Head of Tritium Facility Operations
Overview of Responsibilities
The salary for this role is £94,758 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance).
Onsite working is expected for 4 days each week.
This role is based at the following site: Culham, Oxfordshire.
This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.
The Role
As Head of Tritium Facility Operations, you will provide strategic and visible leadership for the safe, effective, and reliable operation of Tritium Fuel Cycle Division’s specialist facilities. You will be accountable for operational performance, regulatory compliance, and facility availability, while shaping the long‑term operational strategy for current and next‑generation tritium facilities including workforce capability, asset maintenance, and readiness for future facilities.
This is a senior leadership role with end‑to‑end responsibility for:
- Tritium user facilities and waste operations
- Commercial exploitation of operational capabilities
- The transition of major new facilities into operation, including the UKAEA‑Eni H3AT Tritium Loop Facility
A central part of the role is ensuring the capacity and development of the highly skilled teams who operate these complex and safety‑critical facilities, fostering a culture of excellence, learning, and continuous improvement.
The safety, availability, and accessibility of Tritium Fuel Cycle Division’s facilities are fundamental to UKAEA’s ability to deliver sustainable fusion energy. Your leadership will directly enable pioneering research, industrial collaboration, and future fusion power plants, making this role critical to the organisation’s long‑term success.
Key Responsibilities:
- Ensure regulatory compliance and maintain the safety, health, and welfare of staff in line with company policies and UKAEA standards.
- Build, lead, and develop a high-performing workforce, driving succession planning, capability growth, and future organisational readiness.
- Develop, implement, and maintain facility operations strategies, schedules, and transition plans, ensuring smooth integration of operations, maintenance, and project delivery.
- Drive continuous improvement and operational excellence, benchmarking against external organisations and maximising facility availability.
- Oversee safe and efficient operation of Tritium Fuel Cycle Division Facilities for internal and external users.
- Manage the operational budget (~£10m), track costs, delegate programme budgets, and provide timely financial reporting.
- Lead complex, high-value projects within the facilities, providing strategic direction, technical guidance, and governance.
- Align Tritium Fuel Cycle Division operations with organisational objectives, foster strategic partnerships, and identify commercial opportunities.
- Champion UKAEA’s values, promoting equality, diversity, inclusion, safety, and best practice standards across the organisation.
Qualifications
Essential Requirements:
- Degree or equivalent in a relevant STEM subject, or demonstrable equivalent experience.
- Substantial leadership experience in safe management of high-hazard operations in regulated radiological or nuclear facilities, with a proven track record of delivering operations to schedule, cost and quality and driving operational excellence.
- Facility management experience, including asset and budget management.
- Recognised Health and Safety qualification, e.g., NEBOSH Certificate or IOSH Managing Safely.
- Extensive experience in developing, planning, prioritising, and successfully delivering operational strategy.
- Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams within complex, matrixed environments.
- Strong track record of engaging, influencing, and building effective relationships with senior stakeholders.
- Excellent judgement, decision-making, and communication skills, with the ability to navigate complexity, drive outcomes, and communicate effectively with diverse audiences.
Desirable Requirements:
- Formal Project Management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, PMP) or equivalent experience.
- Chartered status (or working towards) with a relevant professional institution.
Additional Information
A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/
UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit.
UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. Please email talent@ukaea.uk if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.
Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.
