Job Description

Strategy Leaders are fundamental in defining and implementing both local and enterprise level strategies that support the delivery of the NDA Strategic Outcome Specification and demonstrate regulatory compliance. They are accountable for identifying, gathering, interpreting, presenting, analysing, and managing the information that forms the foundation of strategic advice provided to senior management (Executive & Board) and stakeholders. This includes evaluating technical and strategic options, ensuring overall coherence, recognising key interdependencies, and assessing deliverability, whilst maintaining transparency and stakeholder confidence in strategic decision making.

Strategy Leaders lead (directly or indirectly) Strategy Managers, Specialists and Advisors who carry out strategic assessments, manage business critical data, and deliver analysis that informs best value approaches for delivery and mission enabling functions; whilst maintaining regulatory, and other stakeholder, confidence.

Principal Accountabilities

• Accountable for ensuring strategy in their business area remains relevant, and the required implementation plans and tracking arrangements are in place to ensure coherence between strategy and delivery to ensure performance is monitored and effective contingencies can be developed if required.
• Lead the delivery and/or enable the delivery of work packages that inform, and develop, strategy and approaches, for example strategic assessments.
• Lead on the development of strategies that demonstrate regulatory compliance across all Site Licence Conditions; including but not limited to Licence Conditions 32 (Accumulation of radioactive waste), 33 (Disposal of radioactive waste), and 35 (Decommissioning).
• Lead the development and maintenance of strategy, technical, baseline plans and integration documents, ensuring a unified approach. This includes the initial gathering and collation of information, chairing and leading interaction with key contributors, facilitating or participating in workshops to progress the strategy, strategy implementation and ultimately the mission.
• Lead the development of lifetime record systems to ensure corporate knowledge is retained and decisions are underpinned.
• Lead strategic reporting e.g. development and maintenance of the strategy health dashboards and enabler dashboards.
• Work with other Portfolios and Enterprise departments to integrate the Portfolio strategy and plans with other interacting areas; working with the other Strategy teams and Strategy Authorities to resolve disconnects to optimise the site position and ensure each area remains integrated and aligned with the overall enterprise and NDA strategy.
• Lead appropriate strategy governance meetings and support senior strategy governance by providing specialist knowledge and experience.
• Influence prioritisation of Sellafield Ltd’s resources (people, plant, funding) and subsequent activities, ensuring risks are appropriately considered and managed.
• Lead learning from experience (LFE) initiatives and apply learning effectively when delivering scope.
• Lead for their area on the management of the strategic decision process, including the use of specialist management software such as Accolade.
• Lead and/or enable problem definition and identify preferred strategic and delivery options.
• Define approaches to prioritisation and subsequent activities, ensuring risks are appropriately considered and managed.
• Define the benefits management approach, including, but not limited to, detailed benefit definition, baselines, and analysis approach.
• Lead the definition of the requirements for the delivery teams to ensure the strategic needs of the Portfolio, and wider business, are delivered within tolerances.
• In conjunction with the strategy and delivery teams, programme and project teams ensure delivery performance remains within strategic tolerance, and action is taken where appropriate to address any issues requiring strategic review.
• Lead the identification, underpinning and management of key decisions.
• Planning and leading the delivery strategic assurance to ensure alignment with Enterprise objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Lead Strategy teams/areas (directly or indirectly), within a business portfolio or across key enabler, to provide expert strategic advice that has been robustly underpinned with the necessary business and technical planning. Accountable for the overall quality of any work and the approval of key business documents within their scope.
• Where necessary: ensure all individual team member responsibilities are clearly defined and understood; routine performance reviews take place and that the appropriate training, development, and coaching is provided to enhance and grow both the competency and the overall performance of the team.
• Personally deliver coaching and on the job training.

Authorities & Dimensions

Authorities:
• Accountable for the provision of strategic advice and options across the Business Portfolio or key enabling function.
• Accountable for the preparation, endorsement and/or approval of appropriate strategy documents for scrutiny for major enterprise direction changing decisions up to NDA and Government Level.
• Accountable for the delivery of assessments and strategic advice to progress opportunities to remove £Billions and decades from the Delivery plan.
• Progress sitewide opportunities valued >£100 million.
• Accountable for the management and/or ownership of risks or opportunities that could significantly impact the delivery of the Enterprise mission or ‘right to operate’.
• Chair (or a quorate member of) Strategic and Technical governance Committees within their Business Portfolio or key enabling function.
• Delivery of strategic assurance reviews across the portfolio and/or Enterprise; taking the lead role as appropriate.
• Where appropriate, accountable for ensuring team members are skilled and competent to perform the tasks they have been assigned.

Dimensions:
• Strategy Authority / Deputy to Strategy Authority if held by Head of department.
• Able to achieve SQEP as Strategy Advisor (SR1402).
• Able to achieve SQEP as Strategy Authority (SR1403) if required.
• Leadership for the provision of expert strategic guidance to support decision makers on key decisions which affect the strategy.
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of Enterprise and NDA Group activities, and external interfaces/interdependencies, associated with their scope.

Job Context & Challenges:
The Strategy Leader roles are senior roles that are key for maintaining strategic coherence across portfolios, the Enterprise and the wider NDA group. The role(s) requires holders to work closely with stakeholders to align strategies to the NDA Strategic Outcome Specification and maintain the confidence of regulators in Sellafield Ltd.’s right to operate.

The role requires strong leadership and strategic oversight to address issues that could impact long term performance and the successful delivery of the site mission. The Strategy Leader must work collaboratively across operations, projects, programmes, and portfolios to identify risks, facilitate resolution, and ensure integration with the Enterprise strategy. They are expected to respond constructively to challenges, influence senior stakeholders internally and externally, and maintain awareness of governance, assurance, and industry standards. The role demands commitment to organisational objectives, the ability to demonstrate value for money throughout all stages of delivery, and the capability to provide impartial, evidence based advice. Critical thinking, integrity, and effective influencing are essential, alongside the ability to lead on issues and drive resolution with minimal conflict.

Essential Skills

• University degree or equivalent experience.
• Accreditation with an appropriate professional body.
• Able to achieve SQEP as Strategy Advisor (SR1402).
• Able to achieve SQEP as Strategy Authority (SR1403), if required.
• Experience and a proven record in successfully leading a multi-disciplined nuclear operations, portfolio, business, strategy, technical or project management team; and as a result, has earned a high degree of respect / credibility amongst their peers.
• Experience in working within highly complex, political, and challenging change management environments, e.g. implementing strategies, improvements or changes.
• Considerable knowledge, experience and understanding of defining business requirements.
• Demonstrated influencing skills and an elevated level of integrity, particularly in respect of the relationship with Senior Managers.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills to identify potential issues and facilitate resolution.
• Effective communication skills and the ability to articulate messages that are new or negative.
• Excellent leadership and behavioural skills allowing them to not only extract information but to provide accessible information to multiple internal and external stakeholders (up to NDA and regulator level).
• Experience authoring key business documents of significant impact and taking through senior governance.
• Significant influencing and stakeholder management skills and the ability to engage with people at various levels of the SL organisation & wider industry.

Desirable Skills

• Chartered, or Fellow, of an appropriate professional body.
• Experience in delivering complex portfolios, programmes, or very highly complex, major, multidisciplinary projects with extensive business interfaces across the whole organisation and potentially at a national level.
• Experience of working in a nuclear operations, portfolio, business, strategy, technical and/or project management team.

Additional Information

• Open VN
• Number of Vacancies: 1
• Contact/s: Ed Matthews

The interviews for this vacancy are expected to take place from 20th August 2026.

ASW’s may have the right to apply for internal Sellafield Ltd vacancies. Please note if you are an Agency Supplied Worker you are required to attach evidence of all qualifications obtained to support your application. We require a minimum of A*-C (9-4) GCSE in English Language, Maths & Science/IT or equivalent / higher qualification.

If you choose to apply for this role and your application is shortlisted by the hiring manager, you will be invited to a competency based interview. In the interview, you will be assessed against the below competencies:

Behavioural:
1. Problem solving.
2. Drive for results.
3. Adapting to and leading change.

Technical:
1. R&T technical expertise.
2. Knowledge of SL.

Please see link to the competency framework for further information:
https://slportal.ssa-intra.net/pub/SC001/00027/Competency%20Framework/Forms/AllItems.aspx

If your technical competency is not in the above framework, please refer to the profession’s share point page for further information.

During the interview, you will also be expected to give a 10 minute presentation on:

Question: “Retrievals is undergoing significant change at present, how would you ensure the strategy remains appropriate?”

This presentation should be sent to recruitment@sellafieldcloud.co.uk via email at least two working days before your interview. You should also take four paper copies of your presentation to your interview in case of any IT issues on the day.

Sellafield Ltd are recognised as a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3). Disability Confident employers offer an interview to disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy. Sellafield Ltd define the minimum criteria as the ‘essential skills’ which are listed on the vacancy notice. Whilst completing your application form, you will be able to indicate if you wish to be considered under the disability confident scheme. If you would prefer to discuss this directly with us, please contact the GBS Recruitment team on recruitment@sellafieldcloud.co.uk

Please ensure that you save a copy of this advert for future reference if you make an application for this role.

The closing date for this vacancy is Monday 10th August 2026.