Opportunity Development Manager

• Salary: £57,117 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
• Division:
  Fusion Technology

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,
  details of which can be found at the end of this advert.
• bonus scheme up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
• Flexible working options
  including family friendly policies and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment.
• 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
• A vibrant
  culture
  committed to equality and being fully
  inclusive

The salary for this role is £57,117 (inclusive of aSpecialist Allowance).
Onsite working is expected for 3days 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.

The Role

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, identifying opportunities to refine bid management processes, and ensuring resources are focused on the highest-value opportunities.
• Build consortia and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders, acting as the lead contact for complex bids and supporting the identification and development of strategic opportunities.
• Oversee the bid lifecycle from opportunity qualification through to submission, ensuring proposals are robust, compliant, competitive and delivered to deadline.
• Monitor and report on commercial activity, opportunity pipelines, partnerships and business development data, maintaining accurate CRM, SharePoint and proposal records to support informed decision-making.
• Maintain proposal libraries, reusable content, lessons learned, bid processes and opportunity tracking systems to drive continuous improvement and increase bid effectiveness.
• Promote…