Institutional Business Development Lead – Space & European Programmes

About Earthpulse

Earthpulse is a Barcelona-based NewSpace company transforming Earth Observation and AI into actionable intelligence for real-world decision-making.

We combine satellite data, advanced AI and geospatial intelligence to help organisations understand risk, anticipate change and make better decisions. Our technology is already being applied across critical infrastructure, utilities, climate resilience, insurance and development assistance, working with companies, public institutions and international organisations.

As we enter our next stage of growth, we are looking for someone to lead and scale one of our most strategic business areas: institutional business development.

The role

We are looking for an experienced, ambitious and highly proactive Institutional Business Development Lead to drive Earthpulse's growth across the European and international institutional ecosystem.

You will lead business development activities with organisations such as ESA, EUSPA, the European Commission, European institutions and agencies, Horizon Europe programmes, international financial institutions, development agencies, NGOs and other public and multilateral organisations.

This is not a purely proposal-writing or grant-management position.

We are looking for someone who understands how the institutional space ecosystem works, can identify where Earthpulse should play, build the right relationships and partnerships, shape opportunities before they become tenders, create strong consortia and convert institutional opportunities into strategic projects and long-term business.

You will work closely with Earthpulse's CEO, product and technical teams and will have significant autonomy in defining and executing our institutional growth strategy.

What you will do

Institutional Business Development

• Lead Earthpulse's business development strategy across the institutional and public sector.

• Identify and develop opportunities with ESA, EUSPA, the European Commission, Horizon Europe and other European and international programmes.

• Develop opportunities with development agencies, international organisations, NGOs, multilateral institutions and related stakeholders.

• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of institutional opportunities aligned with Earthpulse's technology and strategic priorities.

• Identify relevant tenders, calls, programmes, frameworks and procurement opportunities and assess their strategic and commercial potential.

• Develop opportunities proactively rather than relying only on published calls.

Partnerships & Ecosystem Development

• Build strategic relationships with institutional stakeholders, primes, research organisations, technology partners, consultancies and potential consortium members.

• Position Earthpulse within the European and international space, Earth Observation, climate resilience and development ecosystems.

• Build and coordinate strong project consortia, identifying the right partners and positioning EarthPulse in the most valuable role.

• Represent Earthpulse at institutional meetings, industry events, conferences and programme-related activities.

• Develop long-term relationships that can generate recurring opportunities beyond individual projects.

Opportunity & Proposal Leadership

• Lead the business side of major institutional proposals, from opportunity identification and consortium building to positioning, proposal strategy and submission.

• Coordinate technical, business and administrative contributors internally and externally.

• Translate complex technical capabilities into compelling value propositions for institutional programmes.

• Understand programme requirements, evaluation criteria, budgets and funding mechanisms and use them strategically when shaping proposals.

• Help define project concepts that combine institutional priorities with EarthPulse's technology, products and long-term roadmap.

Strategic Growth

• Contribute to EarthPulse's overall growth strategy and institutional market positioning.

• Identify emerging programmes, policy priorities and institutional trends relevant to Earth Observation, AI, climate adaptation, resilience, infrastructure, sustainability and development assistance.

• Help transform successful R&D and institutional projects into scalable products, partnerships and commercial opportunities.

• Create bridges between institutional programmes and EarthPulse's commercial activities.

What we are looking for

We are looking for someone with proven experience in the space sector and a strong understanding of the European institutional ecosystem.

You should bring:

• A proven track record in business development, partnerships, institutional programmes or strategic project development within the space sector.

• Strong knowledge of organisations and programmes such as ESA, EUSPA, the European Commission and Horizon Europe.

• Experience developing or contributing to successful institutional proposals, tenders or funded programmes.

• Experience building partnerships and consortia across companies, research organisations and institutional stakeholders.

• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder-management skills.

• The ability to identify opportunities early and turn initial conversations into structured business opportunities.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• A highly proactive, entrepreneurial and results-oriented mindset.

• The ambition and energy to build a business area, rather than simply manage an existing pipeline.

Experience with international development organisations, NGOs, development banks, DEVEX-related opportunities or international cooperation programmes will be highly valued.

Technical understanding

This role does not require you to be an engineer.

However, Earthpulse operates at the intersection of Earth Observation, AI, geospatial technologies and advanced analytics, so we are looking for someone who is genuinely comfortable working with deep technology.

You should be able to understand complex technical concepts, engage confidently with scientists and engineers and translate technology into clear institutional and business value.

Candidates with backgrounds in engineering, physics, mathematics, Earth Observation, geospatial technologies or related technical disciplines are very welcome, but we are equally interested in candidates from other backgrounds who have developed a strong and demonstrable understanding of deep-tech and the space industry.

What we value

Beyond experience, we are looking for someone with drive.

Someone curious, ambitious and comfortable opening doors.

Someone who enjoys understanding how things work, connecting people and spotting opportunities before they are obvious.

Someone who can move comfortably between a conversation with an ESA technical officer, a European Commission programme manager, a consortium partner and EarthPulse's technical team.

And someone who wants to have a meaningful role in building the next stage of a growing European space-tech company.

What we offer

• A key role in the growth of a European NewSpace company.

• Significant ownership over Earthpulse's institutional business development strategy.

• Direct exposure to leading European and international space and institutional organisations.

• The opportunity to work across cutting-edge Earth Observation, AI and geospatial technologies.

• Close collaboration with the leadership and technical teams.

• A dynamic, international and highly entrepreneurial environment.

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements.

• The opportunity to build something with real strategic impact rather than step into a narrowly predefined role.

 At Earthpulse, we believe Earth intelligence becomes valuable when it moves beyond data and becomes part of real decisions.

If you know the space ecosystem, understand technology and have the ambition to turn relationships and opportunities into meaningful business, we'd love to hear from you.