Director of Tokamak Science and MAST Upgrade

Site location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Hours: Full-time
Department: CEO Management
Salary: £80,000 to £120,000 plus excellent benefits including outstanding pension
Confirmed grade: Executive

Company Description

By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing 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 are at the forefront of realising energy from fusion, working with industry and research partners to deliver the ground-breaking developments that will underpin tomorrow's fusion power stations with the aim of bringing fusion electricity to the grid.

As we work towards our mission and goals, UKAEA has devised values that capture the spirit of how we work. These values include being: Innovative, Committed, Trusted and Collaborative.

Job Description

UKAEA have an exciting opportunity for a Director to join the executive team and lead on the tokamak science programme to deliver solutions that enable the achievement of commercial fusion energy. You will play a leading role in the scope and enhancements of the tokamak science programme as well as developing the strategy for the physics exploitation of the UK's national fusion experiment - MAST Upgrade. You will have a vision for the future of tokamak science, including the UK's role in ITER and the development of novel digital tools. You will also lead the relationship with international stakeholders and funding agencies (eg EUROfusion and the US DoE) in plasma science.

Who are we looking for?

You will possess substantial experience in the management of large scale programmes (£10M+), ideally in a research domain of relevance and will be a strong leader with an international leadership profile. You must have previous experience and understanding of the wider issues impacting the UK science and innovation landscape, ideally with significant experience in fusion.

You will have demonstrable experience of fostering relationships across a diverse network and will have gained exceptional stakeholder management skills with industry and academia, preferably in the science sector. To succeed in this role, you will have experience of managing large scientific and engineering teams and will be a key contributor to the development and delivery of organisational strategy.

Furthermore, you will hold a wide range of networking skills and possess the ability to lead a team, drive delivery performance and motivate innovative processes.

What will you be responsible for?

• Manage the combined Tokamak Science programme, MAST Upgrade operations and MAST Upgrade enhancements budgets (approx £15M p.a) as well as initiating and securing new streams of income
• Lead the team responsible for the plasma design of the UK's prototype fusion powerplant, STEP
• Develop the strategy for the UK's role in the ITER science programme, as well as other international fusion facilities
• Working with the CEO and other directors to develop and implement the long-term strategy for the UKAEA fusion R&D programme
• Working with other directors, develop digital tools to enable the design of next generation fusion facilities
• Provide effective leadership and day to day management of a team of ~10 direct reports and ~100-150 total employees
• Develop a five-year delivery plan for the programme and initiate and lead EPSRC, EUROfusion or government business cases or grant proposals
• Act as project sponsor for the MAST-U Enhancements project, which has a budget of £21M and includes building new facilities (worth at least £60M), managing the procurement of high-tech equipment and filling gaps with strategic partners as required
• Acting in highly visible government liaison, industry networking, technical review and public facing roles as required
• Personally, perform internationally leading scientific research and produce journal publications and give international conference presentations
• Ensure that appropriate corporate legal status, governance/ financial procedures and health and safety measures are all appropriately compliant and monitored
• Build and manage relationships with EPSRC, EUROfusion, BEIS, Universities, international R&D organisations and other external institutions in order to secure funding and support the UKAEA’s goals as the new facilities will be highly visible in UK science and innovation

Qualifications

Essential skills, experience and competence required

• Substantial experience of management of large programmes
• International leadership profile in a relevant technical discipline
• Experience of contributing to the development and delivery of organisational strategy
• Excellent understanding of the wider issues impacting the science and innovation landscape
• Experience of managing large scientific and engineering teams
• PhD in relevant discipline with significant experience within scientific or engineering related discipline
• Experience of stakeholder management with industry and academia, preferably in the UK science sector
• Significant experience in fusion research

Additional Information

What we offer

• A competitive salary including a personal bonus scheme
• A culture committed to being fully inclusive, supported by a Being Inclusive Strategy and Inclusion Ambassadors
• An Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders, with a full calendar of health and wellbeing initiatives
• Flexible working options including family friendly policies 
• Emergency leave (paid)
• 30.5 days’ annual leave (including privilege days and 3 days between Christmas and New Year) increased with length of service
• Wide range of career development opportunities (e.g. professional registration, internal promotions, coaching and mentoring programme) 
• Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme 
• Annual corporate bonus scheme 
• Relocation allowance (if eligible)

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly from individuals from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds, including nationality and citizenship, people with disabilities, (visible and hidden) and women. The Executive team with support from our EDI ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ (EDI) partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, is actively promoting EDI and taking steps to increase the diversity of our people through reinforcing best practice in recruitment and selection, and revaluating approaches where it is clear we can remove barriers to success. We are easily accessible by car and are a 10-minute walk from Culham Railway Station in Oxfordshire.

Please be advised that this vacancy is due to close on 24/09/2021. We may close earlier than this date if large or sufficient numbers of applications are received.

Please note all employees working at the UK Atomic Energy Authority will be required to complete an online Disclosure Certificate application as part of their clearance – The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks will show the details of all current criminal convictions (convictions considered unspent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) or will confirm that there are no such convictions.