Details
Band 4 Nuclear Associate - Nuclear Safeguards
Job Description
The Opportunity
As the UK’s independent nuclear regulator, our mission is vital to the nation’s safety and security. We protect society by ensuring safe, secure and safeguarded operations at nuclear facilities across our nation.
This is an exciting role critical to the decarbonisation of the UK’s economy; the decommissioning of our nuclear legacy; and in helping the UK to meet its domestic and international safeguards obligations. A career with ONR will provide you with opportunity to develop new skills and experiences and ultimately to lead and shape our society’s future use of nuclear technology.
As part of its 2025 strategy ONR is committed to being a modern and transparent regulator, delivering trusted outcomes and value. We are making substantial investments in new digital technologies and skills to enhance our regulatory processes and management of information.
The Role
Principle Responsibilities
As a Nuclear Associate inspector your job will be varied, and you are likely to undertake a variety of tasks across the sector, either supporting or supported by, experienced inspectors. This varies from regulating the construction of new nuclear build to the decommissioning of legacy facilities. As a Nuclear Associate you will have opportunities to support planned and reactive inspections, assessments of nuclear material accountancy declarations and other safeguards-related submissions, research projects, international work and the development of technical guidance.
Our Safeguards inspectors need to be assured that nuclear material remains appropriately accounted for and controlled, and that nuclear facilities are constructed and operated as declared by operators. A key part of the role involves influencing operators to appropriately consider their operational arrangements and procedures, and ensuring robust measures are implemented to deliver reliable and consistent nuclear material accountancy and control. Our inspectors also facilitate the activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure that the UK meets its international safeguards obligations.
The work of the ONR Safeguards team is extremely varied and dynamic as we work collaboratively with other regulators, government departments, international stakeholders and with multi-disciplinary teams across ONR. Our inspectors rotate between roles, enabling them to develop cross industry experience and providing new and varied challenges.
As a Nuclear Associate we will actively support your development, with tailored coaching and mentoring from experienced inspectors to enable you to develop the skills, knowledge, attributes and experience to become an effective regulator. This will cover; legal, regulatory and behavioural competences as well as enabling you to build and extend your technical nuclear material accountancy, control and safeguards expertise. An extensive suite of training will be available to you including a structured programme on relevant aspects of the law and how we regulate this. As a Nuclear Associate, you may also have the opportunity to take up placements within industry to further develop your practical experience.
ONR will provide you with the opportunity to develop new skills and experiences at a pace driven by you, and as your competencies develop to progress to Band 3E (salary range £53,305 to £63,516) and ultimately Band 3 (salary £63,975 to £73,431).
Line Management Responsibilities
- None at this level, however, there could be an opportunity to manage staff in the future as you develop greater skills and experience.
Work with Us
Our colleagues are from all walks of life with varied personal experiences and career journeys into ONR. We want the best people for our roles. As an inclusive employer we value individuals’ contributions, regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social background, religion, or belief. Our values ‘supportive, open-minded, fair and accountable’ are central to this. We invest in our people to build capability, resilience, and promote wellbeing in our great teams, underpinned by our inherent focus on inclusion and excellence.
Security Clearance
The successful candidate must hold or can achieve and retain National Security Vetting clearance at SC level.
Person Specification
Inclusion
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We will consider reasonable adjustments to ensure the recruitment process is inclusive and barrier-free. Please contact ONR.Human-Resources@onr.gov.uk or Francesca.fay@onr.gov.uk to discuss further.
We will also offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the guaranteed interview scheme.
We recognise we have a role to play in helping those leaving the Armed Forces and have a Veterans guaranteed interview scheme. We offer an interview to Veterans who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the scheme. Please see eligibility criteria below.
- served for at least one year in His Majesty's Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve).
- be in transition from, or ceased to be a member of, His Majesty’s Armed Forces.
- not already be employed by ONR.
Qualifications
We expect all Nuclear Associates to have:
- A good honours degree, or equivalent, in an appropriate scientific, engineering, security or political science subject or be able to demonstrate performance and/or experience at an equivalent professional level.
Essential Skills / Experience
We would like you to have experience of nuclear material accountancy, control and safeguards in the nuclear sector or applicable experience in an alternative high hazard industry sector. However, we recognise that Nuclear Associates will still be developing the breadth and depth of their experience and will be looking for a candidate who enjoys learning and is proactive in driving forward their development.
The key skills and experience required for the role include;
- A proven ability to understand and analyse data and prioritise activities.
- A proven ability to prepare relevant, concise and focussed written reports
- Good communication and influencing skills with the ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with stakeholders, showing appropriate interpersonal sensitivity, and self-awareness.
- The ability and confidence to make sound judgements, with support from experienced Inspectors, on the significance of nuclear material accountancy and safeguards issues as they relate to overall risks and influence effective performance improvement.
- Confidence in the use of modern Microsoft based IT tools and applications.
Desirable Skills
Some knowledge and experience of the following topics would be advantageous but is not essential;
- Experience of using data and information to inform the targeting of work based on risk and sensitivity.
- Nuclear material accountancy and/or related data management systems
- International politics in relation to nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards
- Auditing and inspection
- Measurement and measurement uncertainties
- Equipment which can be used to detect and measure nuclear material
Inclusion
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We will consider reasonable adjustments to ensure the recruitment process is inclusive and barrier-free. Please contact ONR.Human-Resources@onr.gov.uk/ or 07823741047 / 07786544762 to discuss further. We will also offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the guaranteed interview scheme.
We recognise we have a role to play in helping those leaving the Armed Forces and also have a Veterans guaranteed interview scheme. We offer an interview to Veterans who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the scheme. Please see eligibility criteria below;
- served for at least one year in His Majesty's Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve);
- be in transition from, or ceased to be a member of, His Majesty’s Armed Forces;
- not already be employed by ONR.
Security Clearance
The successful candidate must hold or can achieve and retain National Security Vetting clearance at SC level.
Location / Travel
This post may be undertaken from a base at any one of ONR’s office locations (Bootle, Cheltenham or London). You may be eligible for a relocation package up to £15,000.
This post requires some travel including overnight stays predominantly across the United Kingdom and occasionally abroad. Longer term placements may also be required to develop the practical experience required to deliver the role effectively.
The successful applicant requires a full driving licence which permits the holder to drive in the UK unless reasonable adjustments can be made under the Equality Act 2010
ONR operates hybrid working (working in the office and / or at home) as part of our flexible working policy. There is an expectation that everyone will spend some time in the office on a regular basis, recognising that some work is better done face to face. Managers will collaborate with their teams on what works best to meet individual, team, business and organisational needs to enable collaboration, as well as balancing personal choice and wellbeing.
For Further Information
For more information about this vacancy please contact:
How To Apply
Please submit your application through the recruitment portal.
The closing date for receipt of applications is 28/12/2024 at 11:45pm.
We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close this advert early if the position is filled.
Your application should include:
- CV to include a full record of your education and professional qualifications and a full employment history;
- A suitability statement (maximum of 800 words) highlighting how you meet the “essential skills and experience” required for the role, which will be used at shortlisting in conjunction with your CV;
- Where applicable highlight if you have any experience under ‘desirable skills and experience’ within the application form.
Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions based on evidence you provide. If you are shortlisted you will be invited to a technical/competency-based interview.
AI Tools & Platforms
During the application process applicants are allowed to utilise AI (artificial intelligence) platforms and tools to support them in writing their CVs, suitability statements, essential skills and experience. Please ensure that all information submitted is truthful and verifiable. This includes avoiding plagiarism and accurately attributing the work of others, including artificial intelligence generated content, as your own. All presented information will be assessed at the Interview Stage.
Important guidance when providing CV’s – please upload text-based CVs with no graphics or pictures to ensure the anonymisation function works correctly.
Please note - if whilst completing your application, you use special characters such as (‘ ; “ - _ * ) within your examples, Hireserve will convert these characters into symbols. We are currently unable to change this.
Whilst these examples will appear on your application, this will not prevent it from being reviewed at the shortlisting stage.