UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
RECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM
Job Title:
Manager - R&D programme on the Combustion Test Facility at E.ON
Technologies Ltd
Faculty:
Faculty of Engineering - Cleaner Fossil Energy and Carbon Capture
Technologies Research Group
Salary:
R&T 4, £28,695- £36,309 per annum, depending on skills and
experience.
Contract Status:
This part-time (0.6 FTE) post is available from 1 January 2016 and
will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of 2 years.
Hours of Work:
Hours of work for this role are 60% of the normal working week.
Location:
Faculty of Engineering, Cleaner Fossil Energy and Carbon Capture
Technologies Research Group
Responsible to:
Professor Colin E. Snape
Overall Context and Job Outline:
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is essential to secure the long term viability for fossil fuels and
for the UK to meet the 2050 CO2 emissions reduction target. The Department of Energy and
Climate Change (DECC) has identified this as a real opportunity for the UK to lead the market in
new global CCS technologies. There has been a recent rapid growth in research and capacity
building in the UK funded by both EPSRC (ca. £60M portfolio in CCS) due to increasing recognition
of the importance of CCS to enable the UK and other countries to meet its CO2 emission reduction
targets. Nottingham has been particularly successful in obtaining close to £20M funding for CCS
and cleaner fossil energy, including the existing EngD Centre in Efficient Fossil Energy
Technologies and new Industrial Doctorate Centre in CCS and Cleaner Fossil Energy, plus 6 major
EPSRC contracts led by Nottingham.
The addition of world-class pilot-scale and supporting facilities for combustion and CO2 capture
research will enable Nottingham to attract significantly more funding from EPSRC, UK
Government, the EU and industry and will be an extremely attractive proposition for attracting
high calibre academic staff, researchers and PhD students. Nottingham is a core partner of the
EPSRC Pilot-scale Advanced Capture Test (PACT) facilities, led by Sheffield and funded as part of
the UK CCS Research Centre. However, the fact that Nottingham does not currently operate or
own pilot-scale facilities will clearly limit funding opportunities in the longer-term, especially if
future funding from EPSRC with respect to CCS is likely to be geared more to pilot-scale facilities.
To increase access to large-scale facilities, part of an SDF award for the overall programme has
been earmarked to have exclusive access to the advanced 1MW Combustion Test Facility (CTF)
located at E.ON, Ratcliffe-on-Soar. The CTF has proved to be a world class facility that has helped
to pioneer the development of new combustion technologies, including both oxyfuel combustion
and biomass firing (both dedicated and co-firing).
The Manager will be responsible for income generation from industry and other academic groups,
organising the test programme for the CTF including handling the access arrangements with E.ON,
liaising with and reporting results to internal and external users of the Facility. This request is to
fund this position for the next 2 years from the SDF award where there is funding for 1.2 FTE.
Main Duties & Responsibilities:
Main Responsibilities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To be responsible for the overall management of the R&D programme on the
1 MW Combustion Test Facility, handling all interactions with E.ON, including
the organisation for individual tests.
To generate further R&D funding for the Facility from industry, the EU, UK
Government programmes which will be ca. £250k per annum. Responsible to
Prof. Snape for writing research proposals to generate this funding.
To liaise with internal and external users of the Facility, organising test
programmes and reporting the results.
To organise publicity for the Facility and liaise with PACT.
Any other duties appropriate to this post.
%
time
per year
25%
45%
20%
5%
5%
Person Specification:
Qualifications/
Education
Skills/Training
Essential
PhD in a discipline of science and
engineering
To have carried out research in a topic
relevant to the R&D programme on the
CTF.
Experience of successful research
proposals
Experience
Personal
Attributes
Desirable
First degree in science/engineering
Experience of working collaborative
research grants
Managing and delivering research
grants.
To be already familiar with the CTF and
to have worked with E.ON.
Experience with fossil fuel industry
and UK power generation sector
To have carried out research on a topic
relevant to the CTF.
Contributing to the writing research
proposals
To have worked in an industrial
environment.
Self-motivated
Ability to work independently
Excellent communication and
coordination skills at all levels including
reporting and grant proposal writing
Ability to work collaboratively.
Decision Making
i) taken independently by the role holder;
Overall Facility management and organisation
Discussing test work with industrial and academic partners
Reporting results to users
ii) taken in collaboration with others;
Knowledge of proposal writing.
Overall direction of research projects that make extensive use of the Facility
Writing and submission of papers to academic journals and conferences
iii) referred to the appropriate line manager (please name) by the role holder.
Preparing and submitting grant applications to UK Government and the EU and proposals to
industry. (Professor Colin E Snape)
Additional Information
The Cleaner Fossil Energy and Carbon Capture Technologies Research Group is committed to
reviewing its work and practices to ensure organisational effectiveness. Candidates should be
aware that roles and responsibilities will inevitably evolve over time and be prepared to adapt as
necessary.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor C Snape, tel: 0115 951 4166 or Email:
colin.snape@nottingham.ac.uk;