Project Manager

Atomic Weapons Establishment; Reading; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Nine-day fortnight

Pension scheme (9%–13%)

Life Assurance (4x salary)

270 hours annual leave

Employee discounts

Professional development funding

Job summary

Atomic Weapons Establishment is seeking a Project/Programme professional to lead end-to-end projects across infrastructure, estates, and warhead programmes.

The role emphasises governance, cost, schedule, risk, and safety in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment.

Qualifications

• APM, PMP or PRINCE2 qualification or equivalent experience.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across all levels.
• Experience delivering multiple complex high-value cross-functional projects.
• Ability to create and maintain project documentation, RAIDs (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies).
• Ability to track deliverables using KPIs and produce clear progress reports.
• Expertise in risk management, governance, and change control, including stage gate approvals.
• Commercial awareness with a focus on value, compliance and successful delivery.
• Dynamic leadership style that empowers teams to adapt, perform, and align with vision.

Responsibilities

• Deliver projects end-to-end, from initiation and planning through to completion and operation.
• Lead project teams, fostering accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Ensure health, safety and environmental standards are embedded in delivery.
• Define project scope and delivery plans, manage cost, schedule and quality.
• Apply governance processes, produce clear reports, maintain baselines, and manage risks and opportunities.
• Manage supplier and delivery partner relationships, ensuring value-for-money and contract compliance.
• Engage stakeholders, coordinate communication across leadership, regulators and operations.
• Support team development and foster a positive project culture.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Delivery leadership

Cross-functional projects

Education

APM/PMP/PRINCE2 certification

Tools

Governance frameworks

Risk management tools

Planning tools

Job description

AWE has a wide range of opportunities across multiple projects for Project Managers. We are looking for individuals who thrive on solving complex challenges in fast-paced environments, and who can lead and deliver on AWE’s mission-critical objectives. Join us and make an impact on projects that shape the future. We’re recruiting talented Project and Programme Professionals to work on a diverse range of exciting and critical programmes, including Infrastructure and Estates Projects, delivering new, complex, safe working environments; and Warhead Projects, supporting some of the most technically challenging and nationally significant work in the UK.

Location: RG7 4PR, located between Reading and Basingstoke, with free onsite parking. Package: Salary from £49,830 (depending on your suitability, qualifications, and level of experience).

Working pattern: AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight. We will consider flexible working requests so that your work may fit in with your lifestyle.

Closing Date: 26th August 2026.

Responsibilities may include:

• Delivering projects end-to-end, from initiation and planning through to completion and transition into operation.
• Leading project teams, fostering accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement to achieve agreed outcomes.
• Ensuring health, safety, and environmental standards are embedded in delivery, supporting AWE’s sustainability and carbon reduction goals.
• Defining project scope and delivery plans, managing cost, schedule, and quality to meet objectives.
• Applying governance processes, producing clear reports, maintaining performance baselines, and managing project risks and opportunities.
• Managing supplier and delivery partner relationships, ensuring compliance with contracts and securing value-for-money outcomes.
• Engaging stakeholders, coordinating communication across leadership, regulators, and operations teams to align project progress.
• Supporting team development, encouraging learning and growth while contributing to a positive project culture.

Whilst not to be considered a check list, a Project Manager should be able to demonstrate some of the following:

• Project Management qualification/membership (APM, PMP, PRINCE2) or equivalent experience.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to build relationships at all levels.
• Proven experience delivering multiple, complex, high-value, cross-functional projects.
• Competence in creating and maintaining project documentation, plans, and RAIDs (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies).
• Ability to track deliverables using KPIs and produce clear progress reports.
• Expertise in risk management, governance, and change control, including stage gate approvals.
• Commercial awareness with a focus on value, compliance, and successful delivery.
• Dynamic leadership style that empowers teams to adapt, perform, and align with AWE’s vision.
• Guidance for Your Application- What We’d Like to See on Your CV To help us understand the impact you’ve made and the scale you’ve operated at, please ensure your CV clearly highlights: Size, scope, and complexity of the projects you’ve delivered, including budgets, contract values, team sizes, and delivery environments. Specific examples of major or high‑value projects, especially those with significant technical, regulatory, or stakeholder complexity. Your direct contribution- what you led, influenced, or improved- not just what the team achieved. Key outcomes, such as cost savings, schedule recovery, risk reduction, or successful delivery against challenging constraints. Tools, methodologies, and frameworks you’ve applied (e.g. governance models, risk management approaches, planning tools). Any notable achievements, awards, or recognition related to project delivery. Providing clear, concrete examples will help us understand how your experience aligns with the scale and ambition of AWE’s programmes.

Some reasons we think you’ll love it here:

• 9-day working fortnight – meaning you get every other Friday off work, in addition to 270 hours of annual leave.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your contributions).
• Family friendly policies: Maternity Leave - 39 Weeks Full Pay and Paternity Leave - 4 Weeks Full Pay.
• Opportunities for Professional Career Development including funding for annual membership of a relevant professional body.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services.
• Life Assurance (4 x annual salary).
• Discounts – access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending.
• Special Leave Policy including paid time off for volunteering, public service (including reserve forces) and caring.
• The 'Working at AWE' page on our website is where you can find full details in the 'AWE Benefits Guide'.
• #LI-HW1

Important things you need to know:

You will need to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role. This will be funded by AWE. The nature of our work does mean you need to be a British Citizen who has been resident in the UK for the past 5 years in order to apply for SC clearance and 10 years for DV.

We want you to feel comfortable and able to shine during our recruitment process. Please let us know on your application form if you need any adjustments/accommodations during the process.

Our interviews typically take place over Teams and for most roles are a 1 stage process.

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide will be stored in accordance with GDPR and kept separate from your application form and CV, and the information will not be shared with anyone involved in interviewing or making hiring decisions.

Please note that you must be a British Citizen to apply for a role with us.

Service Leavers, Veterans and Reservists We are an Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award Employer.

If you’re looking for a role with excitement, intrigue and something that really makes a difference then now is the time to join AWE.

We are at the start of a once in a generation – possibly two generations – programme to design and produce a replacement warhead for the UK’s continuous at sea deterrent. We will do this while continuing to deliver the Trident programme as well as managing ambitious state-of-the‑art capital and construction projects – some of which have never been done before.

Find out more on our website.