Sizewell C Commercial Procurement Industrial

This is a commercial and procurement role on a large nuclear new-build construction programme in Suffolk. You help buy the goods, services and construction works the project needs - from concrete and steelwork to specialist nuclear components and engineering consultancy - and then help manage the contracts once they are signed, tracking what suppliers are owed, what they have delivered and what changes have been agreed. The "industrial" element usually means working on the supply chain side: contracts with manufacturers, fabricators and equipment suppliers rather than purely professional services.

Starting salary: £28k–£36k
Live graduate jobs: 1 open now
Main way in: Graduate schemes in commercial, procurement or supply chain run…
They usually ask for: A degree is normally expected but the subject matters less than…

Approximate graduate salary

Graduate commercial and procurement roles on major UK infrastructure programmes typically start somewhere around £28,000–£36,000, though this is only an approximation and varies widely by employer, whether you are with the client or a contractor, and whether site allowances or accommodation support apply. Site-based roles on remote major projects sometimes carry additional allowances on top.

What you'd actually do

Putting tender packages together - writing or compiling the documents a supplier needs to bid, such as the scope of work, pricing schedules and evaluation criteria, and issuing them through an e-procurement portal
Sitting in on or running bid evaluations: scoring supplier responses against agreed criteria, chasing clarifications, and writing up the recommendation that justifies why one supplier was chosen
Administering live contracts - logging variations (changes to the agreed scope), checking payment applications against what the contract allows, and keeping the contract file in order so it stands up to audit
Maintaining cost and commitment trackers in Excel or a procurement system, so the project knows how much has been committed versus budgeted

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Attending supplier and internal meetings, taking the commercial actions away and following them up - a lot of the job is chasing engineers for technical input and suppliers for responses
Supporting supply chain development work: mapping which UK manufacturers could supply a given component, assessing their capacity and quality credentials, and reporting on local and UK content commitments
Preparing reports and packs for commercial governance meetings where spend above a certain threshold has to be approved

How graduates get in

Graduate schemes in commercial, procurement or supply chain run by the major energy and infrastructure clients and by the tier-one contractors and joint ventures working on nuclear programmes - this is the most common route and usually involves rotations across procurement, cost control and contract management
Direct entry as a graduate or assistant buyer, assistant quantity surveyor or commercial assistant, often with a contractor or engineering consultancy rather than the client organisation - common, and sometimes easier to get than a named scheme
Industrial placement years or summer internships on major infrastructure projects, which frequently convert into graduate offers - a strong route if you are still studying
Moving across from a procurement role in another sector (manufacturing, defence, oil and gas, rail) after a year or two - defence and nuclear overlap heavily because of similar security and quality regimes

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Apprenticeship and school-leaver routes into commercial and procurement exist in this sector too, so you may work alongside colleagues who did not take the degree route
Via a recruitment agency or contractor supplying staff to the programme - less common for true graduates, but a realistic way in if you have some experience

What employers ask for

A degree is normally expected but the subject matters less than people assume. Quantity surveying, construction or commercial management, business, economics, supply chain, engineering and law are all common; many employers accept any discipline for procurement roles.
A 2:1 is a frequent cut-off on structured graduate schemes, though plenty of employers ask for a 2:2 or use skills-based assessment instead. This varies a lot between the client body, the joint ventures and individual contractors.
Willingness to work on or near site in Suffolk, or in a project office elsewhere in the UK with regular travel. Nuclear new-build roles are rarely fully remote and location is often a bigger practical barrier than grades.
Eligibility for security clearance and site access. Civil nuclear sites have vetting and access requirements, which usually means a settled UK residency history - check the specific advert, as requirements differ by role and employer.

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Professional qualifications are studied for after you start rather than beforehand: CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply) for procurement roles, RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) for quantity surveying routes, or ICES/IOB equivalents. Employers typically fund these.
Familiarity with standard construction contract forms - NEC (used very widely on UK infrastructure) and FIDIC (common internationally and on some major projects) - is a plus but is normally taught on the job.

Skills that matter

Reading contracts carefully and knowing what a clause actually obliges each side to do

Most commercial disputes come down to whether a change was properly instructed and notified under the contract, and you are often the person who checks.

Spreadsheet fluency beyond the basics

Cost trackers, bid comparison models and payment schedules live in Excel, and errors in them translate directly into money.

Writing clear, auditable justifications

Spend on a nuclear programme is scrutinised by auditors and regulators, so a recommendation that cannot be explained on paper will be sent back.

Holding your position with engineers and suppliers who both want something from you

Engineers often want a specific supplier quickly, suppliers want favourable terms, and the commercial role exists to balance those against cost, risk and process.

Understanding how things are actually made and delivered

On the industrial side you are buying forgings, valves, cable and fabricated steel, so grasping lead times, factory capacity and quality inspection makes you far more useful than someone who only knows the paperwork.

Organised follow-up

A single package can involve dozens of open clarifications and actions, and slipping dates on a nuclear programme has large knock-on costs.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Graduate or assistant commercial/procurement role, typically two to three years, usually with rotations and professional study (CIPS or RICS) alongside the job.
Buyer, procurement specialist or assistant quantity surveyor - you own your own packages and run tenders with less supervision. Chartered or MCIPS status often lands around here, though timing varies widely.
Senior buyer, senior quantity surveyor or contract manager - responsible for larger or more complex packages, managing supplier relationships and sometimes supervising graduates.
Category manager, commercial manager or package manager - accountable for a whole area of spend or a major contract, with budget and negotiation authority.
Head of procurement, commercial director or supply chain director on a major programme. Timelines to this level vary enormously and depend as much on which projects you land on as on time served.
A major advantage of this route: the skills are portable. People move freely between nuclear, rail, water, defence and offshore wind, and nuclear experience is well regarded because of the quality and documentation standards involved.

What people get wrong

“You need a nuclear engineering or physics background to work on a nuclear project.”

The large majority of people on a nuclear new-build programme are not nuclear specialists. Commercial and procurement teams are dominated by construction, business and general-degree backgrounds; the nuclear-specific knowledge you need is taught internally.

“Procurement means getting the cheapest quote.”

Price is one scored criterion among several. On nuclear work, supplier quality systems, traceability of materials, safety record, schedule reliability and financial stability often outweigh headline cost, and a bid can be rejected on technical compliance before price is even opened.

“It is mostly negotiation and deal-making.”

Far more of the week is documentation, process and chasing - running a compliant tender, recording changes, keeping an audit trail. Set-piece negotiations are a small and usually senior part of the job.

“A job on a project like this means a stable job for the project's whole life.”

Major construction programmes staff up and down by phase, and many roles sit with contractors or joint ventures rather than the client. People commonly move between organisations on the same programme, or move to another major project, several times in a career.

Where this varies

The same job title covers quite different work depending on who employs you. With the client or developer organisation you are more likely to be running competitive tenders, setting commercial strategy and governing contractor spend; with a tier-one contractor or joint venture you are closer to day-to-day subcontract administration, valuations and change control on site. The "industrial" framing usually points towards manufactured equipment and materials supply chains rather than construction works or professional services, and that side involves more factory visits, inspection coordination and long-lead-item planning. Location practice also differs: some roles are based at or near the Suffolk site, others sit in regional project offices or London, and travel expectations vary a lot - check each advert rather than assuming.

See all 1 live Sizewell C Commercial Procurement Industrial jobsFrom employers' own careers sites, updated daily Tailor your CV for this roleFree with an account, 3 a month

General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.