Sustainability Procurement Advisor job in Garching, Germany

Position description

The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries.

ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in northern Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor and the ESO Headquarters are located in Garching, near Munich, Germany.

At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and will host and operate the southern array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory, the world's largest and most sensitive high energy gamma-ray observatory. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky" and whose operations will be fully integrated into the Paranal Observatory.

For its Quality and Sustainability Office in Garching, within the Office of the Director General, ESO is opening a Paid Associate position of Sustainability Procurement Advisor.

The Sustainability Procurement Advisor will support the implementation of ESO's Sustainable Procurement Principles and Guidelines, which are built on three pillars: social, environmental, and financial sustainability. The role focuses on turning these principles into practical, actionable procurement practices by conducting research, analysing procurement documentation, and developing tools that help ESO integrate sustainability criteria systematically and effectively into tenders. The Advisor will also contribute to monitoring and reporting on implementation progress.

The position is ideal for someone who is analytical, structured, and motivated to advance sustainable procurement in a complex scientific and technical environment.

Key Responsibilities

Research and Benchmarking:

Conduct research on sustainability standards, certifications, and benchmarks relevant to ESO procurement (e.g., ISO 14001, ecolabels, social compliance certifications, energy efficiency standards) and propose substantiated ways to integrate them into procurement processes;
Investigate approaches to Life Cycle Costing (LCC) in public procurement and assess how LCC can be applied to ESO's procurement categories;
Analyse Statements of Work (SoW), Technical Specifications (TS), and evaluation criteria to determine: whether sustainability requirements are already included or missing, whether existing criteria can be reused in future procurements;
Assess the quality and relevance of sustainability requirements using the six-step methodology defined in ESO's guidelines.

Monitoring and Data Collection:

Develop overviews (tables, diagrams, dashboards) of recent or recurring procurements, showing: which sustainability criteria were included, the type of criteria (environmental, social, financial), whether they were pass/fail, scored, or descriptive, key drivers and barriers;
Build a structured dataset to support sustainability reporting, KPI development, and future procurement planning;
Support the Sustainability and Diversity Officer (SDO) and Requesters in reviewing supplier documentation such as sustainability reports, certifications, and human rights statements.

Knowledge Base and Tools Development:

Contribute to a living knowledge base containing:
- category-specific sustainability criteria;
- templates and standard formulations for SoW, TS, and evaluation criteria;
- case studies from ESO procurements.
Draft user-friendly factsheets summarizing key standards, criteria, and sustainability entry points for each procurement category.

Additional Possible Contributions:

Support the SDO in preparing training materials or awareness-raising content for internal teams;
Assist in lightweight post-tender reviews of selected procurements;
Help document progress on sustainable procurement implementation across ESO;
Provide support to the SDO in other sustainability-related areas as needed.

Essential qualifications and competencies

Strong analytical and research skills, with the ability to synthesise complex information;
Interest in sustainability standards, responsible supply chains, and public procurement practices;
Excellent written communication skills and ability to produce clear, structured documentation;
Ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks, and collaborate with diverse stakeholders.

Desirable qualifications and competencies

Familiarity with procurement processes, sustainability reporting, or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks;
Experience with data structuring, dashboards, or basic data analysis tools;
Knowledge of Life Cycle Costing methodologies.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in sustainability, procurement, public policy, engineering, economics, or a related field.

Language Skills

An excellent command of English is essential. A working knowledge of German and/or Spanish would be an advantage.

Remuneration and Contract

We offer an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary (free of income tax for applicants from ESO member states), comprehensive pension scheme and medical, educational and other social benefits, as well as financial help in relocating your family and support to place your child/children in daycare.

The contract is a Paid Associate for a period of one year. The initial contract is for a fixed term duration of one year with the possibility of one fixed-term extension subject to individual performance and organisational requirements and as defined in the applicable policies and staff rules and regulations. For any further information, please visit https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/paidassoc/.

Our Salary and career structure:

ESO's salary structure is based upon a range of career paths which reflect the nature and level of our roles. Each career path is made up of two or three grades which are used to further reflect experience and performance. The role of Sustainable Procurement Advisor role is in Career Path IV. Please follow this link for more details https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/intstaff/salary-structure/.

ESO aims to support members of personnel in maintaining a good work-life balance (https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/intstaff/#work-life-balance) between their professional and private life. ESO is also committed to offering family-friendly support (https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/intstaff/#family-friendly-support), creating a work environment and policies which allow staff to balance their professional and private responsibilities through flexible working arrangements and financial support for families.

The initial contract is for a fixed-term duration of one year with the possibility of a fixed-term extension subject to individual performance and organisational requirements and as defined in the applicable policies and staff rules and regulations. For any further information, please visit https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/paidassoc/.

Duty Station

Garching near Munich, Germany.

The role is based on-site at ESO and relocation to the duty station area is required. Staff at ESO benefit from a mobile working policy that allows for limited hybrid working for work-life balance purposes.

Application instructions

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