Background: The UK Space Agency:
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) 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:
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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 four Grade 7 roles, 2 SEO roles and 1 HEO. 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 Future Technology Development Manager 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 responsibilities include:
* Project managing the key scope and requirements to support the development of the UK Space Agency Technology Roadmaps by researching emerging technology trends on a global scale and identifying future technology areas for prioritisation within the UK that can leverage existing capability. The technology must align with the National Space Strategy, Science and Technology Framework and support future UK Space Agency programmes of work and missions.
* Understanding how the technology roadmap relates to the various themes and threads within the UK Space Agency and other government departments.
* Expertly leading the research analysis and evaluating the value of the proposed technology on both the UK space industry, supply chain and global landscape.
* Establishing lines of communication for the current and new leading-edge technologies with senior stakeholders and industry experts with the ability to influence and demonstrate technology prioritisation and investment opportunities.
* Proactively seeking out opportunities to create effective change and present innovative technology applications that lead to technical advancement, innovation and technical leadership in the UK.
* Establishing a process which compares current state vs future state and identifies technology gaps and risks. Develop a plan that will overcome these barriers and propose recommendations for a future state which enables commercialisation.
* Developing Statement of Work with clear scope and requirements for procurement of external services. Working with the commercial team to identify the best commercial model to be adopted for the competitive bidding process and contract engagement.
* Developing multiple business cases to secure funding approval to progress with space technology roadmap development.
* Manage the delivery of the roadmaps by setting clear objectives and monitoring delivery of output. Undertaking quality control to ensure milestone delivery meets expectations and roadmaps are published on target.
* Liaise with funding managers across UK Space Agency to develop systems that harness all technology funding that is allocated through UK Space Agency mechanisms for both European Space Agency and National programmes.
* Provide support and secretariat duties for Technology Harmonisation Advisory Group and Space Technology Advisory Committee forums including relevant reporting to the European Commission.
* Occasional travel will be required, including overseas.
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A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .