Job Description

Industrial Cost Auditor

Job Requisition ID: 19820

Date Posted: 30 September 2025

Closing Date: 21 October 2025 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication: Internal & External

Type of Contract: Permanent

Directorate: Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness

Workplace:

Paris, FR Darmstadt, DE Frascati, IT Madrid, ES Harwell, GB Noordwijk, NL

Grade Band: A2 - A4

Location
ESA Headquarters, Paris, France or ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands, or ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, or ESRIN, Frascati, Italy, or ESAC, Madrid, Spain, or ECSAT, Harwell, United Kingdom.

Description

Industrial Cost Auditor in the Industrial Audit Services Office, Industrial Policy and Auditing Department, Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness.

The industrial cost audit function is of vital importance to ESA. The Agency spends a large proportion of its annual budget on placing contracts with the space industry. Ensuring a proper return for Member States and value for money is therefore important, and the audit activity is an essential part of this process.

Reporting to the Head of the Industrial Audit Service Office, you will be responsible for carrying out general industrial cost analyses and auditing related activities in support of the ESA procurement process.

Duties

In direct contact with industry, you will perform the following:

Audit, analysis and negotiation of industrial hourly labour rates and overheads, as well as unit rates (such as facility charges) and other overheads, on the basis of detailed reviews carried out on the company’s cost structure.
Audit of direct expenditure on contracts, including compliance with ESA rules.
Financial viability audits on the basis of detailed reviews carried out on the company’s financial data.
Nationality audits on the basis of established processes and criteria for nationality attribution.
Audits in support of the verification of geo-return data.
Audits carried out in direct support for programmes, including a detailed analysis and review of industrial contractual documents.
Verification of the company’s cost accounting systems in order to ascertain compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and ESA rules.

In direct contact with ESA internal stakeholders and other support activities, you will perform the following:

Participation in Tender Evaluation Boards and Cost Panels for the analysis of financial and cost-related matters, as well as support for ESA programme directorates in their direct negotiations with industry.
Providing advice on financial matters e.g. currency exchange, price variation formulae, productivity, inflation, hourly rates, business case assessments, etc.
Collaboration and coordination of cost and audit activities with other national and international organisations.
Support in day-to-day audit activities, including preparing concise and accurate documentation (e.g. audit reports, policies, processes, etc.), analysis of data, collection of information, etc.
Other audit tasks/projects as requested of the Office.

When performing these duties, you, as Industrial Cost Auditor, will interface closely with senior industry representatives, ESA and industry project management teams, ESA contract officers, other finance and cost engineering functions at ESA, and auditors of other national audit authorities.

Technical competencies

Expertise in cost accounting methods for labour, facility and overhead rates

Proficiency in financial and management accounting analysis

Knowledge of auditing standards, processes and practices

Experience with ERP, accounting software and financial data tools

Ability to assess financial risks and evaluate internal controls

Understanding of GAAP, IFRS and relevant financial regulations

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

A master’s degree in business administration, corporate finance and accounting, auditing or economics is required for this post.

Additional requirements

In addition, you should have:

a minimum of three years’ cumulative experience in auditing activities.
strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
effective negotiation and influencing abilities.
the willingness and flexibility to travel frequently.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at contact.human.resources@esa.int.

Important Information and Disclaimer
In principle, recruitment will be within the advertised grade band (A2-A4). However, if the selected candidate has less than four years of relevant professional experience following the completion of the master’s degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality and Languages
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to internal candidates and secondly to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.