Head of Policy

Location: Cumbria

Description: Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) is here to make nuclear waste permanently safe, sooner. The purpose of the Head of Policy role is to provide expert socio-political advice and assurance in support of the organisation’s mission.

This role covers all aspects of radioactive waste management and can range from informing strategies, developing corporate reports, providing senior level briefings, and developing responses to Parliamentary Questions. The post-holder will play a lead role in NWS engagement with a broad range of stakeholders, including Government officials, Ministers, and Parliamentarians.

The role includes line management responsibilities and requires a deep knowledge and understanding of radioactive waste management, including overseas progress, legacy UK programmes, and latest policy developments.

• Provide authoritative advice to the NWS Executive and Board on a range of complex and inter-related socio-political issues.
• Provide assurance of socio-political aspects of NWS's work, through a broad range of inputs including to NWS strategies, implementation of NWS programmes, corporate reports, senior level briefings, and developing responses to Parliamentary Questions.
• Represent NWS as part of stakeholder engagement activity, ranging from engaging with key stakeholders, participating in relevant forums, or acting as a spokesperson for the organisation.
• Maintain a deep understanding of the social and political issues in overseas and earlier UK radioactive waste management programmes and awareness of the broader national and local political context within which the programme will be implemented.
• Line management of one Policy Advisor and Graduate role.
• In addition, the post-holder will undertake other activities commensurate with their skills and experience as and when required.
• Provide authoritative advice on socio-political issues, for example, in relation to NWS response to opportunities and challenges arising in engagement with local communities, national and local Government, regulators, the wider nuclear industry, non-Governmental organisations and other stakeholders.
• Responsible for advising on actions required to facilitate success of the NWS mission, enabling political support and engaging positively with wider civic society.
• Representing NWS in a number of national and international policy fora, for example UK and Devolved Government policy and strategy groups. This post may also require regular interactions with overseas radioactive waste management organisations.
• A lead role in involvement in Government policy and strategy development work, including consultations and legislative activity.
• Builds and maintains positive relationships with external partners across Government, industry, sector-specific representative bodies and wider society.
• Responsible for ensuring lessons and experience are reflected in UK forward programmes and appropriate consistency between current and historical positions.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• A widely recognised expert on the socio-political landscape and history of UK radioactive waste management.
• An established international personal reputation in the field and will have held a relevant key role in a radioactive waste management programme in the UK or overseas.
• Proven breadth and depth of experience in Government policy and strategy development and delivery, including legislative process and cross-Government collaboration.
• Comprehensive experience of working at a senior level within Government.
• Proven strategic thinking skills.
• Evidence of clear and concise written and oral presentation skills.
• Evidence of leadership and influencing skills, together with the ability to communicate complex messages to a wide range of audiences.

Who are we?

Simply put, our job is to secure a safer future for us all. We do this by managing and disposing of the UK's nuclear radioactive waste safely and securely for generations to come. We have a critical role in the biggest multi-decade clean-up project in Europe. As part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group, we provide permanent answers for nuclear waste.

Nuclear Waste Services builds on the work delivered at the Low-Level Waste Repository (LLWR) site and the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) programme, maintaining these key activities whilst also adding further essential services for customers in the nuclear energy, defence, industrial, medical, and research sectors. Maintaining and developing this knowledge and experience is key to securing and developing our unique nuclear waste capabilities for the UK and the rest of the world.

If you join Nuclear Waste Services, you'll be part of a team that brings together some of the most brilliant minds from around the UK, working across many specialisms - scientific, engineering, safety, operations, commercial, community engagement, and regulatory - to name a few.

We want Nuclear Waste Services to be a great place to work where people are respected, included and can perform at their best. We do this by living our Nuclear Waste Services values:

• We are action orientated - We deliver for our customers, partners, and people safely & securely.
• We are collaborative and inclusive - We have greater success when we work together.
• We are ambitious - We are problem solvers who embrace and act upon new challenges.
• We act with integrity - We are trusted to build a safe, secure and sustainable future.

What's in it for you?

• On appointment to NWS you will receive 25.5 days annual leave, plus bank holidays and you can accrue up to 13 extra days leave.
• Rewarding performance (annual bonus scheme).
• We offer a generous pension scheme through CNNP.
• Learning and development support.
• Payment of relevant annual professional subscriptions.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Financial advice assistance.
• Flexible working.
• Extended family-friendly policies.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• We welcome flexible and agile working practices.
• Flexible working requests can be submitted from day 1 of employment.

Equal Opportunities

We value the unique differences that each of our colleagues bring to work every day and are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels respected, included and able to perform at their best. At Nuclear Waste Service we are committed to creating a workplace that is diverse and inclusive. We value the diversity of our people and actively seek to have a workforce that represents the rich diversity of the communities we support. Currently we are underrepresented in some areas, and would particularly welcome applicants from Women, Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities, LGBTQ+ and candidates who have a disability.

In promoting equal opportunities, Nuclear Waste Service welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We select people according to their abilities and our needs. As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet all of the essential criteria for the vacancy.

Please note: Nuclear Waste Services reserves the right to close the vacancy early.

If you have any queries or would like to discuss this role, please email.