractual arrangements and future procurement planning;
• prepare briefings, guidance, presentations and other material supporting the use of available services by operational users and decision-makers.

Duties may evolve according to the development of EDA’s structure and activities, and the decisions of EDA management.

A. Essential

Only applications meeting all essential selection criteria will be assessed.

(1) Professional

The candidate will be required to demonstrate that he/she has:

• a university degree (or equivalent academic degree) in a field relevant to the post such as Communication and Information Systems (CIS) degree, Information Technology degree, Electrical Engineering degree, Software Engineering degree, Mechatronic degree etc.;
• at least six (6) years of relevant professional experience, acquired after the award of the minimum qualification required as a condition of eligibility;
• proven experience in project/programme management in an international organisation or a large-scale public sector organisation;
• proven experience in procurement and contract management, including the preparation and management of procurement or contractual documentation and the monitoring of contractor performance;
• good knowledge of the SatCom and CIS services market, including relevant technologies, service-provider capabilities and operational service-delivery models;
• good knowledge of the EU CSDP environment, including the CIS support requirements of CSDP missions and operations, and of EDA’s role and activities relevant to the area of responsibility;
• a very good command of written and oral English.

(2) Personal

All staff must be able to fit into the Agency's way of working (see para. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:

• ability to work in a team and independently in his/her area of responsibility;
• ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
• reliability and capacity to work under pressure with limited supervision;
• good communication, coordination and organisational skills;
• strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• results-orientation and strong motivation;
• flexibility and innovativeness;
• genuine commitment to the Agency's objectives.

B. Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

• experience of supporting organisational and process change;
• hold a (recognised) project / programme management qualification (e.g. Project Management Professional certificate (PMP).