Sizewell C is the UK's next large nuclear power station after Hinkley Point C, and the next big source of senior nuclear seats. This page sets out what it is, where it stands, who is building it, and what the hiring around it looks like today, with live figures from the weekly careers sweep, the senior moves reported in the trade press and published contract notices.
Sizewell C
The programme, the people building it and the leadership seats it creates.
What Sizewell C is
A new nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast: two EPR reactors with a combined capacity of 3.2 GW, enough for around six million homes for at least 60 years. It copies the design of Hinkley Point C, which is the point: the lessons, the supply chain and a good share of the people move across.
The client is Sizewell C Ltd, a joint venture sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. At the final investment decision on 22 July 2025 the UK Government took 44.9 per cent, La Caisse 20 per cent, Centrica 15 per cent, EDF 12.5 per cent and Amber Infrastructure an initial 7.6 per cent. The cost was put at around £38bn in 2024 prices, funded through the Regulated Asset Base model, under which consumers contribute during construction.
The National Audit Office expects the station to start producing electricity from 2038.
Where it stands, November 2026
Formal construction began in 2024, after the Development Consent Order was triggered. By January 2026 almost 2,000 people were on site and around £3bn of contracts had gone to more than 400 British suppliers. The government said in October 2026 that more than 2,000 workers were on site and the project was making good progress.
The scrutiny has sharpened. The National Audit Office reported on the project on 20 May 2026, and on 28 October 2026 the Public Accounts Committee called the financing a terrible deal for the taxpayer, said the cost could reach up to £48bn on a higher estimate, and asked for six-monthly reporting on cost, schedule and risk. For anyone leading on the programme, that means a client body that will be reporting upwards constantly, and a premium on commercial and assurance leadership that can stand behind the numbers.
Most of the hiring is still ahead
Most of the hiring is still ahead Two thousand people are on site today. Sizewell C expects nearly eight thousand at peak.
The leadership seats arrive in waves, and each wave is decided months before it is advertised.
Who is building it
The Civil Works Alliance. Balfour Beatty, Laing O'Rourke and Bouygues Travaux Publics signed a programme alliance agreement with Sizewell C on 30 June 2025. All three worked on Hinkley Point C. The alliance covers enabling works and earthworks, marine and tunnelling works, the main civil works and the ancillary works, an eight-year civils programme. Sizewell C expects around 7,900 people on site at peak.
Design inside the alliance. In October 2026 the alliance awarded Amentum a £22.3m, ten-year contract to design the marine and tunnelling works, including three offshore tunnels.
Construction management. McLaren Construction was appointed construction management partner on 27 April 2026, starting with the accommodation campus and amenity buildings, and taking in the College on the Coast, a project office and an emergency response building.
Sizewell C says around 10,000 direct jobs will be created at peak, with 1,500 apprenticeships over the build.
The live picture
Read on 1 November 2026 from three public sources: the careers pages behind the Senior Hiring Index, the appointments the trade press reports, and the contract notices government buyers publish.
Leadership roles open at the main contractors
14 leadership roles are advertised today across Balfour Beatty and Laing O'Rourke. These are firm-wide counts: each of these businesses runs other work, so not every seat below sits on Sizewell C, but each is a seat in a business that is.
| Function | Open now | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Operations and delivery | 5 | Director General Manager, Painter Brothers; Head of Commissioning - England & Wales; Head of Commissioning - Scotland |
| Commercial | 4 | Project Commercial Director |
| Other leadership | 3 | Area Director; Chief Engineer - (Principal Engineer); Chief Engineer (Substation HV Plant) |
| Safety, quality and sustainability | 2 | Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing; Head of Quality |
| Employer | Open now |
|---|---|
| Balfour Beatty | 13 |
| Laing O'Rourke | 1 |
Sizewell C Ltd, Bouygues Travaux Publics and McLaren Construction are not on the careers sweep yet, so their openings are not counted here.
Senior moves, last six months
Director and board-level appointments into or out of the programme's client body and main firms, as reported in the trade press. Each links to the article.
- Martin Ewing, 21 September 2026: McLaren Construction appoints new Divisional Director. BTR News
- Emma Loxton, 2 September 2026: Balfour Beatty appoints McKinsey partner as strategy chief. Construction News
- Ed Egerton, 3 July 2026: Balfour Beatty appoints chief legal and commercial officer. facilitiesmanagement-now.com
- Jon Loveday, 1 July 2026: Former NISTA infrastructure director joins Sizewell C. Construction News
- Angus Murray, 30 June 2026: New boss to lead Balfour major projects arm. Construction Enquirer
Contract awards, last twelve months
No contract award naming Sizewell C has been published on Find a Tender or Contracts Finder in the last twelve months. Much of the programme's spend is let through its own alliance and supply chain, which does not always reach the public notices.
The leadership seats it creates
Client side. Sizewell C Ltd is building its own leadership as the programme moves from enabling works into the main build: programme and project direction, commercial and cost control, assurance and nuclear safety, supply chain, and the reporting a government shareholder now expects every six months.
The alliance. Each major work area needs a project director and a construction director, and an alliance needs commercial leaders who can manage cost with partners rather than against them. Planning, engineering and safety heads follow the work fronts as they open.
The supply chain. Behind the alliance sits a supply chain of several hundred firms, and each of the larger ones is appointing its own Sizewell leadership: a contract director, a commercial lead, a site lead.
How a search for this programme runs
The credible population for a senior seat on a nuclear new build is small, and much of it is already at Hinkley Point C or inside the alliance. A retained search maps all of it, approaches the people who are not looking, and assesses them properly before a shortlist is put in front of anyone. The process is set out stage by stage on the method page.
What this means if you are weighing a move
If you have delivered on Hinkley Point C, you are the person every one of these businesses wants, and you know it. The question is timing. The civils seats are being filled now; the later packages will need their leaders a year or two before they start on site. A move made early tends to come with a bigger remit than the same move made at peak, when every seat is being filled at once.
If you have not worked in nuclear, the door is narrower but open. The alliance needs people who can run large, regulated civils programmes, and the client side needs commercial and assurance leaders from other regulated sectors. Expect the clearance and the safety culture to be tested honestly rather than taken on trust.
What this means if you are hiring
The pool is small and much of it is already committed to Hinkley Point C, the alliance or each other. Most of the people you want are not looking, and an advert will mostly reach the ones who are. I would plan the senior appointments for each phase well before it mobilises, and expect to approach people in post rather than wait for applications.
The programme's scrutiny changes the brief as well. A leader who has delivered under public reporting, with a cost that is examined in Parliament, is worth more on this programme than an equally able one who has not.
01What is Sizewell C?
A new nuclear power station in Suffolk: two EPR reactors with a combined capacity of 3.2 GW, enough for around six million homes for at least 60 years. It copies the design of Hinkley Point C and is delivered by Sizewell C Ltd, a joint venture in which the UK Government is the largest shareholder.
02How much will Sizewell C cost and when will it generate?
The final investment decision on 22 July 2025 put the cost at around £38bn in 2024 prices. The National Audit Office expects the station to start producing electricity from 2038. The Public Accounts Committee reported in October 2026 that the cost could reach up to £48bn on a higher estimate.
03Who are the main contractors on Sizewell C?
The Civil Works Alliance of Balfour Beatty, Laing O'Rourke and Bouygues Travaux Publics, which signed its programme alliance agreement on 30 June 2025 and covers enabling works, marine and tunnelling, and the main civil works. McLaren Construction is the construction management partner for the campus, college and support buildings.
04What leadership roles does Sizewell C create?
On the client side, programme, commercial, assurance, safety and supply chain leadership inside Sizewell C Ltd. In the alliance, project and construction directors for each major work area, commercial leaders who can work inside an alliance, and planning and engineering heads. Around them, the same seats again in the supply chain that supports the build.
05Where do the live figures on this page come from?
The leadership roles come from the weekly careers-page sweep behind the Senior Hiring Index, which runs early every Monday, the moves from appointments reported in the trade press, and the awards from public notices on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. The page re-reads them every few hours, so it is never more than a few hours behind them.
Start a conversation
If you are hiring into Sizewell C, or weighing a seat on it, I would welcome the chance to talk. No hard sell, no obligation.
The wider picture is on the nuclear sector page and the Senior Hiring Index, and who recruits senior roles for Sizewell C is answered in one page.
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