Executive Business Partner

Role highlights:

• Executive Business Partner

• Location: Lisbon, Portugal

• Department: CEO Office

• Reports to: CEO of ICEYE Portugal

• Employment type: Permanent

• Workplace model: On-site

• Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO, where required)

Why this role matters:

 

You are the operating engine of ICEYE Portugal's Center of Excellence. As the company builds its Lisbon base for sovereign intelligence from space, someone has to make the organisation run: set the rhythm, keep decisions moving, and make sure the things we commit to actually happen. That is this role.

Working directly alongside the CEO, you run the operating cadence across every CoE function: engineering, sales, marketing, the HR and finance business partners, and legal. You turn a fast, ambitious agenda into structured execution, meetings that produce decisions, decisions that produce action, and action that gets followed through to closure. You keep momentum high while the organisation scales.

This is also a growth path. The role is scoped today at Executive Business Partner level: an individual contributor with no direct reports. It is explicitly designed to grow into Chief of Staff for ICEYE Portugal as you build trust, take on more of the CEO's agenda, and prove you can own the operating system of the company. We are hiring someone who wants that trajectory.

 

Who We Are

ICEYE is the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space. We deliver persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth.

 

ICEYE owns the world's largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation. To our customers we provide intelligence with unmatched quality, latency and revisit times, in any weather, day or night. To governments who choose to operate their own constellation we provide this proven capability as a sovereign system.

 

ICEYE-built constellations serve customers in defence and intelligence, environmental monitoring, insurance and emergency management. We enable fast decisions that contribute to a safer future.

 

Founded and headquartered in Finland, ICEYE operates globally with over 1000 employees across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

Your day-to-day responsibilities

 

Operating rhythm and cadence

• Design and run the CoE's operating rhythm: leadership meetings, staff meetings, business reviews, planning cycles and offsites, with clear agendas, pre-reads and outcomes.

• Protect the CEO's time and focus; help shape priorities, prepare for key engagements, and make sure the week is spent on what matters most.

Decision tracking and follow-through

• Capture decisions and action items across the CoE and hold them to closure, keeping a single, trusted source of truth on what was decided and who owns it.

• Chase progress across functions without waiting to be asked; surface blockers early and keep senior stakeholders accountable to their commitments.

Cross-functional project management

• Run initiatives that cut across engineering, sales, marketing, HR/finance and legal, keeping timelines, dependencies and owners visible.

• Bring structure to ambiguity: take a loosely defined goal and turn it into a plan, a cadence and a result.

Institutional and stakeholder engagement

• Support the CEO's engagement with government and institutional stakeholders (ministries, defence, civil protection, ecosystem and industry partners): prepare briefings and materials, coordinate meetings, and track follow-ups.

• Represent the CEO office with professionalism and discretion in a sovereign, security-sensitive context.

Organisational momentum and scale

• Build the operating system of a growing organisation: the rituals, tooling and reporting that let ICEYE Portugal move fast without losing rigour.

• Draft internal communications, leadership updates and board or investor materials on behalf of the CEO office.

 

What we’re looking for

Must haves:

• 6 to 10 years in a demanding operating role: chief of staff, senior programme or project management, strategy and operations, management consulting, or executive business partnering to senior leadership.

• A track record of running the operating rhythm for a leadership team and driving complex, cross-functional work to closure.

• Exceptional organisation, prioritisation and follow-through; comfortable holding senior people accountable to their commitments.

• Executive-level communication: crisp writing and speaking, able to prepare briefings and draft on behalf of a CEO.

• Sound judgement and absolute discretion with confidential and sensitive information.

• Calm and effective under pressure, comfortable with ambiguity and shifting priorities, with high personal standards.

• Excellent communication in English (written and spoken), plus C2 / near-native Portuguese.

• Eligible and able to attain relevant Portuguese national and NATO security clearances.

Nice to have:

• Exposure to government, defence, public-sector or otherwise regulated and security-sensitive environments.

• Experience in a scale-up or high-growth company, or directly in a founder or CEO office.

• Familiarity with space, SAR, defence, geospatial or deep-tech contexts.

• Fluency with modern operating and project tooling, and with AI-native productivity tools.

• Understanding of Portugal's institutional, defence and space ecosystem.

• A clear ambition to grow into a Chief of Staff role.

 

Working at ICEYE

At ICEYE, you’ll join a diverse and highly engaged team united by the ambition to make the impossible possible. As a global scale-up, we combine speed and ambition with the opportunity to take real ownership from day one. Your growth, wellbeing, and success are a priority, with continuous professional development, training opportunities, and a culture where collaboration is how we win.

How We Work (Our Values)

Make the impossible possible: We set ambitious goals and stay calm under pressure. We bring grit, optimism, and ownership when things get hard, and we keep moving until we find a way.

• Be curious: Go deep, ask questions, listen carefully, and think critically. Understand the “why” behind decisions.

• See the big picture: Stay close to what’s happening across the company so you can make better decisions. Consider how your work affects others.

• Drive effective teamwork: Create psychological safety, invite different perspectives, and build inclusive teams. There are no bad questions.

• Act as one team: We win together. We match tasks to the right owner and stay agile as priorities shift.

• Have fun: What we do matters—and it should be enjoyable. Celebrate progress, take pride in results, and share the wins.

Benefits

Our benefits are designed to support your health and wellbeing, at work and beyond. We keep improving them based on employee feedback, and offerings vary by location. Talent Acquisition will confirm what applies for this role and location during the process.

 

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We want ICEYE to be a place where people can be themselves and do great work. Different backgrounds and perspectives make us stronger, which is why we work to create an environment where people feel included, respected, and able to speak up. Whatever your background, we want you to bring your authentic self to the table.

We’re committed to fair, inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Everyone is welcome to apply. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, tell us—we’ll do our best to help.

Apply now to start your ICEYE journey, and help us continue to make the impossible possible together. Read more about ICEYE and working with us at iceye.com.