Sustainability Procurement Advisor

Das ist der Job

The Advisor will also contribute to monitoring and reporting on implementation progress.

Darum lohnt es sich

Additional Possible Contributions Support the SDO in preparing training materials or awareness‑raising content for internal teams. Remuneration And Contract Competitive monthly salary (€4,000 – €8,000 depending on experience), comprehensive pension scheme, medical and educational benefits, and relocation assistance for you and your family.

The European Southern Observatory is hiring a Sustainability Procurement Advisor to support the implementation of ESO’s Sustainable Procurement Principles and Guidelines in Garching, BY, Germany.

The role focuses on turning sustainability principles into practical procurement practices by conducting research, analysing procurement documentation, and developing tools that help ESO integrate sustainability criteria systematically into tenders.

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, and 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, and 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, and case studies from ESO procurements.

Draft user‑friendly factsheets summarising key standards, criteria, and sustainability entry points for each procurement category. 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. Key Competences And Experience 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 Excellent command of English is essential. A working knowledge of German and/or Spanish would be an advantage.

The role is a Paid Associate for one year, with the possibility of a fixed‑term extension based on performance. Duty Station Garching near Munich, Germany. The role is based on‑site at ESO; relocation to the duty station area is required. #J-18808-Ljbffr