Director of Organisational Performance

UK Industrial Fusion Solutions

West Burton (with frequent travel to Culham)

  • Location West Burton (with frequent travel to Culham)
  • Sector Central Government
  • Client UK Industrial Fusion Solutions
  • Job Type Permanent
  • Salary/Remuneration The salary will be commensurate with experience
  • Reference GSe121715
  • Closing Date Monday 28 July 2025 – 12:00 noon

UKIFS – Who we are

The UK is currently a world leader in fusion research and development. UKIFS is leading the drive to realise commercially viable energy from fusion, a sector with an estimated potential value of trillions of pounds per year. A record £2.5 billion of additional funding has recently been announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer UK’s ambition to be a global leader in commercial fusion energy.  That includes the work of UKIFS in developing of the UK’s prototype fusion power plant, potentially a world-first.

STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is the UK’s flagship national programme to deliver a prototype fusion energy plant, targeting 2040.  STEP will be delivered by a public-private alliance led by UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK Atomic Energy Authority Group. We’ll demonstrate net energy, fuel self-sufficiency and a route to commercialisation. We’ll catalyse new ideas and technologies that will benefit multiple industries and help secure our future on this planet.

STEP is deliberately bold and ambitious and seeks people who want to be part of a world-changing endeavour and who have credible and relevant experience in delivery.

 

The Role

UKIFS and the STEP Programme are evolving rapidly as STEP builds in scale and UKIFS establishes its own operations.  The Director of Organisational Performance is a critical Executive role that spans leading effective and efficient current business operations, organisation design and improvement, communications, and leading the people function. Bringing together people, organisation, business operations and communications under one Director will drive a coherent approach across these key areas, support our people as UKIFS and STEP expand and evolve significantly and foster the right culture of innovation and professional excellence needed to solve one of humanity’s greatest challenges. The role will also set key policies and approaches across the industry partners that work with UKIFS to deliver STEP, creating one team with a “Best for Programme” ethos.

Along with your functional leadership roles you will also be a member of the UKIFS Executive Committee, who collectively provide stewardship to the whole organisation as it evolves and delivers on the Programme objectives and navigates a path towards delivering viable fusion energy.  You will also be a key strategic adviser to the Board, supporting wider corporate and programme strategy, and will work very close with the independent NED Chair of the People and Culture Committee.

The Person

UKIFS are seeking applicants with a proven record of accomplishment as a COO or leader of Business Operations in a complex, scaling environment. They will further bring significant experience in organisation design, change management and people management.  The Director of Organisational Performance need not be a qualified HR specialist – that capability is provided by the Head of People – but they must have a sound knowledge of key HR matters to support overall business performance.

Ideally candidates will possess experience working in/or with both public and private sectors, enabling understanding of the demands and constraints in both areas. The experience of working in a matrix and project-based environment, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously is an advantage.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of something truly transformative and impactful. You will have the chance to work with some of the brightest minds in the world, to learn from cutting-edge science and technology, to collaborate with leading industry partners, and to shape the future of energy.

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.

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Documents

  1. CPS23.1062b UKIFS Information Pack.pdf

Contacts

Khadeeja Khalid: 07586 717 645

Continue to full details and apply

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