Secretary / Administrative Assistant (30hrs week)

We are looking for a Secretary / Administrative Assistant (30 hours/week) to join our Akkodis Aerospace team, working onsite at the European Space Agency in Harwell, United Kingdom. This is (initially) a cover role for 3 months.

Akkodis has proudly supported the Aerospace & Defence industry for decades. Our partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) has been one of the many success stories allowing our people to expand their career horizons. Akkodis experts are contributing to some of the most important technical advances in Aerospace and Defence which impact the way we live our lives today, through specialised engineering expertise and other required skillsets. This could be your future. Become part of our successful team!

Specific tasks to be performed:

• Supporting the Line Managers and teams in the preparation and follow up of administrative, organisational and contractual matters.
• Planning/coordinating the commitments and meetings, organising calendar and keeping the Line Managers informed on all issues of concern; supervising the preparation of files for such meetings and any special subjects.
• Answering incoming calls and performing a pre-screening of these calls for direct connection with the Line Managers or for reply at a later time. Keeping organised records of these calls and checking closure and follow up.
• Analysing incoming mail- paper and e-mail - and presenting these data in an organised and prioritised manner. Ensuring that important and urgent mail reaches staff to insure timely responses.
• Ensuring the diffusion of information for the Teams.
• Preparation of staff missions and travel arrangements.
• Coordinating actions with other secretaries of the Department/ Division; Administrative support Coverage for other units when colleagues are on leave.
• Composing routine correspondence and keeping a filing system for incoming/outgoing mail. Generating documents and textual and graphics presentations.
• Check for correct authorisation, substantiating documentation and adherence to Agency rules and practice (ref. leave, mission, conference, authorisation with regards to Staff Rules and Regulations, as well as financial procedures). For the execution of the tasks the contractor will be expected to use related ESA Corporate software tools and documentation systems.
• Administering and maintaining the office documentation systems. Setting up the folder structure, registration, filing and distribution of correspondence and other documentation processed.
• Follow up of teams’ actions.
• On personal initiative or on instructions, collecting information and documents necessary for the teams to take actions on given issues.
• Interfacing and providing support to teams on administrative matters related to use of the relevant systems.
• Coordination with Facility Management for local, on-site support (e.g. staff and contractors TUD/leaving/relocating).
• Participating to Events organisation.

To successfully perform the above mentioned tasks, the following background / experience is required:

• Administrative assistant experience in an international context;
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft365 and Teams;
• Knowledge of the various ESA tools (i.a. MAS, ESA-P) is welcomed;
• Strong command of the English language. Knowledge of another European language is considered an asset;
• 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

About ESA ECSAT

The European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) is ESA’s new facility in the United Kingdom. It is based at the Harwell Science, Innovation and Business Campus in Oxfordshire.

ECSAT is the most recent addition to ESA’s operational sites across Europe. First opened in 2009, ECSAT will be developed by ESA following agreements reached between the UK and ESA in November 2012. ECSAT will support activities related to telecommunications, integrated applications, climate change, technology and science.

Please send your CV to as soon as possible