JOB DESCRIPTION

VN 25/41 Legal Officer (Technical legal matters)

Within the Legal Affairs Division (LAD) of the Administration Department and under the general supervision of the Head of the Division and the direct supervision of the Legal Officer responsible for the Programmes and Technical Legal Matters team, the Legal Officer will provide legal advice and participate in the drafting and negotiation of cooperation agreements with international partners of EUMETSAT as described below.

Duties

The main duties of the post will be as follows:

Provide expert legal advice on technical legal matters, in particular on IT Law (including on Artificial Intelligence), Export Control and IPRs and support cross-organizational initiatives in those areas;
Develop and maintain legal compliance frameworks and procedures and provide related in-house training;
Manage the EUMETSAT trademark/patent portfolio;

Draft and negotiate agreements with international partners;
Coordinate relevant external legal studies;
Deliver legal advice on other areas of EUMETSAT activities as required;
Draft and amend EUMETSAT legal documents;
Prepare and present documents on legal matters for EUMETSAT Delegate Bodies.

LOCATION
Darmstadt, Germany

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor”s degree in law, and a Master”s degree in Public International Law, EU Law and/or IT Law. Expert knowledge of export control and artificial intelligence regulations is required.

LANGUAGES

The official languages of EUMETSAT are English and French. Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have some knowledge of French.

DEADLINE

13 August 2025

Duties

The main duties of the post will be as follows:

Provide expert legal advice on technical legal matters, in particular on IT Law (including on Artificial Intelligence), Export Control and IPRs and support cross-organizational initiatives in those areas;
Develop and maintain legal compliance frameworks and procedures and provide related in-house training;
Manage the EUMETSAT trademark/patent portfolio;

Draft and negotiate agreements with international partners;
Coordinate relevant external legal studies;
Deliver legal advice on other areas of EUMETSAT activities as required;
Draft and amend EUMETSAT legal documents;
Prepare and present documents on legal matters for EUMETSAT Delegate Bodies.

Skills and Experience

Minimum of 7 years of work experience in a legal function, ideally including experience of working in an intergovernmental organisation;
Proven experience in complex technical legal matters, in particular in the areas of IT law, export control and/or IPRs;
Proven experience in developing and maintaining legal compliance frameworks, including experience providing training on such matters to non-lawyers;
Solid legal drafting skills;
Experience in using information technology and office software systems is required.

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 A2/A4 on the EUMETSAT salary scales. The minimum basic salary for this post is EURO 7340 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.)

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements