Consultant - Space Sustainability Implementation and Stakeholder Coordination

UN Secretariat; Wien; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The United Nations Secretariat in Vienna seeks a qualified consultant for the Space Sustainability Section to operationalize the UN-SOCH hub and coordinate operator onboarding. The role emphasizes stakeholder engagement, user support, and continuous improvement of the platform to expand participation across orbit regimes.

You will assemble guidance materials, facilitate outreach, and contribute to reporting while ensuring content quality and timely administration.

Qualifications

• Minimum of ten years of progressive experience in space sustainability or related field.
• Experience coordinating with industry and institutional stakeholders and translating consultations into recommendations.
• Experience with international organizations or the UN system is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Onboard operators for UN-SOCH directory, ensure content quality and user guidance.
• Engage with operators and partners to gather usability feedback and prepare recommendations.
• Manage day-to-day administration of UN-SOCH, including access requests and user support.
• Support operationalization and launch of UN-SOCH, preparing guidance materials and outreach content.
• Coordinate engagement with participants and partners and summarize progress.
• Identify functional improvements based on feedback and prepare documentation.
• Prepare recommendations for development, governance, and prioritization of UN-SOCH.
• Support Phase II development for Member State sign-ups and internal progress reporting.

Skills

Stakeholder coordination

User support

Feedback collection

Platform enhancement

Documentation

Reporting

Communication

Meetings/workshops

International cooperation

Space sustainability implementation

Education

Advanced degree in space engineering / related field

First-level degree with 2+ years qualifying experience

Job description

Organizational context: The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) hosts the Space Sustainability Section, which is responsible for advancing a practical implementation agenda on space sustainability. This role supports the Director and the Section in this mandate, focusing on the operationalization and enhancement of the United Nations Space Operators Coordination Hub (UN-SOCH).

Job purpose: The purpose of this consultancy is to support the Director and the Space Sustainability Section in advancing the practical implementation of space sustainability initiatives. This involves the onboarding and coordination of operators for the United Nations Space Operators Coordination Hub (UN-SOCH), ensuring its successful operationalization and launch. The role will also contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the UN-SOCH platform, gathering feedback, developing recommendations for future improvements, and supporting its expansion to include Member States. The consultant will facilitate stakeholder engagement, provide user support, and contribute to reporting and coordination efforts to advance practical coordination and implementation across all orbit regimes.

Responsibilities: Onboard operators for the UN-SOCH directory, ensuring content quality, providing user guidance, and conducting administrative follow-up. Engage with operators and partners to gather feedback on usability and functionality, preparing summaries and recommendations for improvements. Manage the day-to-day administration of UN-SOCH, including access requests and user support. Support the operationalization and launch of UN-SOCH, preparing guidance materials and outreach content. Coordinate engagement with participants and partners, summarizing progress and next steps. Enhance the UN-SOCH platform by identifying functional improvements based on feedback and preparing documentation. Prepare recommendations for future development, governance, and prioritization of UN-SOCH. Support Phase II development for Member State sign-ups. Contribute to internal progress reporting and maintain records of activities, outputs, and recommendations.

Education: An advanced university degree in space engineering, systems engineering, astrodynamics, international relations, space law, space policy, or a related field is required. A first-level degree with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted.

Work experience: A minimum of ten years of progressive experience in space sustainability, stakeholder coordination, international cooperation, or implementation support is required. Demonstrated experience coordinating with industry and institutional stakeholders, translating consultations into recommendations, and organizing policy meetings or workshops is essential. Experience with international organizations or the UN system is desirable.

Skills: Stakeholder coordination, user support, feedback collection and analysis, platform enhancement, documentation preparation, reporting, communication, organization of meetings/workshops, international cooperation, space sustainability implementation.

Required languages:

Desired languages: French, English