Principal Process & Performance Manager

Shape how critical commercial decisions are governed, assured and delivered. At AWE, governance isn’t a back‐office function. It underpins national safety. We’re looking for a senior commercial governance and assurance professional to help shape, operate and continuously improve how AWE makes and assures its most important commercial decisions. This is a high‐impact role at the heart of our Commercial function, influencing enterprise‐wide policy, assurance, performance insight and board‐level decision‐making.

You’ll work closely with senior leaders across AWE, as well as MOD and wider government partners, bringing clarity, consistency and confidence to complex commercial activity in a highly regulated environment. If you enjoy operating at pace, cutting through complexity and setting clear standards that enable good decisions, this could be the opportunity to play your part.

Package: £63,270 to £95,000 (depending on your suitability, qualifications, and level of experience).

Location: Reading, with free onsite parking.

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.

Please note that AWE is undergoing a transformation with this Job description subject to change, however the description in this advert is a true reflection of the enduring role profile.

This role sits at C2 principal level and plays a key part in strengthening AWE’s commercial assurance maturity. You will have a:

• Senior role within AWE’s Commercial function
• Enterprise‐wide remit for commercial governance, assurance and performance
• Direct influence over commercial business cases, strategies and approval forums
• Close engagement with MOD and central government stakeholders
• Leadership of a small specialist team

As the Principal Process & Performance Manager, you will sit within the Commercial function and be responsible for:

• Commercial governance & assurance
  • Manage and evolve AWE’s Commercial governance and assurance framework, ensuring it is proportionate, consistent and aligned to public procurement regulation and best practice.
  • Translate central government policy, defence and nuclear licensing requirements into clear, usable local policy, processes and templates.
  • Quality‐assure commercial strategies, board papers and business cases, ensuring completeness, traceability and a strong value‐for‐money narrative, applying the HM Treasury Green Book and 5‐Case Model.
• Leadership & influence
  • Lead and develop a small team, setting a high standard for professional judgement, assurance quality and continuous improvement.
  • Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, constructively challenging assumptions and influencing decision‐making across the organisation.
• Performance, insight & improvement
  • Lead the production of high‐quality MI/BI on commercial pipeline, policy adoption, risk and performance, ensuring data integrity and meaningful insight.
  • Drive learning from audits, reviews and assurance activity, embedding lessons learned and supporting continuous improvement across Commercial.
• External engagement & credibility
  • Lead engagement with internal and external audits and reviews, coordinating responses and closing actions.
  • Engage confidently with MOD and other government bodies, sharing leading practice and maintaining strong assurance credibility.
  • Support the integration of ESG and Social Value considerations into sourcing and contract management, assuring measurement and reporting through governance packs.

Who are we looking for? We’re looking for a senior commercial governance professional who is confident operating close to decision‐makers, comfortable with ambiguity, and motivated by improving how organisations govern complex commercial activity. You’ll bring sound commercial judgement, the confidence to challenge constructively, and the ability to balance rigour with pragmatism in a fast‐moving, regulated environment.

We do need you to have the following:

• Senior‐level experience in commercial governance, assurance or performance management within a regulated public‐sector or complex commercial environment.
• Hands‐on business case assurance experience, able to test strategic need, options, affordability, commercial approach and enduring performance management.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience working across functions and at senior levels.
• Proven ability to translate policy into clear, usable processes and frameworks that are applied consistently.
• Experience leading or coordinating audit responses and driving improvement from findings.

Not to be considered a tick list, we’d like you to have experience in:

• Experience working with MOD or within a public sector environment.
• MCIPS (or willingness to work towards).
• Experience operating formal governance or approval boards.
• Knowledge of contract governance and compliance obligations.
• Experience embedding ESG or Social Value within procurement or contract management.
• Experience of working with NEC contracts.

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 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.