Portfolio Manager

UK Atomic Energy Authority; South Oxfordshire; Hybrid; GBP 78,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy organization in Culham, Oxfordshire, seeks a Portfolio Manager to manage the £42m FOSTER Programme, dedicated to advancing skills in Fusion energy. The role requires oversight of complex projects, budget management, and communication with various stakeholders. Candidate must demonstrate substantial experience in managing large portfolios, possess strong people management skills, and a relevant degree. A competitive salary of £77,239 plus excellent benefits is offered, with options for flexible working and travel throughout the UK.

Benefits

Outstanding pension scheme

Corporate bonus scheme

Flexible working options

Employee Assistance Programme

Generous annual leave

Qualifications

• Substantial experience managing large complex portfolios (>£10M) in a technical environment.
• Ability to develop successful teams and collaborate with scientific and engineering teams.
• Strong commercial awareness for sound economic decisions.

Responsibilities

• Establish governance frameworks and coordinate programme reporting.
• Act as the key interface with the Portfolio Management Office.
• Manage and develop staff effectively, overseeing performance and workforce planning.

Skills

Programme management

People management

Stakeholder engagement

Negotiation

Communication

Education

Degree in a relevant field

Tools

Governance frameworks

Job description

• Salary: £77,239 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
• Division: Central Operations
• Confirmed Grade: Level 6*

Company Description

By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing and helping to shape the future of the world’s energy? If so, read on.

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 for ground‑breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid, supported by tomorrow's power stations. In pursuit of our mission, UKAEA embraces core values: Innovative, Committed, Trusted, and Collaborative.

As an employee of UKAEA you will benefit from:

• Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme, details of which can be found at the end of this advert.
• Corporate bonus scheme up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
• Flexible working options including family friendly policies and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment.
• Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders,
• Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days Christmas closure and 2.5 privilege days, in addition to UK bank holidays
• A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive.

The salary for this role is £77,239 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance- £7,647). Onsite working is expected for 3 days a week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working.

This role can be based at Culham, Oxfordshire. There will be travel involved across the UK.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

The Role

Central to achieving UKAEA’s overarching mission, is building the skills and capabilities needed to work in Fusion through our National Fusion Skills Programme. We are looking for a Portfolio Manager to take forward work through our £42m FOSTER (Fusion Opportunities in Skills, Training, Education, and Research) Programme. The Portfolio Manager is a visible leadership role responsible for the delivery and management of FOSTER, which comprises a portfolio of projects across four workstreams. The role also involves extensive stakeholder engagement, both internally and with delivery partners, and supporting the Head of Fusion Skills in engaging with academic institutions, government, regional authorities, non‑governmental organisations, and training and apprenticeship providers. Regular travel within the UK (approx. once a month) will be required as part of this role.

The Portfolio Manager will coordinate and motivate a matrixed programme delivery team, ensure consistent application of programme design and management processes, and maintain regular reporting to the Executive Committee, the Corporate Portfolio Board, and DESNZ. The role includes leading programme‑level delivery, governance, assurance, planning, risk management, budgetary management, and benefits realisation, as well as prioritising and allocating resources to ensure programme and business objectives are achieved.

This portfolio includes large, complex, and high‑uncertainty initiatives that are often technically challenging, politically sensitive, and require tailored approaches and methodologies to deliver successful outcomes.

If this role sounds like the right fit for you and you have excellent programme management, people management, negotiation, and communication skills, we’d love to hear from you.

Below you can find a brief overview of the accountabilities and full details can be found in the job description.

Governance, Reporting & Assurance: Establish and maintain governance frameworks, coordinate programme reporting and analysis, provide secretariat support for senior boards, and support business case development with best practice guidance.

PfMO Business Partner & Resource Planning: Act as the key interface with the Portfolio Management Office, ensure compliance with policies and standards, manage programme resourcing, scheduling, and allocation of finance and staff to optimise delivery.

Leadership & People Management: Inspire and communicate vision, manage and develop staff effectively, oversee performance, workforce planning, learning and development, and support organisational decision‑making within areas of expertise.

Qualifications

• A degree and substantial experience of managing large complex portfolios (>£10M) in a technical environment
• Experienced in developing successful teams and individuals and collaborating effectively with scientific and engineering teams.
• Qualified in any of the following: APM Chartered Project Professional, Project Leadership Programme (PLP) or MSP Practitioner
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to make sound economic decisions that maximise a portfolios value
• Demonstratable high standard of leadership, able to inspire with vision and take everyone forwards
• Passionate about developing people and the P3M profession

Desirable Qualifications:

• A relevant degree, or experience in industries aligned to the development of skills/building capability at a national level.
• Experience: Previous experience at a portfolio management level, with evidence of previous portfolio and programme management outcomes. Previous experience in managing stakeholders of all levels.
• Previous public sector experience interfacing with governmental departments and proficient in writing and preparing Green Book compliant Business Cases also desirable

UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds who want to help us achieve our mission. We are under‑represented from some groups and so want to encourage applications in particular from women in STEM, people from Black British Caribbean and African backgrounds and from Pakistani and Bangladeshi British backgrounds. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) and Wellbeing and our EDI Networks actively promote Inclusion and takes steps to increase diversity within our organization. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. Please email [e-mail] if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.

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