Head of Contract – Construction

Head of Contract - Construction
Abingdon Road, Culham, UK
Full-time
Salary: £75,415 + excellent benefits, including outstanding pension
Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Confirmed Grade: Level 7
Department: STEP

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 realising 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 of 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 of 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

Join our team and be the Head of Contract (Construction) to shape the future of fusion energy. In this role, you will lead a team of external consultants and subject matter experts, overseeing their work and ensuring the active participation of internal stakeholders in technical functions. Reporting to the Commercial and Supply Chain Director, your responsibilities include managing the intensive procurement process for Whole Plant Partners and utilising high-grade commercial skills to achieve the best business outcome. Your pivotal role extends to recommending long-term, major contract awards and presenting a compelling commercial case to Central Government stakeholders.

Once contracts are awarded, you will lead the construction contract, managing the Construction Partner and their supply chains on a Commercial basis as a senior member of the UKIFS Commercial organization. Oversight for the initial procurement scope at the West Burton site, including site clearance and characterisation activities, falls under your purview. As procurement activity increases, your role ensures alignment of procurement strategies for site-based work with the overall commercial strategy for the Construction partner and maintains alignment with the partner selection process. The role is part of the ambitious STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) program, the UK's flagship initiative targeting a prototype fusion energy plant by 2040, seeking individuals with relevant experience and a commitment to this world-changing endeavour.

Additional Responsibilities:

- Commercial Strategy and Strategic Decision Making - ensure commercial decisions are made in a strategic manner.
- 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 Construction or Engineering 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 on our website

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 UK government website for information on criminal records checks. 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.