Our Support Functions

Week 10

Our Support Functions

This week is about how our business areas collaborate with each other to deliver to our customers and achieve our purpose.

Step 1

Introduction

Welcome to week 10 of NUSTART. Last week you learnt about how UKNNL is organised to deliver research and development services to our customers and business areas who deliver that work. This week is about the functions that support those business areas.

But first, watch the video of our Chief Financial Officer, Matt Miller, talking about UKNNL's business model.

Have you watched the Video of Matt Miller, CFO video?

Step 2

Overview

We are now going to look at our remaining business areas - Independent Assurance, Professional Services, HR, Strategy & Innovation.

All of our support functions are led by a member of UKNNL's executive team, with reporting lines shown in the diagram below:

Have you read the Overview section?

Step 3

Independent Assurance

The nuclear industry operates assurance processes which apply independent oversight and challenge to aspects of nuclear operations and associated processes. Historically this has centred around nuclear safety, but this has developed to include other areas. Our Independent Assurance team carries out this role within UKNNL and has a very broad scope. The team reports through the Chief Nuclear Officer to the Chief Executive Officer and also has a reporting line to the UKNNL Board Non-Executive Directors.

The industry model of assurance involves three layers:

first line assurance - includes the day-to-day controls which ensure that relevant policies and procedures, designed to mitigate risk, are followed.
second line assurance - refers to the way UKNNL oversees its own control framework so that it operates effectively – including monitoring and checking to judge how effectively the first line of defence operations are working. It also includes functions that oversee operations, such as Compliance and EHS&Q.
third line assurance – this is provided by the Independent Assurance team. It samples areas of UKNNL’s operations, giving assurance, or seeking improvement where necessary. IA’s purpose is summarised as ‘helping the business do the right thing’.

Independent Assurance also liaises with regulators and external auditors to give additional confidence that there is appropriate independent advice and challenge. You can learn more about Independent Assurance by visiting their Nucleus page.

Visit Nucleus

Have you read the Independent Assurance section?

Step 4

Independent Assurance Activities

To do

Find out more about the work of Independent Assurance by visiting our page on Nucleus.

Speak to your manager about assurance activities carried out in your team.

Have you completed the all the activities above?

Step 5

Professional Services

Professional Services is a group of aligned professional business functions made up of:

Procurement
Commercial
I.T.
Finance
Legal

We work collaboratively to support all other areas of the business. The heads of each function report to our Chief Financial Officer, Matt Miller.

The Professional Services team operate across UKNNL and apply a business partnering / business relationship approach to work closely with our internal customers and stakeholders. We think of ourselves as the oil that flows between the various components of the business enabling them to work effectively and efficiently.

All professional service functions are corporate-wide and the business solutions we provide often require cross professional services input.

You will work with professional services if your role involves budgeting, procurement or commercial activities. You will have already had contact with the IT Service Team when you collected your UKNNL computer.

You can visit the Professional Services team pages (via Nucleus underneath the Business Areas menu) to learn more.

Your last two mandatory e-learning courses are focused on the two areas managed by the professional service team:

NN0562 Counter Fraud – our policies and procedures are written and owned by the legal team.
NN0418 Procurement in UKNNL – our procurement policies and procedures to support our status as a contracting authority.

Complete your final two e-learning modules now.

UKNNL E-Learning

Have you read the Professional Services section?

Step 6

Human Resources

Human Resources (HR) supports the wider business by working towards having the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time to match business needs, both current and future. The team is responsible for managing all stages of our HR lifecycle, including recruitment, deployment, engagement and development.

There are four teams in HR:

HR operations – HR business partners and support services
talent and development – recruitment, talent and learning and development
early careers – development programmes for apprentices, graduates and post docs
employee engagement – pulse surveys, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and wellbeing

You will have already had contact with some of our HR teams throughout your application, onboarding and induction.

We prioritise our work based on business need and delivering our Employee Value Proposition (EVP) focusing on the following areas.

Deeper Connections

Employee Engagement
ED&I strategy and initiatives
Pulse surveys

A Shared Purpose

UKNNL Purpose
Values & Behaviours
Code of Conduct

Holistic Well-being

Health & wellbeing resources ad webinars
Support for employees for bespoke requirements
TELUS Health

Personal Growth

Future skills strategy
NUSTART Induction
Careers Lab / Learning Lab
Managers handbook in development

Radical Flexibility

Flexible working policies
Hybrid working

Competitive reward & Benefits

External benchmarking and best practice

Have you read the Human Resources section?

Step 7

Innovation

UKNNL is keen to create an environment that enables and encourages our people to innovate and to explore their ideas and interests for developing new solutions. Our Innovation team facilitate innovation in three ways.

Got an idea?

Our innovation workshops create space to think and provide access to funding through a clear process that takes ideas through technology readiness levels to product delivery.

Got a challenge?

We also want to capture ‘challenges’ within our business. These could be challenges applicable to UKNNL employees (e.g. relating to our infrastructure, processes etc.), or could be challenges that we have within our technical areas, focus areas or national programmes that may, if solved, allow us to deliver additional work to our customers.

Open Nuclear.

UKNNL uses its open innovation platform for partnering with external innovators. This has enabled us to develop ‘win-win’ partnerships with other organisations and deploy innovative solutions for the benefit of the industry.

Visit our Innovation Lab to find out more and to see some of our funding applications. You can access the Lab straight from Nucleus home page by clicking on the Innovation Lab button located underneath the headline banner.

Visit our Innovation Lab

Have you read the Innovation section?

Step 8

Strategy & Insight

Our Strategy and Insight team informs, facilitates and influences strategic direction and delivery. We produce Insight Briefings and other insight reports to inform the business that cover UK government updates, focus area news, and UKNNL in the public eye, plus important news and other updates from around the world (Insight Briefings are available to view on Nucleus). Our work is focused on:

developing high level business cases for UKNNL's strategic investments
facilitating workshops and other processes to help UKNNL's leaders make strategic decisions
providing oversight and co-ordination of strategic implementation and delivery
communicating our strategy

Visit Nucleus

We have developed a special brief for new starters to explain the UK government’s Civil Nuclear Road Map (launched on 11 January 2024) and what it means for UKNNL. The brief also includes an overview of organisations operating within the nuclear industry which you may have direct contact with, or you will hear people talking about. The final section of this brief covers how UKNNL is addressing issues of critical national importance and supporting regional growth.

Read our Strategy brief

Have you read the Strategy & Insight section?

Step 9

Strategy & Innovation Activities

To do

Read the strategy brief for new employees

Visit our Innovation Lab to find out more about innovation in UKNNL and how you can get involved

Find out who your innovation champion is

Have you completed the all the activities above?

Step 10

Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO)

The Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO), hosted by UKNNL, provides independent, expert advice and guidance to government on all matters concerning the nuclear fuel cycle and radionuclide applications. NIRO works closely with colleagues across the nuclear sector from industry, academia, government departments and specialist organisations to help inform and guide decision making and provide specialist ad hoc expertise.

The NIRO team consists of nuclear experts seconded on a full-time basis from UKNNL, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ,) and the UK Supply Chain.

Due to the nature of its work, an ethical barrier is maintained at all times between NIRO and UKNNL.

NIRO's office is located in Chadwick House outside of the UKNNL suite.

Have you read the NIRO section?

Step 11