Senior Waste Specialist in Basingstoke

Location: RG7 4PR, located between Reading and Basingstoke, with free onsite parking.

Package: £47,800 to £75,000 (depending on your suitability, qualifications, and level of experience).

Working pattern: AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight. We will consider flexible working requests so that your work may fit in with your lifestyle. Just let us know your preferred working pattern on your application.

As a Senior Radioactive Waste Specialist at AWE, you will provide expert leadership and technical guidance for the management of radioactive waste across the organisation. You will define the standards, functional requirements, and strategic direction for radioactive waste, ensuring consistent interpretation of legislation and policy while maintaining essential environmental permitting responsibilities.

As a first-level leader, you will support and motivate your team of Waste Officers, championing a culture of inclusion, continuous improvement, and high standards in safety, security, and environmental performance. You will be responsible for ensuring waste generators and waste routes remain compliant with regulatory and company requirements, managing authorisations, and overseeing inspection and auditing programmes. The role includes developing and maintaining competent Waste Officer capability, driving sustainable waste management improvements, and providing authoritative technical advice to internal stakeholders. You will also act as a key interface with regulators such as the ONR and EA, ensuring effective communication, operational learning, and robust governance across all waste-related activities.

We do need you to have the following:

• A degree in an engineering or scientific discipline enhanced by experience or post-graduate qualification; or equivalent combination of relevant qualifications and/or experience.
• Significant experience working in a responsible role within radioactive waste management or waste regulatory field.

Whilst not to be considered a tick list, we’d like you to have experience in some of the following:

• Detailed knowledge of UK and European radioactive waste legislation, standards and guidelines and those systems that exist to enable industry to comply.
• Knowledge of the Environmental Management System and the requirements of ISO 14001.
• Knowledge of health and safety requirements appropriate to the job.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and experience of dealing with different levels of stakeholder.
• Experience of Line Management and Matrix Management of Staff.

You’ll need to have the ability to work calmly and constructively in a priority changing environment and be able to manage your own workload. You will also have initiative, enthusiasm, a flexible approach, and ability to work to tight deadlines.

Work hard, be rewarded:

We ask a lot and set the bar high because our work truly matters. In return we offer balance, with award winning benefits including:

• 9-day working fortnight – meaning you get every other Friday off work, in addition to 270 hours of annual leave.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your contributions).
• Family friendly policies: Maternity Leave - 39 Weeks Full Pay and Paternity Leave - 4 Weeks Full Pay.
• Opportunities for Professional Career Development including funding for annual membership of a relevant professional body.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services.
• Life Assurance (4 x annual salary).
• Discounts – access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending.
• Special Leave Policy including paid time off for volunteering, public service (including reserve forces) and caring.

Hybrid working is available for this role on an informal, non-contractual basis. Typically, 3 or 4 days onsite per week.

Next steps: Everyone who works at AWE brings unique skills and perspectives to the table. We recognise that great people don’t always ‘tick every box’. That’s why we focus on your potential, your fit with our values, your transferable skills as well as your experience. Even if you don’t meet every point above, but you feel that this role and AWE are a great fit for you, please go ahead and apply, we’d love to receive your application.

Important things you need to know:

• We encourage you to apply promptly to avoid disappointment if applications are high and the role therefore closes.
• You will need to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role. This will be funded by AWE.
• The nature of our work does mean you need to be a British Citizen who has been resident in the UK for the past 5 years in order to apply for SC clearance and 10 years for DV.
• We want you to feel comfortable and able to shine during our recruitment process. Please let us know on your application form if you need any adjustments/accommodations during the process.
• Our interviews typically take place over Teams and for most roles are a 1 stage process.

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide will be stored in accordance with GDPR and kept separate from your application form and CV, and the information will not be shared with anyone involved in interviewing or making hiring decisions.

Please note that you must be a British Citizen to apply for a role with us. If you’re looking for a role with excitement, intrigue and something that really makes a difference then now is the time to join AWE. We are at the start of a once in a generation – possibly two generations – programme to design and produce a replacement warhead for the UK’s continuous at sea deterrent. We will do this while continuing to deliver the Trident programme as well as managing ambitious state-of-the-art capital and construction projects – some of which have never been done before.