Call for academic leadership in Radiochemistry

Open Call for Academic Leadership Role in Radiochemistry, supporting the UK geological waste disposal programme

Post Reference:      NuclearRSO/DL008/RCHEM
No of roles:             1
Duration:              Up to 6 days pa
Remuneration:       Honorarium
Closing Date:       14 October 2023
Post Category:     Discipline Lead (academic)
Business Unit:        Nuclear Waste Services RSO
Location:              Manchester / UK-wide

Background

The Nuclear Waste Services Research Support Office (RSO), led by Katherine Morris (Manchester), Claire Corkhill (Bristol), Sam Shaw (Manchester), and Lucy Bailey (Nuclear Waste Services), acts as a hub, with the mission to work with leading universities to co-ordinate research aligned to Nuclear Waste Services’ needs.

Figure 1: Interactions between the RSO and the GDF Programme

The RSO was launched in 2020 and has established a collaborative working dynamic between academic Discipline Leads, Nuclear Waste Services Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and the RSO Core Team leading to multiple calls for research funding. The Discipline Leads have proved invaluable for both their expertise and reach into the wider academic community in their respective fields. Since the establishment of the RSO, Radiochemistry research has contributed to the underpinning research of the geological disposal facility (GDF) safety case.  Due to a change in personnel we are seeking to identify a new Discipline Lead in the Radiochemistry area. This new Discipline Lead will work closely with the other Discipline Leads already in place and their Nuclear Waste Services counterparts.

The Role

The Discipline Lead in Radiochemistry will work within the RSO to deliver relevant research needs (both within discipline and multi-disciplinary). They will therefore have to engage with the wider academic, research and innovation communities (e.g. other universities, UKRI, Catapult Centres, National Nuclear Laboratory, BGS, STFC facilities and EU / international funders). Discipline Leads will work with Nuclear Waste Services to develop a set of SMART objectives for their discipline. They will each work closely with a relevant Nuclear Waste Services subject matter expert and the RSO Core Team to assist the community in developing high quality, relevant research projects. Since the research programme will often overlap multiple disciplines, it is very important that the Discipline Leads function well as a team, and work effectively together (as illustrated in Figure 1 above). 

The Person

The Discipline Lead will be an academic researcher with a responsibility to understand Nuclear Waste Services’ mission and research needs in the context of their discipline. They also need to understand their community and represent it within the RSO. The Discipline Lead will support and develop their community and demonstrate leadership in this role. They will lead topic meetings, attend and present outcomes at the Programme Executive and, with support of the Core Team and their community, foster new proposals for the Nuclear Waste Services-run funding competitions. Appointees may be drawn from academia or industry and all levels of academic career will be considered.

Arrangements

It is expected that the Discipline Lead role will require a commitment of around 6 days pa, and for this an honorarium will be offered. The costs of travel and subsistence incurred in connection with the role will also be covered. These roles will be administered via a letter of terms from The University of Manchester. The appointment will be for an initial term of 1 year and subject to an annual review.

Assessment

To apply for the Discipline Lead role, please complete the application form at the end of this document and send it, along with a summary CV (2 pages max), to rso-gdf@manchester.ac.uk

To discuss this opportunity further, please send any queries to the RSO (rso-gdf@manchester.ac.uk).

Closing date: 14 October 2023

As an equal opportunities employer we encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status.  All engagements are made on merit.