Operational Compliance Officer (OCO) - Duly Authorised Person (DAP) - Shift

Job Introduction

Job Description for Operational Compliance Officer (OCO) - Duly Authorised Person (DAP) - Shift:

There’s never been a more exciting time to be part of the nuclear sector. New opportunities are being created all the time. At NNL, you’ll be in the ideal place to capitalise on this momentum, face new challenges and develop a long, successful and meaningful career. 

We’re an organisation that’s here to experiment and push the limits of what’s possible. So, if you’re keen to excel in your chosen field, this is the place to do it. Because at NNL, anything is possible.

The Operational Compliance Officer (OCO) is a highly visible position of authority within NNL supporting the Operations Manager to ensure the company's continued compliance to all regulations governing the nuclear industry and Site Licence Conditions. The role is responsible for monitoring change, leading on incident and event management, and assessing the impact and coordination of the activities required to achieve compliance in the most effective way for the business. 

The ideal candidate will be experienced in working in a regulatory capacity, detail orientated, and be able to work to stringent deadlines and to be able to support the requirement of working within a shift team to provide additional operating hours for the facility.

Role Responsibility

Main Responsibilities for Operational Compliance Officer (OCO) - Duly Authorised Person (DAP) - Shift:

• Primary Point of Contact: daily there is one Duty OCO (DAP) accountable for overall control and supervision of people and plant for their area(s) of responsibility. They must be contactable on Site at all times, have a designated means of identification to show they are that single point of contact. Without the OCO (DAP) contactable on Site, under Site Licence Conditions, access to their Area(s) of responsibility is prohibited to all others (MSML requirement).
• Demonstrate Effective Command and Control: the Duty OCO (DAP) must have no involvement in production activities whilst on duty in order to maintain independence and prevent any potential conflict between safety and production. Where assistance on Delivery work is required this must be pre-planned with the Operations Manager to remove the OCO from their Compliance role for the duration.
• Maintain Compliance with Plant Surveillance: the Duty OCO (DAP) at the start and end of the day will open/close their area of responsibility, conduct Daily Start Up/Close Down Checks and record they have been undertaken on an associated Compliance Record. The Duty OCO (DAP) shall be accountable where any problems are identified and shall be the decision maker in taking corrective action and managing recovery.
• Initial Point of Contact for Incident/Event Management: the Duty OCO (DAP) shall be the primary point of contact for any local incidents occurring within their area(s) of responsibility and they are responsible for taking control and managing the situation accordingly. Should the event begin to escalate beyond local incident, they will hand over to the Incident Supervisor and take up their allocated emergency response role, inputting expert knowledge of their area(s) and supporting emergency response.
• Knowledge of Plant Activities: the Duty OCO (DAP) must have knowledge at all times of all persons (Residents & Visitors) attending their area(s) of responsibility and prior to any visits are accountable for ensuring the route has been thoroughly risk assessed and deemed safe. They will inform the Visitor Escort of any issues and be available to undertake briefings to the party and escort themselves as deemed appropriate. The Duty OCO (DAP) has the authority to decline access should they deem necessary.
• Forward Vision: An OCO (DAP) shall be responsible for assisting the Operations Manager in delivering the company values. They shall be expected to maintain a forward vision (3 to 6 months) to develop and implement the best solutions in the best interests of the Business e.g. most suitable time period for planned plant outages causing least impact to the Business.
• Authorisation of Work Packages for Routine Work: an OCO (DAP) shall present work requests once they have reached a decision they are suitable to progress to a Compliance Weekly Work Request meeting (or equivalent), where they shall advise the Operations Manager to provide authorisation of the work package prior to it being presented to the Site OCM for their final endorsement. In the absence of the Operations Manager, the Duty OCO shall be the authority to sign work requests.
• Management of Safety and Security: the Duty OCO (DAP) will liaise with the SSC and V&S DAP and will be accountable for the security of plant and safety of all persons undertaking any work in their area(s) of responsibility during the work period. The Duty OCO (DAP) has the authority to cease work at any point that they deem challenges safety or security standards.

The Ideal Candidate

Essential Criteria for Operational Compliance Officer (OCO) - Duly Authorised Person (DAP) - Shift:

• Compliance professional, educated to degree level (or equivalent), with extensive practical & relevant experience in a compliance role.
• Holds IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent as a minimum qualification.
• Must demonstrate an ability to analyse and interpret complex information from several, sometimes conflicting sources, with a proven problem-solving ability in order to make decisions based upon this information.
• Highly motivated with the ability to communicate concepts to diverse audiences with varying skills.
• Ability to remain calm under stressful circumstances.
• Ability to influence and negotiate with NNL employees and external stakeholders.
• Ability to demonstrate supervisory experience for operations undertaken within a nuclear plant.
• A thorough awareness of nuclear, conventional safety and security requirements applicable to their area(s) of responsibility.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the operational & maintenance requirements associated with their area(s) of control.
• Ability to obtain SC level security clearance (this includes but is not limited to identity, employment, financial and criminal record checks plus 5 years’ worth of UK residency).

Desirable Criteria for Operational Compliance Officer (OCO) - Duly Authorised Person (DAP) - Shift:

• Thorough awareness of Safety Case implementation methodology.
• Experience in incident and emergency response.
• NEBOSH General Certificate.

About the Company

Grounded in robust science and decades of experience, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is the authoritative voice in the UK and beyond for technological development within the nuclear power sector.

Our unparalleled understanding of the science, challenges and opportunities makes us an unrivalled authority and partner in the field, providing experts, technologies, and access to cutting-edge facilities to organisations around the world.

Harnessing potential technologies and translating them into to industry-ready solutions means our pioneering approach spearheads international improvement and technological progress.

We work on projects as small as drilling a hole to analyse underground wastes with our integrated micro drilling technology, or as large as developing state-of-the-art power systems for spacecraft, based on radioactive materials

NNL has a vision for Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (ED&I) where NNL aims to be an inclusive workplace that attracts diverse talent through transparent and equal policies and procedures. We want you and the diverse mix of people that we employ, customers that we service and stakeholders that we influence to feel valued. We encourage a workplace culture where everyone can thrive with a sense of belonging.

Recruitment Agency Notice

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for the provision of recruitment services. Only agencies on our PSL may provide CVs and only when the role is released to them by our recruitment team. We will not accept unsolicited CVs from suppliers not currently on our PSL. We explicitly reserve the right to add candidate details from unsolicited CVs from non-PSL agencies into our own candidate database and to pursue/hire such candidate(s) without any obligation, financial or otherwise, to the agency concerned.

United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory