Early Careers Specialist

Fusion Energy Base; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary: £51,317

Generous benefits and pension

Flexible working options

Job summary

UKAEA is seeking an Early Careers Specialist to lead the delivery of a high‑quality programme across work experience, summer placements and year-in-industry schemes. You will ensure an excellent participant experience while aligning with the organisation’s future workforce needs.

You will manage budgets, external contracts and partnerships, develop new entry pathways, and drive inclusive, best‑in‑class early careers provision across the fusion sector.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent experience.
• Substantial knowledge of the early careers sector and vocational training programmes.
• Proven record designing and delivering development programmes and managing early careers schemes.
• Experience of budgets, projects and external contracts.
• Strong knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion and ability to build relationships across the organisation and with partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day delivery and development of an early careers scheme.
• Set operational targets and KPIs, and take responsibility for achieving them.
• Manage and develop the team running the scheme.
• Manage the scheme budget and contribute to wider skills budgeting.
• Develop new entry pathways and opportunities supporting UKAEA’s growth.
• Lead accreditation processes and maintain relationships with relevant institutes.
• Manage external partnerships and contracts delivering strong value.
• Provide guidance on funding opportunities and ensure compliance with funding rules.
• Develop reporting dashboards showing scheme performance.
• Contribute to UKAEA’s Early Careers and Skills strategies and champion equality, diversity and inclusion.

Skills

Programme design

People management

Budget management

Contract management

Equality & diversity

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

CIPD Level 5

Job description

Early Careers Specialist

Overview of Responsibilities

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

Join UKAEA as an Early Careers Specialist and lead the delivery of a high-quality programme that builds the skills needed for the future of fusion energy. You will manage the Work Experience, Summer Placements and Year in Industry schemes, ensuring they provide an excellent experience for participants and meet UKAEA’s future workforce needs. Working with colleagues and external partners, you will help develop an inclusive, best-in-class early careers provision across the fusion sector.

What You’ll be Doing

• Lead the day-to-day delivery and continued development of an early careers scheme.
• Set operational targets and key performance indicators, taking responsibility for their achievement.
• Manage and develop the team responsible for running the scheme.
• Manage the scheme budget and contribute to wider skills budget planning.
• Develop new entry pathways and opportunities that support UKAEA’s growth and workforce requirements.
• Lead professional accreditation processes and maintain relationships with relevant institutes.
• Manage external partnerships and contracts, ensuring they deliver strong value and agreed outcomes.
• Provide expert guidance on funding opportunities and ensure compliance with relevant funding rules.
• Develop reporting dashboards that provide useful insights into scheme performance.
• Contribute to UKAEA’s Early Careers and Skills strategies, championing equality, diversity and inclusion throughout.

What You’ll Bring

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience.
• A CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent relevant experience.
• Substantial knowledge of the early careers sector and vocational training programmes.
• A proven record of designing and delivering development programmes and managing early careers schemes.
• Experience of managing budgets, projects and external contracts.
• Strong knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion, with the ability to build effective relationships across the organisation and with external partners.

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.

Benefits

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

• A salary of £51317
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus
• 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.

Salary

£51,317 + excellent benefits including outstanding pension

Programme

Department: People & Culture

Discipline

Human Resources

Site Location

UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire

Type of Employment

Full-time

Reference Number

REF4584F

Qualifications

Additional Information