Business Manager

weServed; Moor Row; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance

Matched pension scheme with life cover

Digital GP and health checks

Employee share scheme

Employee shopping portal

Professional fees covered

Leave for Reservists

Job summary

Cavendish Nuclear is hiring a Business Manager for its Whitehaven, Cumbria site to lead a major eight-year contract delivering environmental laboratory services for Sellafield. The role requires strong leadership of operations and finance, with a focus on contract performance and stakeholder management.

You will manage service contracts, drive commercial results, and work with resource teams to maximise utilisation.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering large and small contracts with P&L accountability.
• Proven ability to lead operational teams and drive commercial performance.
• Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Customer-focused approach with sound commercial awareness.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operational and financial performance of the business area with P&L accountability.
• Manage service contracts throughout their lifecycle to meet contractual, customer, and financial targets.
• Collaborate with resource management to maximise utilisation and support delivery objectives.
• Support capital expenditure projects to enhance capability and contract performance.
• Build and maintain relationships with customers and report on KPIs, performance, risks and opportunities.

Skills

Operational leadership

Financial management

Contract management

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Communication

Education

Relevant technical/operational/project management discipline

Job description

Job Title: Business Manager

Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria + Hybrid Working Arrangement

Compensation: Attractive Salary + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF74445

Lead a major contract and shape the future of critical nuclear operations

At Cavendish Nuclear, we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as a Business Manager at our Whitehaven, Cumbria site.

The role

As a Business Manager, you'll play a pivotal role in the successful delivery of a newly awarded eight-year contract supporting environmental laboratory services for Sellafield.

Day-to-day, you’ll be required to:

• Leading the operational and financial performance of the business area, including full profit and loss accountability.


• Managing service contracts throughout their lifecycle, ensuring contractual obligations, customer expectations, and financial targets are achieved.


• Collaborating with resource management teams to maximise resource utilisation and support programme delivery objectives.


• Supporting capital expenditure projects that enhance operational capability and contract performance.


• Building and maintaining strong relationships with customers while reporting on key performance indicators, contract performance, risks, and opportunities.

This role is based in Whitehaven, Cumbria. You will work 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Flexible working arrangements are available, with regular site attendance expected to support operational delivery.

Essential experience of the Business Manager

• Experience successfully delivering multiple complex contracts across large and small-scale operations.


• Strong financial management expertise, including previous profit and loss responsibility.


• Proven ability to lead operational teams and drive commercial performance.


• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.


• Sound commercial awareness combined with a strong customer-focused approach.

Qualifications for the Business Manager

• Qualification in a relevant technical, operational, or project management discipline.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK

What we offer

• Generous holiday allowance


• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance


• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+


• Employee share scheme


• Employee shopping savings portal


• Payment of Professional Fees


• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave


• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Cavendish employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. This Window opens February through to March annually.


• ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity


• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

Cavendish

We’re Cavendish Nuclear — a team of c5,000 specialists and a core part of Babcock International Group.

Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. Across clean energy, defence, and civil decommissioning, your work will contribute to projects that are critical to energy security and national protection. Together, we’re shaping a future that lasts — not only through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

Join us and discover how far we can go, together.

We are an inclusive, disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email [e-mail] with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 31/07/2026