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 groundbreaking 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."

Job Description

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.
• 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
• Wide range of career development opportunities
• A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions.

The Role

Be the Head of Contract (Engineering) and play a crucial role in our mission to shape the future of fusion energy. In this position, you will manage and oversee a team of external consultants and subject matter experts, ensuring the active involvement of internal stakeholders in technical functions. Working under the guidance of the Commercial and Supply Chain Director, your responsibilities include leading the intensive procurement process for Whole Plant Partners, utilizing high-grade commercial skills to achieve optimal business outcomes.

Your pivotal role extends to recommending long-term, major contract awards and presenting a compelling commercial case to Central Government stakeholders. Once contracts are secured, your role transitions to managing the engineering contract, overseeing the Engineering Partner and their supply chains on a Commercial basis as a senior member of the UKIFS Commercial organization. Additionally, you will lead a small team working on the 'System Partner' supply chain strategy, addressing critical emerging technology areas to ensure the success of our Fusion solution. This early work is essential for keeping our overall schedule on track, as the eventual goal is for the system partner supply chain to be managed through our Engineering Partner. The position is part of the ambitious STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) program, the UK's flagship initiative aiming for a prototype fusion energy plant by 2040, and it welcomes individuals with credible and relevant experience who want to be part of this world-changing endeavor.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Commercial Strategy and Strategic Decision Making - own the outcome of procurement process to ensure a coherent and commercially viable output.
• Managing the Competitive Dialogue and Contract Award process 
• Developing Supply Chain Strategies - form working groups to better understand key issues and how to address them. 
• Team Leadership and Development - guide, coach and develop your team.
• Embody a Leadership Mindset - contribute to a respectful and collaborative workplace. 

Qualifications

Essential Requirements:

• Proven experience as a Commercial or Procurement leader, in similar Engineering or Construction environments. 
• Demonstrable experience in managing large Procurement or Commercial teams leading to strategic outcomes. 
• Demonstrable experience of managing large-scale procurement exercises, ideally (but not exclusively) in the Public Sector. 
• In-depth understanding of Commercial strategies, pricing models, legal frameworks, and demonstrable experience of writing business cases for internal and external stakeholders. 

Additional Information

A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly individuals from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and women. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI 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.

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

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state, we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.