Positioning Navigation and Timing Portfolio Manager

Background: The UK Space Agency: 

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.

Job Purpose

Do you want to contribute to developing new innovative and resilient position, navigation and timing applications?  An exciting opportunity has become available in the UK Space Agency team that manages the ESA Navigation programme. This team is embedded in the Security and Resilience team responsible for space as a critical national infrastructure with positioning, navigation and timing from space being a key component.

You will be joining the Space Security and Resilience Team at the UK Space Agency, which is the Lead Government Department (LGD) responsible for space as a key Critical National Infrastructure and System (CNIS) sector for the UK. Positioning Navigation and Timing (PNT) is critically important to both CNIS across all sectors and wider economic development (WED) in the UK and globally, and is delivered by space systems such as GPS and Galileo. It is, by some measures, the largest space sector with the biggest impact on daily life.

In this role you will work with the UK Space Agency PNT Technical Lead and the UK delegate into the European Space Agency Navigation Programme Board to manage a portfolio of PNT programmes and activities and help shape UK Space Agency strategy on PNT. This will include shaping the UK’s approach to ensuring the resilience of space based PNT for UK CNIS and WED as well as the UK Space Agency policy and activities to foster growth in the UK PNT industry.

The key responsibilities of this role will be:

• Day to day management of UK involvement in ESA PNT programmes which currently includes NAVISP and FutureNav
• Management of the assessment of proposals for NAVISP and participation in assessment panels
• Collection of data on the impact of the funding provided for PNT activities through NAVISP and FuturePNT
• Management of the pipeline of proposals and maintenance of records including management of programme budgets
• Liaison with ESA and with delegates of other ESA member states, attendance at ESA meetings and occasional liaison with other international partners.
• Liaison with PNT industry including attendance at industry forums and organising bilateral meetings with PNT companies
• Policy briefings to the space directorate in DSIT and senior leaders within UK Space Agency
• Preparation of business cases for UK subscription to PNT programmes when required
• Regular performance reporting for PNT programmes
• Organisation of promotional events and outreach to industry
• Assistance in the development of PNT resilience strategy for the UK

UK Space Agency Generic Responsibilities (This is a requirement of all posts)

• Ensure compliance with statutory and legal provisions as set out in the UK Space Agency’s policies and procedures. In particular in relation to: Financial Regulations, Equal Opportunities and Diversity, Health and Safety, Civil Service Code, Data Protection & the Official Secrets Act.
• Comply with the behaviours and standard requisites as relevant to your post as detailed in your job description, person specification and take responsibility for continuing self-development, participating in training and development activities as required or requested by your line manager.
• Attend meetings as required some of which may be outside normal working hours

We are looking for an individual who can demonstrate drive, excellent inter-personal skills, highly developed organisation and prioritisation skills, as well as strategic awareness and communication skills.  You will be able to analyse and draw conclusions from complex evidence and be able to clearly communicate these to a wide range of audiences.  You will be comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders, management teams, boards and committees across government and industry and be equally comfortable working independently as well as in a team.  A strong commitment to project delivery and effective cross-departmental working is essential for the role, along with collaborating and partnering with key external stakeholders.

Essential criteria

• Strong programme or project management experience
• Experience of working within programmes or policy teams and should be able to produce briefs to senior managers
• Good organisational skills and record keeping skills including use of SharePoint lists and Excel.
• Experience in writing policy and strategy documents and business cases
• Experience of working with industry stakeholders
• Willingness and aptitude for learning about complex domains such as a PNT.

Desirable criteria

• Any previous experience with PNT
• Experience in the space sector
• Experience of working with ESA
• Experience in managing innovation programmes
• Experience in the development of industrial strategy

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others

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 : Mike Willis
• Email : mike.willis@ukspaceagency.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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