Assistant Project Manager

Job Description

About us

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 organisations to achieve ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.

About the job

As Assistant Project Manager, you'll support the delivery of projects and programme workstreams across UKAEA. You may lead lower-complexity projects or manage defined work packages within larger programmes, with budgets typically ranging from £50,000 to £2 million. You'll work across areas including science, engineering, technology, research and facility development.

We are recruiting three Assistant Project Managers on 24-month fixed-term appointments. The roles are available on either a full-time or part-time basis, and we welcome applications from candidates seeking flexible working arrangements. If applying part-time, please indicate your preferred working pattern in your cover letter.

What You'll be Doing

• Support delivery of projects and work packages to agreed time, cost and quality, leading lower-complexity projects where appropriate.
• Build effective relationships with project teams, stakeholders, suppliers and commercial colleagues.
• Support procurement, contract management, business cases and benefits tracking.
• Maintain project plans, schedules, milestones, budgets and controls, highlighting emerging variances or resource constraints.
• Monitor risks, issues, dependencies and changes, supporting mitigations and escalating significant concerns.
• Coordinate governance, assurance and reporting, maintaining accurate records and clear decision-making information.
• Use AI and digital tools responsibly to streamline routine activities, improve insight and increase delivery efficiency

What You'll Bring

• A background in project support or coordination within a structured project or programme environment.
• An introductory project management qualification such as APM PFQ or PRINCE2 Foundation, or three to five years' relevant project management experience.
• Practical knowledge of project planning, risk and issue management, change control and reporting.
• Previous responsibility for monitoring project costs or maintaining financial information.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.

UKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually 3 days per week) in line with business needs. We actively support flexible working arrangements where this is compatible with the role.

Benefits

We have a generous range of benefits (see the full list here) and highlights include:

• A salary of £43702 inclusive of a £3300 specialist allowance
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave plus 2.5 'privilege' days; 8 Bank Holidays
• Additional 3 days of site closure over Christmas break
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions

Our commitment to ED&I

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, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce.

Please email talent@ukaea.uk if you have any questions or require adjustments to help you participate fairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates.

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit and further information can be found here.