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Principal Technical Author - Stevenage UK - Circa £35k

Principal Technical Author - Stevenage - Circa £35k

Extremely well respected in the Defence industry our client is a world-leading missile and missile systems manufacturer with operations in France, Germany, Italy and Britain, over 10,000 employees and an annual turnover of over €3 bn.
Formed following a merger of the 3 main missile producers in Europe our client has benefited the combined experience gained from fifty years of technological and operational success.
Working with nearly 100 armed forces worldwide our client is the only Group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems to meet the whole range of current and future operational requirements for the three armed forces (army, navy, air force). Overall, the Group offers a range of 45 products in service and another 15 in development.
Positioned at the heart of the European defence sector as well as establishing cooperative transatlantic links with the principal groups in the US defence industry our client has demonstrated its ability to bring together the best skills across the whole of Europe, and has succeeded in becoming the prime contractor for a series of strategic multi-national programmes.

ROLE PURPOSE: To write technical documentation in either Standard Generalised Mark-up Language (SGML) or traditional formats for the Company's products in accordance with individual contractual requirements, to enable safe and effective operation and repair of the equipment. The role covers the whole product lifecycle through design, development and in-service support.

DIRECTORATE: Customer Support and Services

REPORTS TO: Group / Team Leader

ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. Project/Technical Management
" Work with Project Managers to define programmes of work and resources needed to meet project, programme and technical objectives.
" Management of the team with focus in meeting the performance and time targets
" Make proposals to use the best in-house/sub-contract skills to reduce risk and cost for projects.
" Routine and effective reporting and forecasting of project performance to Team Leader and Project Manager.
" Configuration management and control of technical documentation
" Ensure effective and swift resolution of technical issues and deliver defined support and other contractual commitments to Customers
" Supply technical understanding and support in areas of own expertise, promoting a culture of best practice sharing and knowledge exploitation, and contributing to relevant overall Technical Publication activities

2. Acquiring Business
Support the winning of new contracts and contract amendments by providing data inputs in line with company bid/tendering process

3. People Management
Provide leadership to team. Direct, lead, coach, and motivate staff to ensure the accountabilities of the unit are delivered and to enable them to maximise their potential.
Ability to Influence and interact with other areas and functions of our client.

4. Relationship with Projects
Work directly with Project manager organising resources, costs, targets and time.

5. Relationship with Suppliers
Work with partner sub contract supplier to provide appropriate labour to deal with peaks in project work and to maximize project cost savings

6. Risk Management
Manage the activities in order to reduce and/or mitigate the project risks during the project life cycle, maximising the release of risk contingency to margin.


PROBLEM SOLVING CHALLENGES

Define the particular difficulties/issues that that need to be overcome to successfully carry out the role.
" Needs to build strong working relationships with Design Engineers and ILS teams to ensure technical data is available when required and that validation of publications is achieved.

" Ability to influence others and build and maintain relationship with the customer to ensure the deliverable fully meets Customer expectations.

" Successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously.


PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

" Achieved deliverables to time and cost plan agreed for projects. Demonstrated achievements through regular business reviews.
" Ensure risks are managed against pre-defined list of risks
" Work resources balanced effectively within projects to ensure that resources/targets are fulfilled within all projects.
" Business reporting methods working and fully supported by staff.
" Establish and maintain effective Customer relationships
" Maintain quality standards of published documentation against current measures

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

" Extensive experience in production of technical documentation with a detailed knowledge of MoD publication standards ASD S1000D/AESP/ AvP70/NES40.
" Qualified to HND/HNC or equivalent level in an engineering related subject or ex forces senior technician.
" Knowledge of SGML editing software (Framemaker), Common Source Data Bases (ACQUIRED) and Desktop Publishing systems is desirable, although On the Job training can be given.
" Ability to communicate effectively with the customer and company representatives at all levels.
" Experience in resource management and leadership.
" High level decision making skills.
" Ability to manage and set priorities in order to meet Company and customer company expectations.
" High level writing skills
" Ability to support more than one project at a time.
" Understanding of Advanced Technologies.

ECONOMICS

" Direct staff : up to 4
" Indirect staff : 0
" Annual budget: £300k

If you feel you have the relevant skills and experience for this role please apply now or send your CV to jenna.beard@serl.co.uk
- Jenna Beard Defence Recruitment Consultant
Please note all candidates will need to be able to obtain Security Clearance to be considered for this role. Therefore you will need to be eligible to live and work in UK and have been a permanent UK resident for the last 5 years to be eligible.