Paid full-time position at SGAC as Operations Officer

SGAC is looking for a full-time paid Operations Officer to work under the supervision of the SGAC Chief of Staff at our office in Vienna, Austria.

Deadline for applications: 5 February 2023

About SGAC

The Space Generation Advisory Council in Support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications (SGAC) is a global non-governmental, non-profit (US 501(c)3) organisation and network which represents university students and young space professionals ages 18-35 to the United Nations, space agencies, industry, and academia. The SGAC network of members, volunteers and alumni has grown to more than 23,000 members representing more than 165 countries. Learn more here.

Summary

SGAC’s activities worldwide and its network are led by the SGAC Executive Committee, which has two Co-Chairs. All of SGAC’s operations are coordinated centrally through the SGAC office in Vienna, which presently employs the SGAC Executive Director and the SGAC Chief of Staff. The Operations Officer will be the third full-time employee at the SGAC office. 

The Operations Officer will support the overall operations, communications, and day-to-day activities of SGAC in collaboration with different SGAC Executive Office Teams. This operational role will seek to ensure that communication and workflow are streamlined and tasks are delivered in a timely manner and with SGAC quality standards.

The SGAC Operations Officer will work with and report to the SGAC Chief of Staff, Valentina Luchetti.

This is a paid, full-time position (40 hours/week). The SGAC Operations Officer will work from the SGAC Office in Vienna, Austria. The SGAC Operations Officer will work as a consultant and will be required to undertake all necessary steps relating to any taxes and/or other duties by themselves. 

Responsibilities

The Operations Officer will be responsible for operations and communication at SGAC. Among other items, the tasks for this role include:

  • Supporting the Co-Chairs, Executive Director and Chief of Staff on operational matters
  • Supporting the day-to-day operational activities of SGAC, including, but not limited to:
    • Managing mailboxes
    • Managing Google Workspace (Share Drives, Google Groups, creation of new email addresses, etc)
    • Answering general enquiries
    • Administrative tasks related to the office
  • Maintenance and development of SGAC administrative and technology infrastructures
  • Leading the following SGAC Teams & Positions and coordinating their activities:
    • SGAC Executive Secretaries
    • SGAC PR & Communications Team
      • Activities include, but are not limited to: 
        • Social media optimisation, maintenance, and support
        • Social media posts creation and scheduling
        • Social media insights analysis
        • Press releases
        • Newsletter coordination
        • SGAC Brand Identity creation, maintenance and implementation 
        • SGAC Communication Strategy creation, maintenance and implementation 
        • Promotional material creation and maintenance
        • Video preparation
        • Slack optimisation, maintenance, and support
        • Mailchimp optimisation, maintenance, and support
    • SGAC Reports Team
      • Activities include, but are not limited to:
        • Production of outcome reports for SGAC Global and Regional events 
        • Release of the SGAC Annual Report
    • SGAC Web & Data Team
      • Activities include, but are not limited to: 
        • SGAC IT Infrastructure, maintenance and development 
        • SGAC data protection compliance
        • Website optimisation, such as:
          • Keeping the website up to date
          • Performing preventive and necessary maintenance on our website
          • Optimise the website pages to improve load speeds 
          • Increase accessibility on mobile devices
  • Support the day-to-day operational activities of the following Teams and positions:
    • SGAC Global, Regional, and Local Events
      • Activities include, but are not limited to: 
        • Deliver training to Events Organising Teams for website, social media, and other operations activities
        • Creation and maintenance of application forms
        • Creation and maintenance of event webpages
        • Creation and maintenance of delegate registration on Eventbrite
        • Creation, maintenance and implementation of a communication strategy for the Events Coordination Team
        • Help with the onboarding and offboarding of Events Organising Teams
    • SGAC HR Team
      •  Activities include, but are not limited to: 
        • Publish vacancy calls on the SGAC website
        • Track the recruitment process steps (call for application, advertisement, applications collection, evaluation, announcement) and ensure these are done within the established timeline
        • Help with the onboarding and offboarding process
    • SGAC Scholarships Team
      •  Activities include, but are not limited to: 
        • Publish scholarship calls on the SGAC website
        • Creation and maintenance of application forms
        • Creation of Ninja Forms

Necessary Qualifications

Minimal Requirements:

  • SGAC membership: registration on the SGAC website and being 18-35 years of age for the duration of the appointment (6 months, with potential extension)
  • Citizenship of a UN member or observer state 
  • Bachelor’s degree is recommended, preferably in operations management, business administration, or a related field
  • Be a motivated young professional or student with the ability to work independently and as part of a team
  • 1-2 years of prior experience in operations management is strongly preferred. Strong budget management and resource allocation skills are a plus
  • Experience and familiarity with the space sector is a plus
  • Experience and familiarity with SGAC is highly preferred
  • Strong working knowledge and experience of computer and cloud applications, such as Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, WordPress, Ninja Forms, Zapier, Mailchimp, Zoom, and G-Suite, are required
  • Work laptop and the ability to commute in and out of the office in Vienna
  • Ability to work full-time in Vienna, Austria

Communication skills:

  • Awareness of international cooperation principles, concepts and techniques
  • Cross cultural and communication awareness: ability to establish and maintain professional working relationships with people from various international and cultural backgrounds
  • Fluency in English, both written and spoken. Additional language skills are a plus
  • Ability to be responsive to communication, with fast response times in email and other forms of communication

Operations and Management skills:

  • Project Management experience is a plus
  • Experience with EventBrite, WordPress, MailChimp, Slack is required
  • Experience in strategic thinking and problem solving, as well as building, leading, and motivating teams
  • Proven success in meeting deadlines and be able to work independently and with teams under pressure during fast-turnaround needs
  • Strong attention to detail – Eye for improvement of processes
  • Excellent multi-tasking skills

Specific deliverables and milestones for the role will be determined in the contract for this position.

Time Commitment

This is a full-time (40h/week) in-person paid position requiring flexibility and some availability outside of local office hours. As the organisation is volunteer-run and our volunteers are based across time zones all over the world, the Operations Officer will sometimes be required to adjust their working hours to meet organisational needs, and also to contribute more than a typical office environment and 40-hour work week to meet task deadlines. Passion for what SGAC does is key to the organisation’s success!

The Operations Officer will be subject to a 3-month paid trial period and the total duration of the contract is set to 6 months, with the possibility of renewal, pending a performance review.

Benefits

  • This role will be compensated at 18,000 Euros per year (1,500 Euros per month). Remuneration may be negotiated based on the experience and skills of the Operations Officer. This role includes an additional travel budget for SGAC-related events. 
  • Opportunities to network closely with current, high-level international space sector
  • A chance to shape the organisation with respect to SGAC’s short-medium term strategic plans
  • Opportunities to lead large teams and head important projects
  • Working with the next generation of international space sector leaders in the world’s largest youth space network
  • Unequaled leadership opportunity to support teams from around the globe, building leadership and management skills that are directly translatable to your career.
  • Having a significant impact on SGAC’s brand and image on the international stage.
  • Contributing to the growth and sustainability of the organisation.
  • The Operations Officer shall be responsible for their own social security and must maintain health insurance as required in Austria

How to apply

To apply for this position, please fill out the Application Form by 5 February 2023 23:59 CET. The following documents, besides basic information will be asked:

  • A Letter of Intent (maximum 1 page)
  • Your CV (maximum 3 pages)
  • List of three past experiences and how they have prepared you for this role (maximum 1 page)
  • Contact information of 2 references 

Only on-time and complete applications will be considered.

Selection Process

A selection committee comprised of the following members will be involved in the selection of candidates for the interview:

  • The SGAC Co-Chairs
  • The SGAC Executive Director
  • The SGAC Chief of Staff

Application Timeline

Application Open:

4 January 2023

Application Close:

5 February 2023

Review of Applications:

6-10 February 2023

Interview of selected applicants:

11-15 February 2023

Announcement of Results:

25 February 2023

Expected starting date:

1 March 2023

Contact

In case you have any questions pertaining to the position or application process, do not hesitate to reach out to Valentina Luchetti at [email protected].