Director of Commercialisation and Industry Partnership

The European Space Agency is seeking a visionary and accomplished leader to shape Europe’s agenda and future in the global space economy.

Overview

As Director of Commercialisation and Industry Partnership you will lead ESA’s commercialisation and business development strategy, with impact on innovation, strategy, and industry. In this unique leadership role, you will act as a catalyst for market development, ensuring that Europe’s space investments translate into sustainable economic value, industrial competitiveness, and strategic advantage for Europe.

ESA is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA’s annual budget in 2026 is 8.26 billion Euro.

Duties

Reporting directly to the Director General, you will be a member of the ESA Executive Board, contributing to Agency‑wide strategic leadership and decision‑making. Under delegation from the Director General, your main responsibilities will include:

Shaping ESA’s Commercialisation vision and strategy:

• Define and drive ESA’s commercialisation and business development strategy.
• Support the industrialisation and commercialisation of space technologies, products and services.
• Enable the development of integrated downstream applications and solutions.
• Drive international market expansion for European space companies.

Accelerating industry growth and market development:

• Strengthen the position of European industry in the global space economy by enabling international partnerships and supporting the global expansion of European space capabilities.
• Foster the scaling‑up on global markets.
• Facilitate access to private and public investments and finance for European space industry.

Leading major commercial programmes and ensuring coordination across ESA directorates:

You will oversee key ESA programmes designed to strengthen commercial competitiveness such as:

• ARTES 4.0 commercial partnership projects conducted in partnership with European and Canadian industries and operators, ensuring that the commercial nature of ARTES is maintained and enhanced.
• ELC (European Launcher Challenge) and Boost! in close cooperation with the Directorate of Space Transportation.
• ACCESS (Accelerating Commercialisation and Competitiveness of European Space Sector) programmes.

You will ensure effective coordination with other programme and related commercialisation‑related activities across ESA Directorates as required, and promote synergies across programmes to maximise impact and efficiency.

Strengthening partnerships and stakeholders’ engagement:

You will build and maintain close relationships and partnerships with external entities such as Member State delegations, industry (space and non‑space), academia, international partners, and stakeholder organisations as required.

Leadership, people management and risk management:

You will actively work to ensure the well‑being, motivation, training and career progression of your Directorate workforce, incentivising a spirit of initiative, transparency, information flow and collaboration with other Directorates.

You will also be responsible for identifying, assessing, managing, and reporting the health and safety risks in your area of responsibility.

Technical Competencies

• More than 10 years’ experience in similar senior management positions at executive level, and in the management of teams and programmes of significant size in terms of budget and human resources, preferably in an international context.
• A well‑established network and a deep understanding of challenges and opportunities related to the commercialisation of technology‑ or space‑related programmes.
• A proven track record of developing new business areas, leveraging financial resources.
• Strong knowledge of the key space‑industrial stakeholders in Europe and worldwide.
• Knowledge of the ESA institutional framework, and of the European and international space sector (institutional, commercial and/or industrial).
• Proven experience in business management, including the ability to develop innovative strategies to increase operational efficiency, and to build strong relationship with key stakeholders to drive successful business outcomes.

Behavioural Competencies

• Result Orientation
• Operational Efficiency
• Fostering Cooperation
• Relationship Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Forward Thinking

Education

A master’s is required for this post, either in law or economics, business administration, or in any other technical domain.

Additional requirements

Key qualities required for the post are an innovative spirit and a strategically oriented mind, a proven capacity to lead change and manage people and teams, excellent relationship management and negotiation skills and the ability to influence high‑level decisions.

In addition, you should have:

• The ability to provide strategic direction to the individuals and teams and to relate team objectives to the overall, evolving organisational goals and context.
• The ability to drive performance within and across teams throughout the organisation.
• Demonstrated excellent leadership, relationship management and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Excellent cognitive, analytical, delegation, planning and organisational skills.
• The ability to anticipate problems, solve complex issues and relate situations to their context.
• The ability to reach solution‑oriented, pragmatic and timely decisions of a high standard and with integrity as well as to support others (team members, upper management, other stakeholders) in this process.

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.

Important Information and Disclaimer

Applicants must be eligible to acquire the security clearance by their national security administrations. Applicants will be required to undergo psychometric testing and other assessments, and, if invited for interview, asked to provide references. In accordance with the European Space Agency's security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment.

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 and the United Kingdom.

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.

For further information: [email protected]

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