Innovation Lead

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.

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, 
• Emergency paid leave, Generous annual leave allowance (30.5 days) increased with length of service, 
• Wide range of career development opportunities.
• A vibrant culture committed to being fully inclusive.

Job Description:

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Innovation Lead, you will play a pivotal role in contributing to strategic planning with Head of Innovation and the identification of commercialization opportunities, proposing, delivering and running technology transfer and entrepreneurial programmes across UKAEA divisions to maintain and expand the Authority’s capacity to innovate. You will also be setting up processes and structures that link up existing innovation initiatives, internal and external, to facilitate the search for novel solutions to fusion problems and managing stakeholders and coordinating individual projects within those programmes, where broad technical knowledge is required. You will be expected to guide packages of work, oversee small multi-disciplinary teams involving internal and external personnel, assure the quality and safety of these activities. While most elements will be the responsibility of others, the post-holder will need to understand how each step will impact on the effectiveness of technology development activities. 

Additional Responsibilities:

• Assessing ideas and projects on technical and commercial merit (including production of tender specifications, collation of quotations, selection of suppliers, contract project management and evaluation).
• Using experience to provide state-of-the-art knowledge to UKAEA design engineers and technologists and recommending agile project plans to test innovative and low TRL concepts as needed and drive development in areas of expertise. 
• Contributing prominently to the development and positive reinforcement of UKAEA’s knowledge base and practices in the areas of technology development, technology transfer and innovation management.
• Securing external funding for novel concept validation, technology transfer and commercialization projects.
• Working with external partners (including universities, public sector research establishments and industry in fusion and related fields) to create links that complement UKAEA's internal capability, offer access to additional expert knowledge and facilitate new project proposals. 

You may work on projects with H3AT and materials team on Tritium Research, Nuclear Materials and Radiological Materials topics.

Qualifications

Essential Requirements:

• Experience of technology transfer between sectors. 
• Grasp of the process of commercialization.
• Experience of running innovation programmes across different organisational departments, capturing lessons learned and reporting of key metrics.
• Experience of IP management.
• Degree qualified in a relevant discipline.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Well organized and capable of managing to deadlines and priorities.
• Comprehension of areas of technology associated with fusion.

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.

All employees at the UK Atomic Energy Authority must complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and other appropriate security checks, including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions.

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. 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.