Senior Independent Assurance Manager

About newcleo

Privately funded and headquartered in London, newcleo was launched in 2021 – and since raised a total of EUR 400m – to be an innovator in the field of nuclear energy. Its mission is to generate safe, clean, economic, and practically inexhaustible energy for the world, through a radically innovative combination of existing, accessible technologies.

With visionary co-founders, newcleo capitalises on thirty years of R&D activity in metal-cooled fast reactors and liquid-lead cooling systems, and our senior management and advisory team can boast hundreds of years in cumulative hands-on experience.
newcleo’s technology, mostly comprising a novel approach to already qualified solutions, addresses equally well the three challenges affecting the nuclear industry to date:

• Waste: fast reactors are capable of efficient use of depleted uranium, plutonium, and Minor Actinides. When operated with MOX fuel generated from reprocessed nuclear waste, newcleo’s reactors not only ensure sustainability by closing the fuel cycle but can also boost energy independence.
• Safety: lead-cooled reactors operate at atmospheric pressure. The properties of lead (thermal capacity and conductivity, boiling point, chemically inert, low neutron activation, shielding properties) together with newcleo’s passive safety systems ensure very high levels of safety.
• Cost: newcleo’s reactor design has been optimised over the last 20 years leading to the concept of an ultra-compact and transportable 200MWe module with improvements in energy density compared to other technologies. Costs are kept low by means of simplicity, compactness, modularity, atmospheric pressure operation and elevated output temperature.

newcleo is also working to significantly invest in MOX fuel manufacturing in developed countries, extracting energy from the current nuclear industry by-products. newcleo is ready to develop a new, sustainable, and completely safe way of generating nuclear energy that will help humanity reach zero emissions and mitigate of global warming.
In the UK, newcleo’s immediate focus is on delivering a first commercial 200MWe unit over the next
decade followed by multiple 200MWe reactors (up to 4GW across multiple sites) via a fleet
approach.

Overview of the Role
The Senior Independent Assurance (IA) Manager will work as part of the integrated health, safety, security, environment, and quality team of newcleo Generation (UK) Ltd which is the newcleo UK subsidiary established as the vehicle to deliver our projects in the UK and, as the prospective nuclear site licensee and environmental permit holder.

You will report directly to the Safety Director and also collaborate with colleagues across all newcleo subsidiaries to deliver consistent ways of working, share best practice and provide direct support, where appropriate and without compromising their independence.

Location is flexible as long as you will be able to travel to one of newcleo’s offices in the UK (Manchester, London, SW) for approx. three times a week.

Main Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the GenCo Independent Assurance mandate, standards, strategy, manuals, programmes, systems, processes, and procedures to provide Independent Assurance that GenCo is compliant with its Nuclear Site Licence and Environmental Permit – Radioactive Substances Regulations, other environmental permits and associated legislation and guidance.
• Lead the direction, development and practical application and maintenance of the Independent Assurance management system, ensuring that it meets the required standard of performance, is communicated, effective and remains fit-for-purpose.
• Set the GenCo nuclear safety, radiological protection and radioactive waste policies and standards.
• Provide expertise and guidance in interpreting and applying international and national standards in nuclear safety, radiological protection and radioactive waste and any relevant UK statutory/regulatory requirements, as well as any established newcleo Group policy and standards.
• Provide independent review, assessment and concurrence of GenCo site-specific safety cases, medium and high significance LFR-AS-200 modifications, an appropriate sample of site-specific design deliverables and any project hold points with safety, security or environmental protection significance.
• Provide independent review, challenge and assessment of GenCo project teams and their suppliers, using audits and reviews, against GenCo policies, processes and procedures, agreeing findings and corrective actions to address any shortcomings with the responsible business units, and reporting findings back to GenCo managers, executives and the GenCo Board, as appropriate.
• Provide independent review, assessment and challenge of any GenCo sites safety, security and environmental protection performance during the pre-construction and subsequent lifecycle phases, agreeing findings and corrective actions to address any shortcomings with the responsible business units, and reporting findings back to GenCo managers, executives and the GenCo Board, as appropriate, to assure the robustness of the organisation, control of risks and GenCo compliance with UK legislation, appropriate national and international standards, and GenCo policies.
• Provide oversight, as an Intelligent Customer, of any IA activity provided by suitably qualified and experienced supply chain personnel who have been selected to supplement and/or complement GenCo internal resources.
• Develop a planned programme of assessments, inspections and structured audits that assess compliance with arrangements and the adequacy of outcomes which would consider such topics as leadership, culture, and the potential for human error, in addition to those related to design, manufacture, construction, plant operations and procedures.
• Lead investigations into the direct and root causes of any reportable nuclear safety, security and environmental protection event, agreeing findings and corrective actions to address any shortcomings with the responsible business units, and reporting findings back to GenCo managers, executives and the GenCo Board, as appropriate.
• Establish and maintain links with international and national organisations which set nuclear oversight standards, promulgate best practice and identify learning from experience.
• Develop and manage GenCo’s “Learning from Experience” framework to consider, analyse and disseminate appropriate learning from within GenCo and from external sources.
• Oversee, and provide the secretariat for, the Nuclear Safety and Environment Committees (and their relevant precursors) such that the Committees are supplied with sufficient information to consider and provide advice and challenge on all matters on or off GenCo sites which may have safety, security or environmental protection significance.
• Take advice from the Senior Security Manager, Senior HSE Manager and Senior Quality Manager with respect to their security, HSE and quality expertise in the independent oversight and assurance that GenCo is, and will remain, compliant with the Nuclear Site Licence and environmental permits, including the provision of concurrence support that risks to people and the environment are as low as reasonably practicable and that best available techniques have been applied.
• Prepare reports and/or other necessary documentation for both internal (up to GenCo Board level) and external (including regulatory) stakeholders.

Attributes/ Experience

Essential

• Degree in a relevant engineering or science subject.
• Evidence of at least 5 years of proven capability in a senior technical assurance, or equivalent, position.
• Previous experience at a suitable level in the civil or defence nuclear industry.
• Highly credible, trusted and discrete; Leads by example; Able to work independently.
• Willing to consider new and innovative approaches; Solution focused whilst able to constructively scrutinise and challenge.
• Ability to develop arrangements from a zero base.
• Excellent people skills in areas such as teamwork, facilitation, and negotiation.

Highly Desirable

• Working knowledge of UK nuclear oversight expectations, custom and practice.
• Background of working as part of an international team.
• Experienced at engaging with stakeholders at all levels including the ONR and the Environment Agency.
• Broad understanding of the application of nuclear site licence, environmental permit and construction oversight requirements in the UK.

Daria Farcas