About this job

Serco is a leading Space Services Provider with thousands of skilled resources that has supported over 50 space missions on behalf of more than 10 Space or Government agencies around the globe, including the ESA and NASA.

Serco has made significant contributions at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, supporting a wide range of space missions and projects. Serco has provided essential engineering, technical, and management services, playing a key role in logistics and operational support for missions. Serco’s expertise in spacecraft management, ground systems and data processing has earned them recognition, including ‘Best in Domain’ awards from ESA. Their long-standing partnership with ESA reflects their commitment to excellence and innovation in the space sector.

On behalf of our client, the European Space Agency, we are looking for an experienced Secretary / Administrative Assistant to join our team in the Netherlands and work on-site at ESA-ESTEC. This person has the option to work minimum three days on-site and two days from home.

This key individual will be working on Future Navigation and would report directly to the Head of Future Navigation Programmes Department.

Responsibilities

Secretarial and Administrative Support

• Organise the agendas and meetings – in presence or online via Teams or WebEx tools – for the relevant heads, in close coordination with the latter.
• Take the Minutes of Meetings when requested by the latter.
• Follow-up of meetings actions.
• Solve unforeseen events and situations that arise (for example, appointments or meetings to be moved, interfacing with customers, and managing meeting conflicts).
• Monitor, and when appropriate reply, to emails in the inbox of the heads, as instructed by the latter,
• Register the incoming letters, and when appropriate reply, on behalf of the heads.
• Prioritise emails and respond when necessary.
• Act as first line support of phone calls and filter requests to the heads, in close coordination with the relevant head.
• Act as the point of contact for general communications with the manager.
• Review department mission orders and mission claims, and interface with the travel office for associated bookings.
• External Travelers mission task concerns special requests for certain external travelers, receiving travel support for certain conferences, or travel for NAV Committees.
• The candidate shall prepare mission requests, process mission claims, and interface with the travel office for associated bookings for external travelers.
• Support the Department Head in managing the Timesheets.
• Organise the Leave calendar for the Department.
• The candidate shall collect inputs for the yearly conference plan and follow up the approval from Director.
• Prepare and oversee the procedure related to staff or onsite contractor personnel arrival and departure, in close coordination with relevant management, human resources and facility management.
• Prepare and oversee the procedure related to office distribution, especially at arrival of staff or onsite contractor personnel, or other office distribution request, in close coordination with the relevant management and facility management.
• Manage room booking when high priority room booking requests are made, e.g. Committee meetings, or department or division all-hands meetings.

Documentation Support

• Support the administration of the Department’s policies, instructions and guidelines.
• Support the heads in editing, configuring and issuing regular reports and management documentation.
• Analyse incoming correspondence and documentation and distribute accordingly.
• Write texts and documents (such as communications, reports of company meetings), draft, review and send communications on behalf of the manager.
• Maintain various records and archiving of documents in sharepoint, Eclipse or Teams as instructed by the Manager.
• Administrative support to the Project review process.
• Retrieve documents in BlueDocs when requested by the manager.

Service Management

• The Candidate shall interface with NAV Management, NAV Staff, Project Control, ESA Finance, Contracts Officers and ESA travel offices when the tasks under this service require it, as well as with external services, visitors or entities.
• You shall be responsible for the management and execution of the work to be performed so that the service conforms to the service’s requirements.
• As the service manager you will have the authority to execute all the tasks under the service and have direct access to their management hierarchy to resolve conflicts at the appropriate level.
• The Service Manager shall be the responsible for the service continuity within the scope of the service ensuring that adequate resources are allocated to the service to ensure the timely completion of the tasks.
• The Service Manager shall define, produce and maintain a repository accessible by the ESA TR with all the procedures necessary to provide the service.

Profile

• University degree (Bachelor) from a recognised institution or equivalent qualification.
• 4 years of relevant experience.
• The candidate shall be competent in using electronic office tools, in particular Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat, videoconferencing tools, and collaborative working tools (such as sharepoint, slack, …)
• Ideally experienced in finance and financial tools (preferably SAP) and ideally in documentation management systems (e.g. Eclipse/DCCM)
• Secretarial experience at executive level and in an international context a plus.
• Knowledge of working methods in the space/telecommunications sector is considered an asset.
• It is important to note that this position requires a high level of confidentiality.
• Excellent interpersonal skills are required.
• Attention to detail, diplomacy and ability to communicate in a multicultural environment, behavioral flexibility and team spirit.
• Proficient in the English language, both written and spoken.
• Knowledge of another EU member state language is an asset.
• Candidates must be eligible to work in the EU.

On offer

• Flexible working policy (hybrid working)
• Comprehensive and competitive benefits plan
• A range of wellness activities and employee assistance programs
• Casual dress code

Relocation:

The Netherlands’ central location in Europe makes it an ideal base for travel and business within the EU. Major cities are well-connected by road, rail, and air with Amsterdam Schiphol Airport one of Europe’s busiest and most well-connected airports, facilitating easy international travel.

Serco offers relocation support for all EU passport holders that are planning to relocate to the Netherlands and work for Serco B.V.

DE&I

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Serco is based on a culture where every voice is heard and every employee feels valued. Working together as one team, we can enhance the experience of our people and teams, improve the value of our solutions to better serve the missions of our customers, and make an impact in our world.