Head of Government Affairs

The Head of Government Affairs at Astroscale UK (ASUK) is a high profile role, which enables the growth and profitability of the company.  Reporting to the Deputy Managing Director (DMD), the dynamic, results-oriented professional will have a hands-on role in influencing government, lobbying, and positioning Astroscale for future programmes, and will be particularly instrumental in orchestrating the relationship with UKSA (UK Space Agency), and other intergovernmental institutions in which the UK has a stake, in conjunction with other key stakeholders across the company.

 

The professional will lead the activity for their department, leveraging their seniority in the company to convene and collaborate across functions (and entities) on governmental issues, which are critical for business success.

 

The role will be pivotal in identifying, creating, and shaping business opportunities within UKSA, increasing stakeholder engagement, and gathering compelling arguments that are connected to important business issues to advance Astroscale’s position. In this respect, there is an interface with Business Development, where an eye for identifying and cultivating business opportunities will be necessary, and this role will report as a dotted line into the VP Commercial.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be expected to deliver the following activities for governmental activities at ASUK: 

• Alongside the DMD, working to ensure the strategic government engagement remains dynamic and focused on the key messages we need to deliver.
• Lead and serve as point of contact on business development and governmental matters with UKSA consistent with company objectives.
• Build relationships with teams across the Agency, DSIT and wider HMG where appropriate, to cohere government activity with Astroscale’s strategic priorities.
• Where necessary, support the Head of Legal Policy and Regulation on all topics relating to regulatory, and space policy within UKSA.
• Collate and maintain a list of all working groups within UKSA. Direct, coordinate and manage attendance across the Astroscale portfolio.
• Regularly review the matrix management of UKSA by all key stakeholders within ASUK
• Communicate and represent priorities that support Astroscale’s mission.
• Coordinate requests from UKSA and develop Astroscale responses to such requests or consultations
• Perform stakeholder mapping ensuring a strategic approach to developing a strong external network and sphere of influence. 
• Provide relevant UKSA updates to DMD and other key stakeholders as required.
• Develop, coordinate, and represent Astroscale inputs, activities, and messaging for UKSA with the objective of facilitating Astroscale’s mission and furthering advancement of ASUK’s strategic priorities, together with the various support resources (VP Commercial, Managing Director and Head of Legal, Policy, Regulation and Licensing). 
• Manage Astroscale UK input into CMIN 25.Where necessary liaise with the ESA team within ASUK and in collaboration with ASFR.
• Further support to DMD with the preparation of briefing notes to enable cohesive and consistent messaging to UK Govt.
• Support across the board on Government engagement activities where appropriate, including supporting the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as they develop the long-term strategy for our future investment in space programmes
• Speak on behalf of Astroscale at public events and international conferences as required.
• Support the BD team in building relationships and interacting with ESA with a view towards connecting the dots with national budgets
• Provide wider support to the UK business as needed

Essential Skills and Experience 

 

• University BS / BSC (or similar) degree in a related field.
• 10+ years of direct experience in government and regulatory fields in UK or Europe for a recognised commercial, governmental or institutional organisation.
• Dynamic, results-oriented professional having hands-on leadership experience with proven knowledge and expertise in parliament, government, and political affairs.
• Successful background assessing political climate, leading campaigns, and conducting research to determine status and risk.
• Articulate communicator possessing excellent interpersonal and influencing skills with demonstrated ability to cultivate strong relationships with peers, stakeholders, and senior leadership to achieve targeted goals.
• Solid negotiation skills
• Sound judgement and ability to effectively analyse situations and information
• Experienced writer of speeches, policy documents and strategy papers.
• Political Research & Analysis
• Risk Assessment & Mitigation
• Presentation Preparation & Delivery
• Public Speaking & Communication
• High degree of professional ethics and integrity
• Demonstrates behaviours in line with Astroscale values (mission and people focused, transparent, innovative, and pioneering, diverse and customer focused) 
• Demonstrable fluency in English and ability to travel (within the UK and occasionally abroad)

Desirable skills and Experience 

 

• Space system licensing experience
• 5+ years working in the In-Orbit-Service (IOS) sector in a similar role.
• Fluency or proficiency in another European language (e.g. French)
• Project Management exposure

 

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Opportunity to work with a highly talented, diverse & dynamic international team with cutting edge technology
• Flexible working around core hours in a friendly and supportive environment
• Hybrid working available (dependent on individual role requirements)
• Optional 9/75 working pattern
• 25 days holiday (increasing yearly up to a maximum of 28 days) + 8 days Bank Holiday
• Life insurance and long-term sick pay
• Private healthcare (taxable benefit)
• Relocation allowance
  
• New state of the art office and cleanroom facility
• Regular social events 

Location

Astroscale UK (Harwell), with potential for some travel to Astroscale Japan (Tokyo)

About Astroscale

We aim to deliver cutting edge technologies that will become part of routine commercial space operations by 2030.

Astroscale is the first private company with a vision to secure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations, and the only company dedicated to in-orbit servicing across all orbits. Founded in 2013, we are developing innovative and scalable solutions across the spectrum of in-orbit servicing missions, including End of Life services, Active Debris Removal, In-situ Space Situational Awareness and Life Extension Services, to create sustainable space systems and mitigate against the hazardous build-up of debris in space.

Astroscale is an Equal Opportunities employer and embraces a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants, including minorities, women and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.