Programmes Officer

At the SKAO we are coordinating a global effort to deliver one of the largest science facilities on the planet. The SKAO telescopes will be next-generation instruments that will help to answer key questions in astrophysics, drive technological innovation and support human capital development.

More than a dozen partner countries and over a thousand scientists and engineers around the world are already on board, making the SKA project an international collaboration like no other, and one of the most ambitious science and engineering endeavours of the 21st century.

Headquartered in the UK, with telescope sites in Australia and South Africa, the SKAO will be one observatory operating two telescopes, an endeavour spanning three continents. Multinational by design, in early 2021 the SKAO became an intergovernmental organisation, one of only a select handful of science infrastructures to do so worldwide.

Our Global HQ is located near the buzzing city of Manchester at the historic Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Cheshire countryside. It is home to a rapidly expanding international team of more than a hundred, working in a highly collaborative and inclusive way, in coordination with SKAO teams in Australia and South Africa as part of a global astronomy and engineering community.

Being part of Team SKA means contributing to something extraordinary: a uniquely exciting project to advance human knowledge that will last for decades. In return, we offer a diverse multicultural working environment, 30 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme, visa and support with relocation (if applicable), regular social events, a family-friendly environment and much more. Come and join us!

The SKAO is an intergovernmental organisation with a global footprint, building and operating advanced radio telescopes across the UK, South Africa, and Australia. The Observatory's mission combines major scientific ambition, international collaboration, advanced engineering, software, data, and long-term operations.

The Programmes Officer role sits within the Project Controls function, within the Project Management Group. This role provides a key role in supporting world-class projects. Reporting to the Project Controls Manager, you'll coordinate activities, manage data, and ensure efficient processes to support programme objectives. This dynamic role involves organising meetings, tracking progress, preparing reports, and driving improvements to help projects run smoothly and effectively as part of the Programmes organisation.

The Role

The SKAO is an intergovernmental organisation with a global footprint, building and operating advanced radio telescopes across the UK, South Africa, and Australia. The Observatory's mission combines major scientific ambition, international collaboration, advanced engineering, software, data, and long-term operations.

The Programmes Officer role sits within the Project Controls function, within the Project Management Group. This role provides a key role in supporting world-class projects. Reporting to the Project Controls Manager, you'll coordinate activities, manage data, and ensure efficient processes to support programme objectives. This dynamic role involves organising meetings, tracking progress, preparing reports, and driving improvements to help projects run smoothly and effectively as part of the Programmes organisation.

The Programmes Officer provides essential and specialist support to SKAO's Project Managers (PMs), helping them to coordinate their projects, work packages, contracts and keep them running smoothly. They also undertake various administrative, data-driven and reporting tasks including the organisation, preparation and support of key meetings with team members, tracking project metrics, and collating the Construction programme's monthly report and dashboards.

We welcome applications from candidates of all nationalities, especially those from member countries. However, for this role relocation support will not be available and applicants must be able to comply with the terms of a UK based local contract, details of which may be accessed on SKAO’s recruitment portal.

SKAO is committed to providing an inclusive and flexible working environment, meeting the requests of our Colleagues whilst also fulfilling the needs and objectives of the Observatory.

This role requires the post holder to work across different time zones and, in line with SKAO policy, flexible working hours will be supported in agreement with the line manager.

Key Responsibilities, Accountabilities and Duties

• Coordinate and Schedule Engagements: Organise and manage meetings, events, and training sessions for the Project Management Group and our external stakeholders, ensuring effective collaboration across different levels of project staff.
• Provide Project Support and Guidance: Working across the spectrum of colleagues within Project Management to offer support, guidance and advice to aid the smooth execution of the project tasks, processes and requirements.
• Track Project Actions and Follow-Up: Use specialized project management tools to record meeting minutes and action items, diligently tracking and following up on progress to ensure timely updates and issue resolution.
• Prepare Reports and Presentations: Developing and preparing specialist project or programme reports and presentations in line with stakeholder expectations and to specified deadlines, ensuring clarity and accuracy in reporting.
• Analyse Data for Decision-Making: Conduct data analysis and manipulation to inform project-related decisions, supporting project processes and highlighting insights that can improve project outcomes.
• Drive Process Improvement Initiatives: Contributing to the identification and implementation of continuous improvements in project processes, leading improvement initiatives where appropriate
• Support Project Controls and Delegated Tasks: Assist and support Project Controls Manager with delegated tasks including ad-hoc requests, ensuring efficient and organised project controls.
• Drive and follow up on improvements and actions identified through Project audits and improvement projects.

Mandatory Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Completed secondary school education
• Demonstrable experience in a project or administrative support role
• Experience in coordinating events, workshops and/or training sessions
• Experience in preparing formal reports, presentations and communicating effectively with stakeholders at different levels within an organisation
• High level numeracy skills
• Good problem-solving and analytical skills
• Good organisational and time management skills
• Be a flexible team player who is adaptable to change and able to work under own initiative
• Ability and willingness to learn new skills or systems.
• Good IT skills, including use of MS Word, Outlook and experience of hosting video conference meetings

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• A foundational project management qualification
• Experience of working in a multicultural environment across international boundaries and time zones
• Experience of working in project/programmes environment
• Proficient with collaborative software tools (Google docs/sheets, Confluence, Miro, Jira, Slack).

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Statement

SKA Observatory recognises that our diversity is a strength. We aim to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong, and diverse perspectives and ideas thrive. As such, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion are at the core of SKA Observatory’s agenda.

Our aim is to recruit and retain the most talented individuals, regardless of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, nationality or background.

Women have traditionally been under-represented in the fields of science and engineering; SKA Observatory welcomes and encourages female applicants.

Where applicants with a disability need facilities or adjustments to enable them to participate in the recruitment process, these will be provided.

SKA Observatory welcome all candidates, especially those from member countries.

The “How to Apply” information contained within the SKA Observatory recruitment portal provides more detail regarding our application and selection approach.