Civil Manager in Retford

Site Location: West Burton, Nottinghamshire

Department: UKFE - Design Authority

Company Description

STEP Fusion UK Fusion Energy (UKFE) Ltd, a subsidiary of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), is at the forefront of developing fusion sustainable energy. Through the design and delivery of the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme, we aim to build a prototype fusion plant, targeting first operations around 2040. UKFE will lead delivery, collaborating with industrial partners and building a fusion supply chain with an estimated global sector value of £7tn per year. Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week; however, we actively support requests for Flexible Working.

As an employee of UKFE you will benefit from:

• Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
• Corporate bonus scheme up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
• Flexible working options including family friendly policies.
• Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders.
• Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days Christmas closure and 2.5 privilege days, in addition to UK bank holidays.
• Wide range of career development opportunities.
• A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive.

The salary for this role is £73,190 plus a Specialist Allowance which is non-contractual and non-pensionable + excellent benefits including outstanding pension.

The closing date to apply for this position is the 8th July 2026.

This UKFE vacancy will be based at our site in West Burton, Nottinghamshire.

Job Description

We are seeking an exceptional Civil Manager to play a pivotal role in delivering the STEP Prototype Fusion Powerplant, one of the most ambitious and transformative engineering programmes in the world. This is a rare opportunity to contribute to pioneering fusion technology with the potential to transform the UK economy and redefine the future of global energy.

The Role

As Civil Manager, you will work alongside the STEP Chief Architect Engineer and senior leadership team to lead the civil engineering design of the programme. You will define and govern the strategy, technical requirements, and architectural integration of all civil engineering, infrastructure, facilities, and enabling works supporting a £10bn capital asset portfolio. Operating within the client’s Design Authority, you will hold delegated technical authority for civil engineering decisions, ensuring design integrity, managing risk, and guiding delivery across a complex, first‑of‑a‑kind environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the civil engineering strategy, design basis, and integration vision across all facilities and infrastructure.
• Establish programme level objectives and architectural principles for a safe, sustainable, and constructable prototype.
• Provide clear direction to ensure alignment with long‑term programme goals.
• Ensure Integration & Design Integrity.
• Resolve cross-disciplinary conflicts and manage trade‑offs across engineering interfaces.
• Develop strategies to address design gaps and varying levels of technical maturity.
• Establish governance, standards, and assurance frameworks for civil design.
• Manage impacts of design decisions on cost, schedule, constructability, and long‑term performance.
• Own Technical Risk & Safety.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks in a high‑consequence environment.
• Ensure designs balance safety, regulatory compliance, reliability, and performance.
• Uphold the highest safety standards across all design and delivery stages.
• Define Early Design Concepts.
• Lead early stage concept development in areas of low maturity.
• Translate emerging ideas into structured requirements and viable design direction.
• Shape the foundation of the plant’s long‑term evolution.
• Lead Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration.
• Drive integrated decision‑making across engineering disciplines and partners.
• Align diverse teams around a unified plant design strategy.
• Ensure coherence across systems, infrastructure, materials, and operations.
• Ensure Compliance & Scalability.
• Ensure designs meet all regulatory, statutory, and industry requirements.
• Enable future scalability, operability, and lifecycle performance.
• Strengthen Organisational Effectiveness.
• Provide technical leadership for prioritisation, value engineering, and key decisions.
• Support the development of Design Authority capability, governance, and processes.
• Drive continuous improvement and innovation across the programme.
• Lead with Impact.
• Role model strong, values driven leadership aligned to UKFE principles.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high‑performing environment.
• Promote curiosity, evidence based decision making, and continuous learning.

About You

You are a visionary civil engineering leader with experience in complex, high value infrastructure or major programme delivery. You bring:

• Expertise in civil engineering design, infrastructure, and facility integration.
• Proven ability to operate within design authority or technical governance environments.
• Strong track record managing interfaces, risks, and cross disciplinary integration.
• Experience delivering large‑scale, technically complex capital projects.
• A passion for innovation and shaping first‑of‑a‑kind engineering solutions.

Qualifications

• Chartered Engineer (CEng), preferably Fellow (FICE) of the Institution of Civil Engineers or equivalent professional institution.
• Proven ability to translate complex technical challenges into clear strategies, actions and delivery scope.
• Experience converting uncertain or evolving system requirements into robust design basis, technical requirements and delivery‑ready solutions.
• Demonstrated leadership of complex systems engineering, including requirements derivation, verification and validation (V&V).
• Accountable for major capital infrastructure technical scope within complex, high‑hazard or highly regulated environments.
• Experience delivering engineering, technical assurance and/or construction in regulated or high‑hazard sectors, including heavy structures (preferably civil nuclear and/or defence).
• Experience operating within organisations holding design authority and managing programme‑critical facility integration in first‑of‑a‑kind or technically novel environments.
• Proven experience managing technical change and configuration/change control processes.
• Strong knowledge of modern civil engineering principles, standards, calculations and design processes.
• Experience in site selection, and presenting technical schemes, plans and budgets to senior stakeholders.
• Ability to coordinate delivery across multiple partners, suppliers or organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to uncertainty and evolving programme requirements.
• Experience originating and critically reviewing engineering substantiation, providing technical assurance and supporting Design Authority decision‑making.
• Knowledge of relevant legal, regulatory and government compliance obligations.
• Proven ability to lead, motivate and inspire technical teams.
• Experience of seismic design and application of American codes and standards.

Beneficial

• Public Sector Knowledge UK: Familiarity with the specific regulations, policies, and governance frameworks applicable to public sector organisations.
• Experience working in an emergent tech environment.
• Experience delivering technical assurance in high hazard and/or technically complex major programmes.
• Experience with Product Lifecycle Management systems.

Additional Information

We welcome applications from under‑represented groups, particularly women in STEM and individuals from British black and ethnic minority backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success. UKFE is committed to being accessible. Please email [emailprotected] if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions. Whilst not required at this time, there is a possibility of an SC Clearance being required in the future. If a candidate already holds an SC clearance, that clearance can be transferred to UKFE.

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants. If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state, we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications. We may consider your application for future positions or similar positions within the organisation. We have a number of exceptional opportunities available at the moment, to view them all please visit Careers - STEP.