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VN 25/25 Quality Assurance - Competence Area Manager

EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, operating a fleet of satellites delivering weather and climate-related satellite data and images to our users worldwide; helping protect lives, property and industries. Further satellites are in preparation for launch.

The Quality Assurance Competence Area (QA CA) provides quality assurance services and support to all Departments, Programmes and Projects. The successful candidate will functionally manage the quality assurance engineers working in matrix arrangement as integrated functional support directly in the teams they work for. The holder of this post has the responsibility for the management and delivery of the Quality Assurance support in line with quality assurance standards, the needs of the organisation and best practices.

Reporting to the Head of Process Assurance and Management Support Division (PRS), the successful candidate will get the unique opportunity to contribute with her/his expertise, leadership skills and strategic mind-set to all quality assurance activities across EUMETSAT.

Duties

The responsibilities of the holder of this post are as follows:

Manage the Quality Assurance Competence Area (QA-CA), including securing the continued availability of Quality Assurance expertise and know-how;

Manage the delivery of quality assurance support to all Departments, including management processes, products and services, that provide reasonable assurance that programmes/projects and routine activities will meet their assigned targets;

In line with the EUMETSAT Management System, implement, maintain and continually improve Quality Assurance Framework, promoting the use of a cross-departmental, coherent and harmonised suite of Quality Assurance working practices in line with specific programme/project needs, and establish/maintain related metrics;

Support the implementation of QA processes at all levels in the organisation, such as risk management, lesson learned, anomalies management;

Ensure implementation of QA requirements in relevant contracts, identifying issues, risks, non-conformities and associated implications;

Organise and perform Quality Audits on Contractors in line with established contractual requirements and procurement needs. Perform and/or support EUMETSAT internal quality audits, in coordination with the Quality Management unit.

LOCATION

Darmstadt, Germany

QUALIFICATIONS

University degree in a relevant discipline. A Master’s degree would be an advantage.

LANGUAGES

Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have some knowledge of French.

DEADLINE

12.05.2025

Duties

The responsibilities of the holder of this post are as follows:

Manage the Quality Assurance Competence Area (QA-CA), including securing the continued availability of Quality Assurance expertise and know-how;

Manage the delivery of quality assurance support to all Departments, including management processes, products and services, that provide reasonable assurance that programmes/projects and routine activities will meet their assigned targets;

In line with the EUMETSAT Management System, implement, maintain and continually improve Quality Assurance Framework, promoting the use of a cross-departmental, coherent and harmonised suite of Quality Assurance working practices in line with specific programme/project needs, and establish/maintain related metrics;

Support the implementation of QA processes at all levels in the organisation, such as risk management, lesson learned, anomalies management;

Ensure implementation of QA requirements in relevant contracts, identifying issues, risks, non-conformities and associated implications;

Organise and perform Quality Audits on Contractors in line with established contractual requirements and procurement needs. Perform and/or support EUMETSAT internal quality audits, in coordination with the Quality Management unit.

Skills and Experience

Extensive experience in Quality Assurance, particularly regarding the design, development, IV&V and operations and maintenance of complex, software-intensive systems/products. Experience gained in the field of space programmes would be a distinct advantage;

Demonstrated experience leading large Quality Assurance teams, developing people, managing performance and ensuring long-term continuity of critical skills;

Proven experience defining and implementing Quality Assurance policies, objectives, working practices, and procedures;

Solid knowledge and practice of the following standards: ISO 9000 series; ECSS/EN standards series;

Sound problem solving/analysis and monitoring skills;

Certification as a Quality Auditor will be considered as advantage;

Proactive attitude, strong communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to apply these to working within and across teams, as well as a customer-oriented approach.

Employment Conditions

The initial contract will be of 4 years’ duration, with subsequent 5 year contracts being awarded thereafter, subject to individual performance and organisation requirements. There is no limit to the amount of follow-up contracts a staff member can receive up to the EUMETSAT retirement age of 63 and there are certainly opportunities to establish a long career perspective at EUMETSAT.
This post is graded A3/A4 on the EUMETSAT salary scales. The minimum basic salary for this post is EURO 9,058 per month (net of internal tax but excluding pension contribution and insurances) which may be negotiable on the basis of skills and experience. The salary scale provides for increments on the anniversary of taking up employment, and scales are reviewed by the EUMETSAT Council with effect from 1 January each year. In addition to basic salary, EUMETSAT offers attractive benefits. Further information, including salary details, is available on the EUMETSAT web site.

EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunities work environment for men and women.
Please note that only nationals of EUMETSAT Member States may apply. The EUMETSAT Convention requires that Staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT.

About EUMETSAT

EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency. Its role is to establish and operate meteorological satellites to monitor the weather and climate from space - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation's Member States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.

EUMETSAT also operates several Copernicus missions on behalf of the European Union and provide data services to the Copernicus marine and atmospheric services and their users.

As an intergovernmental European Organisation, EUMETSAT has 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.)

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