Space Technology Roadmapping and Futures Support Executive Officer

The UK Space Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and provides technical advice on the government’s space strategy, supporting the UK space sector to deliver the government’s vision. 

Space is a part of everyday life. Satellites underpin our national economy, from agriculture and banking to aviation and shipping, and support our national security. Space science provides critical data to understand and address global challenges such as climate change, while missions to explore our solar system unite nations and advance humanity’s horizons. 

We support a thriving space sector in the UK, which generates an annual income of £16.5 billion and employs 47,000 people across the country. 

Through our portfolio of programmes and projects, we encourage the development of national space capabilities and are an early-stage investor in space research and development.  We also promote the UK space sector’s interests and achievements; make connections to join up industry and academia; and represent the UK in international space programmes. 

We have a powerful global voice, partnering with institutions across the world, including the European Space Agency. 

More information about the Agency is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-space-agency 

To discover more please watch this film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbZZ-o0IkVU

Our Inclusive Environment

We have an inclusive culture to make UK Space Agency a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.

We offer first-class flexible working benefits, excellent employee well-being support and a great pension. We are fortunate to have a range of excellent staff networks and are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive.

We actively welcome applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion.

The team reporting to the Head of Space Technology consists of five Grade 7 roles and 2 SEO roles. Together these posts form a team at the forefront of setting and delivering a new and exciting strategy for enabling innovation and growth of the space sector through the effective planning and delivery of technology support to the UK space community. The role has a range of critical engagements across regional, national and European levels.

Each team member has prime responsibility for a mechanism for growth and investment – working with a focused set of stakeholders to develop and implement projects and programmes where the UK Space Agency can provide strategic value. All of these ‘tools’ are complementary in scope, stakeholders and technologies, so there will need to be excellent communication and teamwork across the roles. In addition, the team will be required to liaise closely with teams across the Agency, becoming a key mechanism to support space organisations across the UK within the Agency’s wider programmes of work.

The Roadmapping and Futures Support Executive will be responsible for supporting development of Technology roadmaps, setting the best landscape for future investment in the Space sector, ensuring that the UK’s position regarding current and future technology developments are fully articulated and developed in our engagement with the European and international market in which we engage. The role holder will also be responsible for supporting the activities of the Technology Team within the broader scope of the Investment Directorate, working with other teams to ensure that the Technology Portfolio supports the wider ambition to catalyse investment into the UK space sector

Key Responsibilites

The post-holder will be responsible for:

• Delivering and maintaining the UK Space Agency Technology Roadmaps. Ensuring up-to-date data from across the relevant teams is appropriately sought, assembled and built upon in a timely manner to ensure roadmaps reflect current strategy, objectives and activity.
• Futures mapping for technology that informs the Space Technology Delivery Strategy underpinning the ambitions of the National Space Strategy
• Liaise with funding managers across UK Space Agency to develop systems that harness all technology funding that is allocated through UK Space Agency mechanisms (General Support Technology Programme, ARTES, Business Applications and Space Solutions Programme, Exploration, National Space Innovation Programme, etc)
• Work with funding managers across UK Space Agency to standardise the metadata underpinning all funding data.
• Support the design and delivery of the UK Space Agency Space Investment Forum events.
• Provide executive support to the UK Delegate for the EU Digital, Industry, and Space Programme Committee for Horizon Europe, including delivering relevant reporting to the European Commission
• Provide support to the Secretariat for the organisation of both Technology Advisory Committees.

Essential:

• Experienced in providing project management support including information management skills, with the ability to collate and analyse data.
• Excellent planning and organisation skills, ensuring close attention to detail.
• Strong organisational skills and experience managing competing workloads
• A confident, proactive, can-do and flexible approach to work
• Strong communication skills and proven ability to navigate and communicate complex issues clearly and concisely
• Works well in a team and independently with good presentation skills Good working knowledge of the Microsoft office package

 Desirable:

• General understanding of the space sector in the UK and worldwide
• Knowledge of business case development and content
• Knowledge of roadmapping concepts and strategy
• Knowledge of individual technical subjects, or a cross-cutting technical subject such as systems engineering, or spacecraft systems engineering
• An understanding of the UK’s space technology agenda and the stakeholders involved
• An understanding of the global investment landscape and its relationship to the space sector

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

UKSA offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
  
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel, and lifestyle employee discounts
• A generous maternity/paternity and adoption leave package.
• This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is an informal, non-contractual and voluntary arrangement, blending a balance of attendance in the workplace (your permanent duty station which is based on business assessment of where the work is best done) and working from home, or elsewhere, as a personal choice (if the role is suitable for this).  If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.
• The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Job contact :

• Name : Daniel Jones
• Email : daniel.jones@ukspaceagency.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : uksarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk