Head of Research Grant Support

Job title:

Head of Research Grant Support

Company:

CCFE

Job description

Company DescriptionBy 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 ground-breaking 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 and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment.
• Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders.
• Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days 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.

Job DescriptionThe salary for this role is £87,038 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working.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 RoleAre you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Head of Research Grant Support, you will play a pivotal role in delivering the central leadership with respect to the standardisation, optimisation, compliance and decision-making support, for a research portfolio of ~£30m annually. You will be a subject matter expert in at least one STEM area of Fusion Research, with a high degree of literacy around the UKRI landscape. You will be responsible for driving applications for future large grants (
£50m) successfully, networking extensively within the organisation.Key Accountabilities:

• Successfully achieve renewal of funding for the EPSRC Programme at UKAEA by constructing the EPSRC Core Grant Bid as a company-wide exercise, acquiring national and international partnership leverage to support the bid and via engagement with UKRI councils more widely. The bid will need to be positioned relative to STEP and DESNZ income.
• Deliver standardisation and centralisation of grant reporting for the EPSRC (£15m/yr), Fusion Futures Research (~£15m/yr) and ancillary research grants. Emphasis should be on developing a regular and reliable tool and process for portfolio progress reporting for all research projects (develop and own the PowerApp tool). Coordinate the UKAEA-wide activities that harness this content for government (DESNZ, DSIT, Treasury) and other funders, and act as UKAEA representative for audits on value-for-money.
• Develop a strategy for research quality assurance, implementing international benchmarking initiatives and effective communication in government relevant organisations (UKRI).
• Develop and deliver, via indirect management of senior research staff across the UKAEA, the benefits mapping required for UKAEA’s key grant funders (DESNZ, DSIT and Treasury). Effective harnessing of data will require technical credibility in the stakeholder interface with Divisional and Programme senior teams and the ability to influence them to invest time in this often overlooked but critical activity.
• Own the development and implementation of a research data management plan for the UKAEA, including the creation of a text-searchable central repository for grant research outputs. This is a major project, of strategic significance to the organisation with large legacy implications for major grants.
• Manage the Open Data and Publications team and budget, ensuring compliance with funders’ contractual requirements (e.g. EPSRC) and best practise in the industry.
• Develop research impact dissemination and communication strategies to align with wider UKAEA communication and business development strategies. Manage the compilation of, and edit, the research content for annual UKAEA Group and UKAEA Board reports, EPSRC grant reviews, EPSRC Fusion Advisory Boards, ExCo briefings and similar.
• Responsible for UKAEA compliance to Government Functional Standards on all major grants (

£10m). Initiate financial reporting protocols to support the GFS where appropriate, guiding the Finance team accordingly. * Maintain a watching brief on international and national research activity in fusion as reported in the press, with specific focus on high value interventions. Assist the Exec Office team with future funding narratives, based on relative positioning of interventions.QualificationsEssential:

• PhD in fusion relevant STEM subject; alternatively show relevant know how
• Direct experience as a large project (

£10m) / senior stakeholder manager within a STEM research environment * Direct experience in large grant (£10m) application/ writing in the UK environment * Direct experience in digital platform development

• Fluent written and spoken English
• Digital fluency in Project Management tools e.g. Power BI
• The ability to communicate professionally and collaboratively, with a wide variety of stakeholders, on abstract and business topics

Desirable:

• Work experience in the UKRI / UK research council management structure

Additional InformationA full list of our benefits can be found here .We welcome talented people from all backgrounds who want to help us achieve our mission. We encourage applications from under-represented groups, particularly from women in STEM, people from Black British Caribbean and African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi British, and other ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and neurotypical individuals. Our Executive team, supported by our ‘Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ (EDI) and Wellbeing and our EDI Networks actively promote Inclusion and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation. 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 following link 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.

Expected salary

£87038 per year

Location

Culham, Oxfordshire

Job date

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 02:43:28 GMT

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