Risk Manager in Reading

Location: RG7 4PR, Aldermaston.

Package: Salary from £49,830 - £78,770 (depending on suitability, qualifications, and 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.

This is not just another role. This is an opportunity to contribute to one of the most significant, complex and high-impact defence programmes in the UK today. Following the publication of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command, AWE has begun work on a sovereign replacement warhead programme known as Astraea. This programme sits at the heart of the UK’s national security ensuring a safe, secure, and credible nuclear deterrent for generations to come.

As a Risk Manager at AWE, your responsibilities may include:

• Develop, maintain and improve Delivery Area risk register aligned to ASTRAEA standards
• Facilitate risk workshops and reviews with technical design, manufacturing PMs, and stakeholders
• Perform qualitative and quantitative risk analysis including scoring, modelling, and Monte Carlo
• Define, assign, track mitigation and contingency actions, ensuring accountability and escalation
• Escalate risks, breaches, cross-area impacts, and maintain alignment with risk appetite
• Manage dependencies via ADMA, ensuring alignment with PMO programme schedule
• Identify and resolve dependency conflicts and gaps, escalating to Programme Dependency Manager
• Maintain issues log, distinguish risks vs issues, and drive resolution root cause analysis
• Identify, assess, and track opportunities, promoting cost and schedule performance improvements
• Produce RADIO reports and dashboards to support governance, engage stakeholders, and provide guidance

We do need you to have the following:

• Proven experience in risk and/or programme controls management within a large-scale, complex programme or project environment.
• Demonstrable knowledge of risk management frameworks, methodologies, and tools.
• Experience maintaining and managing RADIO or equivalent logs within a structured PMO or delivery environment.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to assess complex risk landscapes and present findings clearly.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience producing governance-ready reports and briefings.
• Ability to build effective working relationships and influence without direct authority.
• High level of personal integrity and professionalism, with the ability to handle sensitive information appropriately.

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

• Experience working within a defence, nuclear, or other highly regulated programme environment.
• Familiarity with quantitative risk analysis techniques and tools (e.g. @Risk, ARM and Saffran)
• Experience working within or alongside a PMO.
• APM PMQ, APM RPQ, MoR, or equivalent professional qualification.
• Understanding of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise and associated governance structures.

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.

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.

Please note that you must be a British Citizen to apply for a role with us.