Secretary / Administrative Assistant (ESA-CST)

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 Toulouse, France and work on-site at ESA-CST. This person has the option to work minimum three days on-site and two days from home.

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

• Document registration, distribution and archiving.
• Support users for retrieving documents from local DMS (Eclipse/DCCM), DMS’s from external partners and/or industry, and other sources.
• Manage the original files.
• Support the organisation of project reviews.
• Support review of the status of documents in the different archives and where appropriate register this information in the DMS database.
• Support enhancements of the document management concepts and of future improvements.

Minimum Requirements

• University degree (Bachelor) from a recognized institution or equivalent qualification.
• 6+ years of relevant experience.
• The candidate shall be mastering in using electronic office tools, in particular Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat, Email, videoconferencing tools, and collaborative working tools (such as SharePoint, Slack, …).
• 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 needed, together with a high degree of organisational and communication abilities, and comfortable with working in a diverse and multinational team environment.
• Attention to detail, diplomacy and ability to communicate in a multicultural environment, behavioral flexibility and team spirit.
• Proficient in the English and French language, both written and spoken.
• 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.

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.