Notice

Earth Observation Advisory Committee - EOAC: Call for Independent Members

Published 23 July 2026

The Earth Observation Advisory (EOAC) will provide advice to the UK Space Agency from a small, trusted group of sector representatives (Industry and Academia) on key Earth Observation policy and strategic delivery decisions.

The EOAC will complement:

• The cross-Government EO Board which was set up in 2023 for policy discussions related to EO,

• The UK Space EO committee,

• The Space Academic Network EO Committee,

• UK Space Agency wider community engagement such as via the pre-PBEO briefings, and attendance at workshops and conferences throughout the year.

These all help to inform the Agency view.

What we are looking for: 

The UK Space Agency is seeking three independent members of the EOAC to provide a wide range of views on all aspects of EO.  

The three members will be Chair, Vice Chair and an early career representative.  

Successful applicants will operate in a personal capacity and will be encouraged to have the freedom to challenge, debate and provide the views of the sector. 

The other committee members will be appointed by NERC NCEO, SPAN, UKSpace and Space4Climate. UK Space Agency and MOD will put forward ex officio members.  

The person specification and application process can be found below. If you feel you have the skills, experience or ideas useful to the EOAC please send us your application by 14 August 2026.

Earth Observation Advisory Committee – Role Duties: 

Unless specified otherwise, the role duties and skills and experience cover the Chair, Vice Chair and the Early Career Representative 

1. Attend three meetings of the Advisory Committee per year, with at least one being held in person. 

2. The work of the committee may at times be sensitive. You must be able to adhere to the code of conduct of life in public office including declaring any conflict of interests where necessary.  

3. The Chair/Vice Chair must be able to put aside personal views and be able to represent the Committee’s collective views or articulate the range of views to the UK Space Agency.  

4. The Chair/Vice Chair may also be requested at ad hoc Agency meetings estimated to be an additional 3 meetings per year. 

5. The Chair/Vice Chair may also be asked to contribute to more time sensitive commissioning that falls outside of the Committee meetings (where there is not time to wait for the next meeting). 

6. Provide insights and discuss the evidence base underpinning development of UK Space Agency EO activities and investments. 

7. Comment on relative priority of current and potential future national EO programmes. Please note that this is not an expert review panel where individual projects will be discussed.   

8. Contribute to the committee reports to the UK Space Agency.

Essential skills and experience: 

• The ability to provide objective advice 

• The ability to take a broad overview 

• The ability for the Chair and Vice Chair to bring together and summarise a consensus of opinions or advise where consensus cannot be reached 

• Specific experience in the UK Earth Observation sector from any part of the value chain  

• Familiarity with relevant EO ESA, EU and international programmes 

• Awareness of issues and opportunities facing the UK Earth Observation Landscape 

• The ability to employ diplomacy as required 

Role terms and conditions: 

• The appointment will be for up to three years, with three meetings per year. 

• Committee documents requiring confidentiality will be marked appropriately and should not be shared outside of the committee.

• All Committee members are expected to adhere to the seven principles of public life (see The Seven Principles of Public Life - GOV.UK). 

• This is not a paid role, but reasonable travel expenses within the UK will be considered for any in person meetings.

Selection Process 

The UK Space Agency endeavours to ensure that advisory bodies reflect the diversity within the relevant communities and we therefore encourage applications to ensure we are fully inclusive in terms of equality with regard to gender, race and disability. We welcome applications from people at all stages of their career, and one post in particular will be for an early career representative.   

Please apply using the MS Forms link. This invites you to include a short statement (500 words) outlining how you meet the listed criteria, why you wish to become a member and what you bring to the role.

Please try to include the following:    

• area(s) of experience and current activity in the UK EO sector 

• appropriate qualities including academic/industrial background knowledge of relevant subject areas 

• details of experience of serving on committees, particularly those related to the Research Councils or government 

• justification of applicant’s suitability for the position 

• any possible conflicts of interest 

• If you are applying to be considered for chairing, please provide details of any past chairing experience 

• A statement from your employer that you can be released for at least 3 days per year for 2 years.

Please complete the form by 11:59pm on 14 August 2026 at the latest. 

We anticipate a high level of interest and, if necessary, will conduct interviews prior to selection. An announcement is likely in late August/early September 2026. 

For more information, please contact beth.greenaway@dsit.gov.uk, lauren.newell@dsit.gov.uk or sam.young@dsit.gov.uk.