AIV Project Assistant

As the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) project progresses towards the Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) phase, an increasing number of technical activities will take place at Cerro Armazones and Paranal Observatory, involving international project teams, contractors and different ESO departments. We are looking for an AIV Project Assistant to provide administrative and organisational support to the AIV Manager and the AIV team. The successful candidate will play an important role in supporting the coordination of daily activities, meetings, travel arrangements, documentation and administrative processes, contributing to the smooth operation of the team during this important phase of the ELT project. This includes the preparation and follow-up of meetings, coordination of visits and missions, travel and accommodation arrangements, management of correspondence, follow-up of actions, administrative support for procurement and contractual processes, and coordination with internal and external stakeholders.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide administrative and organisational support to the AIV Manager and the AIV team.
• Organise and coordination of meetings, including the preparation of agendas, meeting material, minutes and follow-up action.
• Coordinate visits, missions, travel, accommodation and other logistical arrangements for AIV staff, contractors and visiting project teams.
• Prepare and follow-up of correspondence, presentations, reports and other AIV documentation.
• Provide administrative support for procurement, contractual and financial processes in coordination with the relevant ESO departments.
• Maintain and organise AIV administrative records, contact lists, calendars and shared information.
• Follow-up on administrative actions and facilitate coordination with other ESO departments and external parties.
• Support onboarding, team events, training activities and other organisational matters related to the AIV team.

Reports to:

ELT AIV Manager

Key Competences and Experience:

Essential Competences and Experience

• At least three years of professional experience in administrative or project support functions, preferably in a technical or project environment.
• Previous experience in an international or multicultural working environment.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and competing priorities.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative and follow up on assigned tasks.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, with a service-oriented approach.
• Experience in preparing and following up purchase requests, travel arrangements, meetings and other administrative processes.
• Good computer literacy, particularly MS Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Ability to work effectively in a team and coordinate with different departments and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work under pressure in a remote environment while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.

Desirable Competences and Experience

• Knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, such as SAP or similar applications.
• Experience with electronic document management and archiving systems

Qualifications:

Essential educational level

• A technical qualification in Administration, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

Qualifications which would be an asset

• Additional training in project administration or project coordination.
• Training in procurement or financial administration.

Language skills:

ESO is an international organization where the official language is English. The position requires excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Spanish

Remuneration and Contract:

We offer an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary and educational benefits, as well as financial help in relocating the candidate's family, where applicable. ESO aims to support its members of personnel in maintaining a good work-life balance (https://www.eso.org/public/archives/static/jobs/conditions/brochure-lsm-updated.pdf) between their professional and private life.

This is a project-related position. The initial contract is for a two-year fixed term, subject to medical clearance and successful completion of the probation period. The contract may be extended for an additional period beyond the initial two years, depending on the duration of the project. The title or grade may be subject to change according to qualification and the number of years of experience.

For further information, please visit https://www.eso.org/public/archive