Location: FAAM Airborne Laboratory, Cranfield
Salary: £27,924 to £33,309 p.a. pro rata
Contract length: Fixed Term (for 4 years due to external funding)
Contract type: Full Time
Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 20 March 2022

Are you highly motivated with a background in supporting programme and project management? Are you ready to take on the challenge of helping to manage the delivery of FAAM Airborne Laboratory’s transformative Mid-Life Upgrade project?

The FAAM Airborne Laboratory is a unique, highly modified 4-engine jet aircraft adapted to carry a range of unique science instruments, dedicated to supporting the UK atmospheric science community and users of atmospheric science data. The Facility is managed by a unique team of scientists, engineers, flight technicians and project managers forming a complete package of support for the scientific community. The Facility is supported by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is an environmental research infrastructure of national and international importance.

The exciting Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) Programme aims to deliver a range of upgrades and enhancements to the scientific capabilities of the aircraft, its measurement capabilities and its research impact, extending its useful life by at least 20 years. This plans to meet the ongoing requirements for UK researchers, the Met Office, UK government bodies, commercial organisations and international research bodies.

This represents a 4-5 year project to rebuild significant parts of the aircraft systems, to carry out a comprehensive upgrading of the aircraft’s scientific and operational capabilities with a budget of up to £50m. Successful delivery will require working closely with major stakeholders, including the aircraft design organisation, engineering suppliers and the aircraft’s scientific user community. 

As a Project Support Officer at FAAM, you will take a structured and proactive approach to assisting with the day-to-day management of the MLU programme of works, working closely with the MLU Project Manager, MLU Director, Activity Leads and external stakeholders to plan, design, implement, oversee and evaluate tasks pertaining to the overall management of the project and are critical to the overall success of project.

You will be part of a multi-disciplinary team at FAAM and will be responsible for developing streamlined working processes, producing detailed reporting plans and supporting documentation, and working with key stakeholders to develop trust and effective knowledge sharing.

Good innovative thinking is required along with the ability to work with scientists and engineers including the aircraft’s Design Authority and other stakeholders. The aim is to enable the project to function effectively and facilitate the transfer of accurate and timely information and identify opportunities for improving project processes.

The post will be employed by the University of Leeds and will be based within the FAAM team on the campus at Cranfield University.

Find out more and make your application.

For any queries you may have, please contact:

Edward Andrews, Mid Life Upgrade Project Manager, FAAM Airborne Laboratory

Email: edward.andrews@faam.ac.uk, telephone +44 (0) 7874 887786