Research Grant Support Administrator

About us  

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 organisations to achieve ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.  

About the job 

Play a key role in supporting UKAEA’s research community by helping to manage publications, research reporting activities, and PhD studentship programmes. Your work will help ensure research outputs are effectively governed, accessible, and compliant with relevant requirements, supporting the advancement of fusion energy research. This is an opportunity to work across a diverse range of research support activities, from publications and data systems to student engagement and event delivery.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Manage publication processes and act as the first point of contact for researchers using publication and research reporting systems.
• Support researchers with publication submissions, ensuring compliance with open access, copyright, and internal requirements.
• Maintain and improve research reporting, publications, and data management systems.
• Monitor compliance with publication policies and relevant legislative requirements.
• Produce reports on publications, research outputs, and governance-related data.
• Deliver training and user support for publication and research information systems.
• Coordinate PhD project administration from proposal submission through to project completion and contract closure.
• Process financial and contractual activities for studentship programmes, including purchase orders, invoices, and project documentation.
• Organise student engagement activities, visits, training sessions, and research-related events.
• Coordinate logistics and on-site delivery for PhD and research engagement events, including open days and campus visits.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience in a research support, administration, publications, education, or similar environment, or equivalent learning through an HNC, apprenticeship, and relevant work experience.
• Experience maintaining records, databases, or information management systems with a high degree of accuracy.
• Experience supporting administrative processes across multiple workstreams, including reporting, documentation, or programme coordination.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel and Word, and experience using digital systems for data management and reporting.
• Knowledge of, or experience working within, processes relating to research publications, research governance, open access, copyright, or academic programmes.
• Experience supporting events, projects, or programme administration involving multiple stakeholders and activities.

UKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually between 3-5 days in any given week) in line with business needs. We actively support flexible working arrangements where this is compatible with the role.

Benefits 

We have a generous range of benefits (see the full list here) and highlights include:   

• A salary of £32,903
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution  
• 25 days annual leave plus 2.5 'privilege' days; 8 Bank Holidays
• Additional 3 days of site closure over Christmas break  
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions  

Our commitment to ED&I 

UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. 

Please email talent@ukaea.uk if you have any questions or require adjustments to help you participate fairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates. 

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit and further information can be found here.