Shift Manager Mentor

Job Overview

The Shift Manager Mentor role is pivotal in enhancing the skills and operational expertise of Nuclear Shift Managers at ENEC's nuclear facilities. This position leverages deep personal experience as a certified or licensed Shift Manager, preferably within top-tier US or UK nuclear plants, to offer structured coaching, guidance, and hands-on mentoring. The aim is to uphold exemplary standards of nuclear safety culture, operational discipline, leadership, and technical knowledge, fostering continuous learning and conservative decision-making aligned with elite nuclear industry practices.

Core Responsibilities

• Deliver personalized mentoring to Nuclear Shift Managers, utilizing recent experience from licensed nuclear plant roles.
• Monitor and evaluate live shift activities including control room operations and turnovers, providing prompt, constructive critique.
• Instruct Shift Managers on following procedures strictly, exercising conservative operational decisions, and applying operator fundamentals under normal and abnormal conditions.
• Coach effective communication skills such as briefings, shift handovers, and crew resource management.
• Assess Shift Manager performance during varied operational phases including planned outages and emergency drills, benchmarking against ENEC and industry standards.
• Identify performance patterns and systemic issues, reporting insights with corrective recommendations.
• Collaborate with training teams to integrate assessment findings into targeted training and simulator exercises.
• Promote and exemplify nuclear safety culture principles consistent with IAEA, WANO, and ENEC standards.
• Support Shift Managers in recognizing, escalating, and resolving safety concerns with a questioning attitude.
• Facilitate safety culture self-assessment integration and discussions on industry operating experience and lessons learned.
• Help develop High-Performing Organization standards by sharing best practices from top US/UK nuclear plants, advising leadership on operational gaps and improvements.
• Assist in refining shift management expectations aligned with high-performing nuclear principles.
• Partner with Operations Training to align mentoring with the Systematic Approach to Training and support development of training content, simulator scenarios, and competency evaluations.
• Advise on qualification programs and readiness determinations for Shift Managers.
• Collect and communicate knowledge gaps and recommend training enhancements.
• Document and transfer operational knowledge and lessons learned to enrich ENEC’s Shift Manager capabilities.
• Create practical learning materials and facilitate knowledge-sharing forums and exercises.
• Monitor industry trends, regulatory updates, and emerging challenges to inform operations and leadership.
• Contribute to the plant’s operating experience program through mentor insights.
• Ensure quality, continuous improvement, and adherence to ENEC’s Corrective Action Program in all mentoring activities.
• Uphold organizational values and professionalism throughout all interactions.

Internal Collaboration

• Regular reporting to Nuclear Operations Leadership on Shift Manager development and performance.
• Close coaching relationships with Nuclear Shift Managers.
• Coordination with Operations Training Department on competency development.
• Engagement with Plant Management and Safety Review Committees when serving as SME.

External Interaction

• Participation in peer reviews and benchmarking with WANO and INPO.
• Compliance awareness with Regulatory Authority FANR requirements.
• Benchmarking and knowledge sharing with leading US and UK nuclear utilities.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physical sciences, or a related technical discipline is required; preference given to degrees in Nuclear Engineering or closely related fields.
• Minimum 15 years’ experience in nuclear power operations, including at least 10 years recently serving as a licensed Shift Manager or equivalent senior operational role in commercial nuclear power.
• Preferably, experience from high-performing US/UK nuclear facilities recognized by INPO or WANO, with demonstrated mentoring or coaching roles.
• Current or prior Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) license or equivalent certification mandatory; active or recently maintained preferred.
• Additional certifications in coaching, instructional design, or human performance enhancement are advantageous.
• Familiarity with Human Performance tools training and INPO accreditation desirable.