MISSION MANAGER II

SUMMARY

General Description:

Mission Managers contribute to mission planning and communicative activities from post-Business Development group inception of a mission to execution. Mission Management covers internal and external communication and coordination for all active and operational MARS sites. Mission Managers are responsible for orchestrating every aspect of our spaceport’s missions, from planning and contract execution to customer requirements acceptance, completion of key reviews, launch, and post-launch analysis. Their responsibilities include coordinating with internal teams, external partners like NASA, and our spaceport customers to ensure seamless execution. Mission Managers ensure timely communication of key mission details and milestones to all spaceport team members, enabling effective support at every level. Serving as the spaceport’s primary point of contact for established customers, they ensure customer needs are met throughout the mission lifecycle. A Mission Manager’s role is pivotal in leading cross-functional teams, addressing challenges, and driving mission success while staying abreast of industry trends and regulatory changes for continual improvement.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Leads and coordinates mission related work activities including pre- and post-mission support, seeing mission deliverables developed and executed, as well as post mission summaries, reports, and closeouts.
• Coordinates efforts from post business development and contracting work, with SA on development, to mission management with mission initiation and handoff to facility management for execution.
• Verifies and validates mission requirements ensuring MARS facilities can meet mission requirements from customers, and deliver as required .
• Prepares and completes required documentation including company documents such as directives and processes, as well as customer request and mission related.
• Work directly with customer, support contractors, and VSA technical and management staff in a team environment to ensure the delivery of capability from the VSA MARS facilities.
• Coordinate Mission Manifest Schedules in coordination with MARS management, engineering and support personnel to track and deconflict Missions and resources.
• Coordinates with customer and launch range mission managers, providing timelines and de-conflicting customer requests, reviews, and operations with other programs and missions.
• Generates mission milestone schedules, tracks mission activities and deliverables, and provides performance reports to the MARS FMM.
• Support Business Development in development of mission for planning and awareness, or in times of absence for customer support or coordinating customer need in contract development.
• Support Facility Managers as alternate point of contact in times of absence for inter-launch range activities, customer interactions, coordinating timely responses to customer needs and requests for assistance and backup point of contact for security and emergency services.
• Attend operational, customer, trade shows, or symposiums. Maintain mental clarity and efficiency in work in a stressful operational environment.
• Work well with demanding customers to deliver confidence in ability and promote long-term business relationships.
• Train Mission Manager I.
• Other duties as assigned.

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

General Education:

Job-Related Experience: At least five years of direct, practical work experience with operations or planning, customer engagement, and program involvement.

An equivalent combination of training and experience may substitute for a degree.

Certifications: None

Licenses, etc.: Valid driver's license is necessary when operating a vehicle while on agency business.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of technical operations with a focus on aerospace ground systems or aviation and directly related work experience.
• Working level knowledge of program planning and communication
• Working level knowledge of employee training and development
• Working level knowledge of program development
• Working level knowledge of documentation development

Skills:

• Mid-Level Leadership skills
• Time management with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Process improvement
• Basic Proficiency in Microsoft applications including: internet software. Spreadsheet software and Word Processing software.
• Conflict resolution
• Communication: listens to others without interrupting. Keeps emotions under control. Remains open to others' ideas and tries new things.
• Customer service: Skillfully manage difficult or emotional customer situations and respond promptly to customer needs. Solicits customer feedback to improve service. Responds to requests for service and assistance. Meets commitments.

Abilities:

• Ability to demonstrate professionalism in dealing with confidential and sensitive issues.
• Time management with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to coordinate multiple programs/customers at one time
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to Interpret drawings, specifications, blueprints, schematics, diagrams and sketches
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret complex documents.
• Ability to compose and deliver effective and persuasive speeches, articles and presentations on controversial or complex topics to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.
• Ability to gather and analyze information skillfully.
• Ability to identify and create alternative solutions to issues
• Ability to work in individual and group settings
• Ability to delegate and work well in group problem solving situations.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Ability to effectively influence actions and opinions of others and to accept feedback from others.

Physical Demands:

The employee is regularly required to sit, use hands, feel, speak and hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell. Position may travel between sites. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 40 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 40 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

The employee is mainly at a desk in an office setting but has the potential for exposure to hazardous material and situation. The employee may be exposed to fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals and risk of electrical shock. The employee may be exposed to risk of radiation and vibration. Work environment may involve significant risks with exposure to potentially dangerous or extremely adverse conditions which require a range of safety and other precautions, e.g. fieldwork on launch pads, near high pressure and cryogenic systems, near extremely energetic materials.

The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions (non-weather), working near moving mechanical parts, outdoor weather conditions. extreme cold (non-weather) and extreme heat (non-weather).

The noise level in the work environment is sometimes loud.

Must be able to obtain and maintain eligibility for issuance of a NASA credential.

Must be able to pass a pre-employment background check and drug test.