HE Space is a successful international space company, specialised in providing managed services and human resources to the international space sector for over 40 years.
We hire space experts all over Europe across the whole spectrum of space-related activities, from engineering to science, software development, operations, marketing, finance and administration. Our employees contribute towards a wide range of groundbreaking space programmes including Galileo and Copernicus, ExoMars, Iris2, ESA BASS, ESA GSPT, LISA Pathfinder, Euclid, the Ariane and Vega launchers as well as the International Space Station.
HE Space has joined forces with CS Group and Sopra Steria to lead the engineering and digital space market in Europe and to provide highly skilled consulting.
We are passionate about people and invest in you to support the development of the European space industry. 

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) invite applications for the position of Programme Manager for the International Project Office for Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (IPO CORDEX), to be hosted jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and University of Cape Town (UCT). The WCRP is sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Science Council (ISC), and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The WCRP goals are to determine the extent to which climate can be predicted and the extent of human influence on climate.

Regional downscaling and CORDEX

The WCRP views regional downscaling as both an important research topic and an opportunity to engage a broader community of climate scientists in its activities. CORDEX has served as a catalyst to achieve this goal since its inception in 2009 (WMO bulletin Addressing climate information needs at the regional level: the CORDEX framework).

The CORDEX vision is to advance and coordinate the science and application of regional climate downscaling through global partnerships. Its goals are:

1. To better understand relevant regional/local climate phenomena, their variability and changes, through downscaling.
2. To evaluate and improve regional climate downscaling models and techniques
3. To produce coordinated sets of regional downscaled projections worldwide
4. To foster communication and knowledge exchange with users of regional climate information

Regional Climate Models (RCM) and Empirical Statistical Downscaling (ESD), applied over a limited area and driven by GCMs can provide information on much smaller scales supporting more detailed impact and adaptation assessment and planning, which is vital in many vulnerable regions of the world. Close engagement with the impact and adaptation communities and capacity building across the 14 CORDEX domains across the globe are important pillars of the CORDEX initiative.

The International Project Office for CORDEX

The International Project Office for CORDEX (IPOC) has been hosted by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) in Norrköping, Sweden from 2015 until 2025. The new IPOC will be hosted by the European Space Agency and University of Cape Town who are now seeking an experienced Programme Manager who will be based at ESA’s UK site in Harwell, UK, together with the Director. A science/communication officer will be based at UCT, and the team will be completed with the administration support officers that will be based at both institutions.

As Programme Manager you will be responsible for supporting coordination, planning, development, and implementation of the activities of CORDEX and leading on implementation of operations of the IPO as well as facilitating active CORDEX IPO liaison between the climate observations and modelling communities.  This includes the following key responsibilities:

• Supporting the organisation of the activities of the CORDEX SAT.
• Organising and contributing to CORDEX international meetings, events and to partner/sponsoring organizations.
• Working closely with CORDEX SAT, RIfS IPO and WCRP secretariat providing scientific, technical and administrative support.
• Leading on establishing appropriate collaborative working platforms, processes and operational workflows, taking account of relevant WCRP, HE Space and ESA requirements and guidelines.
• Supporting the Director in coordination, planning, development and implementation of the CORDEX experimental design, data archiving and dissemination, and associated observational, reanalysis, forcings, scenarios and modelling efforts.
• Responsibility for financial programme management and reporting.
• Contributing to quarterly activity reporting.
• Supporting the Director in delivering appropriate governance structure and materials to support CORDEX governance.
• Preparing reports, correspondence and publications as needed.
• Facilitating active liaison between the climate observations and regional modelling communities, with a focus on strengthening the connections, cooperation and coordination between models and observations, organising relevant meetings and conferences.

Assisting the cooperation between CORDEX and other relevant international programmes and activities, including contacts and interaction

• PhD or Master's degree in Climate Science, Meteorology, Environmental Science, Geophysics, or a closely related field.
• Formal project/programme management qualification and demonstrated experience of managing large scale international projects, including financial reporting and data protection.
• Proven track record of organizing international scientific meetings, workshops, and conferences.
• Demonstrated skills in strategic planning, project coordination, and stakeholder engagement across international scientific communities.
• Ability to liaise effectively with scientific panels (e.g., CORDEX SAT, RIfS SSG) and provide scientific, technical and administrative support.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, especially in multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional environments/projects.
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.
• Willingness and capacity to travel internationally.

Desirable

• Experience in climate research or climate science management, preferably with a focus on regional climate modelling and downscaling techniques.
• Demonstrated experience in scientific coordination, especially between modelling and observational communities.
• Demonstrated experience in production of content for best practice, guidance and scientific publications.
• Experience of contract management and procurement.
• Experience of strategic implementation of AI solutions, bridging the gap between operations efficiency and relevant regulatory compliance.

Location

The IPOC Director will be hosted by the European Space Agency's Climate Office, located at the ESA European Centre for Satellite Applications Technologies (ECSAT) in Harwell, UK with flexible home working options within the UK available. Applications will remain open until  xx. If required, support to secure right to work in the UK will be provided to successful candidates.

Employment structure

The IPOC will be hosted by the European Space Agency; however, the team is contracted and managed for ESA by HE Space Operations Ltd.  HE Space is offering a competitive salary for this position for suitably qualified candidates.

HE Space is a successful international space company. For 40 years, HE Space has been supporting their customers with qualified experts in the field of engineering, science and administration.

Our benefits in the UK: We offer competitive compensation, and our benefits packages are customised per location to better match local needs. Here in the spotlight are three example benefits of them for our employees located in the UK:

• Relocation support: Financial Support for your relocation expenses to Harwell and one month's paid accommodation if needed.
• Pension Scheme: All our employees in the UK fall under a pension scheme. HE Space contributes to this pension scheme.  

Training & Professional Development: Your individual training needs are important to us, and we support your attendance at conferences, e-learning, conventional group and individual classes.    

Last apply date: 30/05/2026!