AddressDate: 15 Mar 2024
Location: Manchester, GB, M1 6EU Gloucester, GB, GL3 4AD
Company: newcleo
About newcleo
Privately funded and headquartered in London, newcleo was launched in 2021 to be an innovator in the field of nuclear energy. Its mission is to generate safe, clean, economic and practically inexhaustible energy for the world, through a radically innovative combination of existing, accessible technologies.
With visionary co-founders, newcleo capitalises on thirty years of R&D activity in metal-cooled fast reactors and liquid-lead cooling systems, and our senior management and advisory team can boast hundreds of years in cumulative hands-on experience.
newcleo’s technology, mostly comprising a novel approach to already qualified solutions, addresses equally well the three challenges affecting the nuclear industry to date: waste, safety and cost.
- Waste: Our fast reactors are capable of efficient “burning” (i.e., fission) of depleted uranium, plutonium and Minor Actinides. When operated with MOX fuel generated from reprocessed nuclear waste, our reactors not only ensure sustainability by closing the fuel cycle, but can also boost energy independence.
- Safety: Our lead-cooled reactors operate at atmospheric pressure. The properties of lead (thermal capacity and conductivity, boiling point, chemically inert, low neutron activation, shielding properties) together with newcleo’s passive safety systems ensure very high levels of safety
- Cost: Our reactor design has been optimised over the last 20 years leading to the concept of an ultra-compact and transportable 200MWe modules with improvements in energy density compared to other technologies. Costs are kept low by means of simplicity, compactness, modularity, atmospheric pressure operation and elevated output temperature.
newcleo is ready to develop a new, sustainable, and completely safe way of generating nuclear energy that will help humanity to zero emissions, and to the mitigation of global warming. newcleo is also working to significantly invest in MOX fuel manufacturing in developed countries, extracting energy from the current nuclear industry by-products.
In the UK, newcleo’s immediate focus is on delivering a first commercial 200MWe unit (LFR200) over the next decade followed by multiple 200MWe reactors (up to 4GW across multiple sites) via a fleet approach. We are building our team to meet this challenging and exciting objective.
Overview of the role:
newcleo is driving forwards an exciting and challenging international programme to develop and deploy our innovative Lead-cooled Fast Reactor technology. Our Supply Chain team is responsible for Procurement, Contract Management and Supply Chain Management and we are looking for a highly motivated and pro-active Contract Specialist to support the management of our contracts and to be involved in our exciting contract management activities.
You will work as part of the newcleo Supply Chain team and will support the team undertaking robust and disciplined contract management in line with newcleo’s processes. You will work closely with the Project Delivery team in the UK leveraging the talents and capabilities of our people across Europe to ensure alignment of commercial activities and approach.
You will be involved in supporting the development and building of the required systems and processes necessary to establish the essential formality, rigour and discipline to support the business discharge its obligations.
As newcleo is a start up company the role will require a hands on proactive approach, the individual must be comfortable with early stage programmes and have the ability to work with ambiguity and change and be able to build strong relationships with colleagues from across newcleo’s functions and group of companies. The role provides the opportunity for an individual to grow their capability and experience through supporting active procurement and contract management, working with the UK Senior Contract Manager, Contract Manager and UK Procurement Manager with the opportunity to progress in the organisation.
Reporting Lines
The role will report directly to the Senior Contract Manager UK Operations as part of the UK Supply Chain Team and will work extensively with the rest of the UK Operations team, particularly the UK Project Management Office (PMO), quality and finance teams.
Location
The role will be a mix of office working based in Manchester or Gloucester for a minimum of 3 days per week and home working. In addition, there may be the need for occasional travel to our other UK office locations (London, Manchester and Gloucester), France and Italy to support coordination with the other newcleo Supply Chain functions.
Main duties/role and responsibilities:
- Fostering collaborative working relationships with supply chain partners
- Supporting the application for payment and invoicing process to ensure adherence from the business, managing the process on smaller contracts.
- Issuing and reviewing early warning notices, management of the early warning process and early warning registers
- Issuing and reviewing compensation events and managing change, including contributing to continual improvement of existing processes
- Supporting and undertaking monthly contract reporting
- Input to, integration of and ensuring appropriate administration of contract management and finance systems
- Management of change in line with contractual requirements and internal governance
- Maintaining appropriate records to support any claims or disputes
- Working with the wider newcleo team to ensure that contract requirements are met e.g. approvals of programmes and design submissions.
- Working with the Procurement Management team to ensure effective handover from procurement to contract management
- Undertaking proportionate assurance audits on supplier costs and internal audits to ensure that newcleo are compliant with internal process and procedures
- Supporting contract commercial reviews to ensure contractual deliverables are met and managing relationships between both internal and external stakeholders.
- Input to the development of the contract management system and maintenance of the system when deployed
- Support any identified supplier development programmes if appropriate
Attributes/ Experience Required
Experience
- Experience of working with standard forms of contract particularly the NEC and FIDIC. Experience of other standard or bespoke forms of contract would be advantageous.
- Experience of working within the nuclear/regulated sectors would be advantageous but not imperative.
- Ideally experience of both pre and post contract activities covering procurement, contract management and supply chain management.
- Ideally experienced across a broad range of contracts covering goods and services (not essential but desirable).
- Some post qualification experience.
Qualifications
- A degree in Quantity Surveying or Commercial/Cost Management or similar.
- Working towards Chartership of the RICS or other relevant Chartered Institute (ongoing support will be provided in respect of attaining Chartership).
Personal Attributes
- Strong organisational skills.
- Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills to build effective relationships with UK colleagues and the wider newcleo business and supply chain.
- Results focused with the ability to meet commitments and deadlines.
- Attention to detail.
- Fluent written and spoken English. Language skills in French or Italian would be beneficial, but not essential.
- Strong negotiator and communicator
Skills
- Strong IT skills and use of Microsoft productivity products (word, excel etc.)
Security
- The role will require the individual to achieve a national security clearance equivalent to a BPSS standard, or higher, within a reasonable period.
Residential Status and Location
- Right to work in either UK and / or the EU.
