Head of Communications and Community Engagement

Fusion energy offers the potential for significant quantities of low-carbon inherently safe abundantly fuelled baseload energy supporting sustainable climate action and energy independence.  While the technical challenge remains high confidence is increasing and the rewards of realising fusion are almost incalculable. Anticipated to come online for commercial purposes in the middle of this century fusion offers a viable means to sustainable net zero in the UK and globally as well as to increased energy security. The UK is currently a world leader in fusion research and development and in the drive to realise commercially viable energy from fusion a sector with an estimated value of tns per year. 

STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is the UKs flagship national programme to deliver a prototype fusion energy plant targeting 2040 and a path to commercial viability of fusion. STEP is deliberately bold and ambitious and seeks people who want to be part of a world-changing endeavour and who have credible and relevant experiencing in delivery. 

STEP is currently led by the UK Atomic Energy Authority which has breadth and depth of expertise in fusion science engineering and operations built over decades. Over the next year leadership will transition to a new Company UK Fusion Energy Ltd. (UKFE) to focus on the delivery of the prototype and in so doing the development of a fusion supply chain. From the next government investment gate UKFE will lead a collaborative team of UKFE Whole Plant Partners who bring expertise in engineering and construction plus UKAEA who will remain as strategic Partner providing fusion expertise.  

What youll be doing 

The Head of Communications and Community Engagement is a senior leadership role that is at the heart of the UKFE organisation. This role brings with it substantial influence and presence across all levels of the organisation to develop and deploy strategies and approaches that build and strengthen UKFE and the STEP programmes reputation to effectively manage and deliver this significant endeavour on behalf of the government.  

We operate in an energising complex and mission driven environment where you will be leading the development and continuance of excellent stakeholder relationships including (but not exclusive to) across Government including our parent Department (DESNZ) and Cabinet Office our integrated delivery team alliance comprised of industry partners including UKAEA as our Fusion Partner the wider fusion community in the UK and internationally and our local communities and development organisations. 

As the accountable leader you will be spearheading the creation of a persuasive communication strategy to influence top-level government decision-makers and win the hearts and minds of other key stakeholders.  

You are encouraged to be innovative in creating compelling narratives to engage a diverse external audience including our key stakeholders enabling the promotion of our vision purpose and progress across all forms of media traditional and digital platforms.  

We believe that having a brilliant internal communications capability in UKFE and STEP will be key to the successful delivery of this major programme. By developing the communications strategy you will be leading approaches that inspire our internal and external stakeholders to support our mission.    

Reinforcing our brand and organisational identity you will also be expanding awareness of our mission to a wider audience delivering effective communications through a regular drumbeat activity and extraordinary engagements. By gathering and leveraging data and audience insights this will inform future communication and engagement strategies and content creation. 

Accountability 1:  Creating developing and implementing the communications and engagement vision strategy and plan 

• Leading the creation of the internal communications external communications and engagement vision for UKFE and STEP 

• Developing the enabling strategy and delivery plans to realise the vision 

• Evolving the vision and strategy to meet the changing requirements of UKFE and the STEP programme 

Accountability 2:  Leading the approach and engagement with our partners and key stakeholders 

• Leading the design planning and delivery of external engagements 

• Leading the interface with UKAEA group communications colleagues ensuring alignment and coordination with key communications 

• Identifying and capitalising on new engagement opportunities and communications channels  

• Exploiting digital channels and social media to increase brand and message penetration  

• Accountable for the strategic management and oversight of STEP and UKFE social media presence 

• Acting as a spokesperson leading industry community and panel events as required   

 Accountability 3:  Public relations and media  

• Supporting the wider business priorities and delivering an increase in media coverage  

• Enabling positive awareness of UKFE and STEP by shaping and maintaining the public perception of the organisation and the programme 

• Co-ordinating external messaging and aligning with group comms 

• Manage the organisations response to issues management and media relations across the UK working to improve the profile of the of the business and executives across key media 

Accountability 4:  Brand and identity development  

• Leading the evolution of the STEP and UKFE brands 

• Ensuring consistency in brand messaging and application to create a unified voice across all communication touchpoints 

Accountability 5: Financial and budget management   

• Familiarity with budget development and management and financial reporting   

•  Responsible for developing and managing an annual budget  1m per annum 

Accountability 6:  Team competency and capability development 

• Managing and mentoring a small team of communication professionals fostering a culture of creativity collaboration and high performance to support continuous improvement to achieve communications objectives 

• In agreement with UKAEA group communication utilising centrally held systems services and capability enabling the delivery of our organisational objectives 

Accountability 7:  Embody a Leadership Mindset 

• Regardless of your formal position you embody a leadership mindset and a set of leadership behaviours. You embrace and embody our organizations culture values and mission in all aspects of your work. 

• Foster a positive and inclusive team environment that aligns with our cultural values. 

• Contribute to maintaining a respectful and collaborative workplace valuing diversity and promoting teamwork. 

• Act as a cultural ambassador representing our organizations values and professionalism in interactions with colleagues clients and stakeholders. 

• Lead by example demonstrating integrity professionalism and ethical behaviour. 

• Make informed decisions and solve problems effectively considering diverse perspectives and organizational goals. 

Qualifications :

Essential: 

• Extensive experience in communications stakeholder engagement and community relations. 

• A bachelors degree in communications or an equivalent qualification in a related field 

• Extensive experience of leading mentoring and coaching teams to achieve high quality delivery 

• Demonstrable experience of working in complex matrixed programmatic environment  

• Demonstrable understanding of government structures and the role national regional and local government play in a project like STEP 

• Experience of fiscal management and reporting 

• Proven relationship builder with stakeholders at all levels 

• Demonstrable experience as trusted advisor at CEO Director and executive team level 

• Proficiency in producing board-level papers and proposals 

• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal 

• Ability to act as an ambassador for the programme  

• Strategic creative and innovative thinker 

Beneficial: 

• CIPR qualified 

• Previous experience of working on significant infrastructure project 

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 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 UKIFS.

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: 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.

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time