Director of Tritium Fuel Cycle

UK Atomic Energy Authority; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 95,000 - 116,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £105,000

Annual bonus up to 15%

Pension: final salary scheme

25 days leave + holidays

Site closure days

Flexible working

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority seeks a Director for the Tritium Fuel Cycle Division to lead a world-class research programme, manage a 200+ staff team, and deliver high-impact projects and partnerships. You will secure funding, oversee detritiation and waste research, and ensure safe, compliant operations.

The role is onsite with flexible working options where compatible with the business needs. Strong leadership and grant development are essential to succeed at this level.

Qualifications

• Three of four: people/operations management, delivery of high impact research, budget management, programme development.
• Experience delivering large-scale research projects with measurable outcomes.
• Ability to secure funding and build collaborations.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for the quality of research output from the Division and maintaining world-class leadership.
• Build a pipeline of grants, partnerships, collaborations, and bids to generate revenue.
• Ensure cross-cutting work packages with other divisions are coordinated and delivered.
• Provide governance and oversight for all Division projects and programmes.
• Ensure operations and facilities are safe and compliant with statutory requirements.

Skills

People management

Research delivery

Budget management

Programme development

Job description

About us

Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs. UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research organisations to achieve ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.

About the job

As Director Tritium Fuel Cycle Division, you will play a pivotal role in delivering the internationally leading UKAEA tritium fuel cycle research programme, developing unique, cutting-edge solutions to fuel cycle challenges. You will be accountable for a team of over 200 people delivering technology and tritium research programmes worth >£15M p.a. whilst ensuring consistent high quality and impact. You will develop the research programme by successfully identifying and winning new grant opportunities and by developing new partnerships and collaborations internationally. You will also be accountable for detritiation and waste management research, in addition to the operations of waste processing facilities.

UKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually between 3-5 days in any given week) in line with business needs. We actively support flexible working arrangements where this is compatible with the role.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Accountable for the quality of research output from the Division, ensuring a world class reputation and continuing international leadership.
• Build a pipeline of opportunities for new grants, partnerships, collaborations and business cases, writing high quality bids and bringing new revenues into the division to support the agreed technical strategy.
• Ensures the Division is working effectively and pro-actively on cross-cutting work packages with other divisions.
• Ensures all projects managed within the Division have appropriate oversight and governance.
• Ensures all operations and facilities within the Division are carried out safely and conform to statutory requirements.

What You’ll Bring

Candidates will require three of the following four below to be shortlisted:

• People & operations management Previous accountability for a team of at least 50 scientific and / or technical staff, either as an operational line manager or a programme leader.
• Delivery of high impact research Accountability for a portfolio of research and development projects. Demonstrable experience delivering high quality outcomes.
• Budget management Accountability for an annual budget greater than >£10M.
• Programme development Experience developing and winning research funding and / or commercial contracts. Experience building collaborations and partnerships.

Benefits

We have a generous range of benefits (see the full list here ) and highlights include:

• A salary of £105,000
• Subject to eligibility, annual bonus of up to 15% of base salary (comprising up to 7% corporate bonus and up to 8% based on individual performance)
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave plus 2.5 'privilege' days; 8 Bank Holidays
• Additional 3 days of site closure over Christmas break
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions

Our commitment to ED&I

UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce.

Please email [e-mail] if you have any questions or require adjustments to help you participate fairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates.

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit and further information can be found here .