Opportunity Development Manager

By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing and helping to shape the future of the world’s energy? If so, read on. 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 for ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid, supported by tomorrow's power stations. In pursuit of our mission, UKAEA embraces core values: Innovative, Committed, Trusted, and Collaborative.

As an employee of UKAEA 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 £57,117 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. This role can be based at any of the following sites Culham, Oxfordshire with occasional domestic travel.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Opportunity Development Manager, you will support the Head of Programme Development in identifying, developing and securing strategic funding and commercial opportunities that drive growth for the Technology Division. Working across industry, government, academia and international partners, you will help build consortia and shape opportunities from early engagement through to successful proposal submission, ensuring alignment with the Division's strategic objectives and supporting sustainable long-term growth.

You will lead opportunity capture activities, coordinate multidisciplinary technical teams and develop compelling funding and commercial proposals that convert UKAEA capabilities into funded programmes and sustainable commercial growth. This role combines opportunity development, stakeholder engagement and bid leadership, with a strong emphasis on partnership building and external engagement.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Lead the development, coordination and submission of high-quality bids, funding proposals and commercial opportunities aligned to the Division's strategic objectives.
• Coordinate the Division's Bid Viability Assessment (BVA) process, supporting robust Go/No-Go decision making.
• Build consortia and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Oversee the bid lifecycle from opportunity qualification through to submission.
• Monitor and report on commercial activity, opportunity pipelines, partnerships and business development data.
• Maintain proposal libraries, reusable content, lessons learned, bid processes and opportunity tracking systems.
• Promote UKAEA's values by fostering a culture of safety, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Contribute to the development of strategic funding and commercial opportunities.
• Develop relationships with customers, collaborators, funding organisations and strategic partners.
• Represent UKAEA at stakeholder meetings, consortium workshops, conferences and industry engagement activities.

Qualifications

Essential:

• Experience leading complex multidisciplinary bids, funding proposals or commercial opportunities.
• Experience identifying, qualifying and developing new funding opportunities.
• Demonstrable ability to identify, shape and develop strategic opportunities.
• Able to work effectively with incomplete information to develop opportunity strategies.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and managing competing priorities.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong understanding of opportunity development, bid governance, opportunity qualification and proposal development processes.
• Experience engaging directly with customers, strategic partners or funding organisations.
• Ability to prioritise and manage multiple concurrent opportunities.
• Proactive, organised and detail-oriented, with strong problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
• Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience.

Desirable:

• Experience working within engineering, science or technology organisations.
• Experience within one or more of the fusion, nuclear, defence, aerospace, advanced manufacturing or energy sectors.
• Experience developing collaborative proposals involving industry, academia, government and international partners.
• Knowledge of UK and international funding mechanisms.
• Understanding of technology commercialisation, intellectual property management and collaborative research and development.
• APMP qualification or another recognised bid or proposal management qualification.
• Experience using CRM systems, SharePoint or similar opportunity and knowledge-management tools.

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