The South West Regional Development Agency (RDA), which is developing Wave Hub off the north coast of Cornwall in South West England, is inviting applications via a dedicated website, www.wavehubjobs.co.uk. The post will be based in West Cornwall and the closing date for applications is September 18.
Wave Hub is a cornerstone of the RDA’s strategy to develop a world class marine energy industry in the South West. It comprises a giant grid-connected socket on the seabed for wave energy devices to be tested on a scale not seen before.
The £42M (US468M) project is fully funded, has planning approval and has already placed its first equipment orders. It will be built next summer.
“This is an exciting and challenging role because Wave Hub is a world-first,” said Nick Harrington, head of marine energy at the South West RDA. “The ideal candidate will have a strong engineering background and will combine technical expertise with general management and communications skills. Above all they will have the appetite to blaze a trail in a fledgling industry and find ways of doing things that have never been done before.”
The general manager will be responsible for leading all aspects of the project including the safe and efficient operation of Wave Hub and the recruitment of three staff who will comprise the Wave Hub operations team.
Wave Hub is being funded with £12.5M (US$20.2M) from the South West RDA, £20M (US$32M) from the European Regional Development Fund and £9.5M (US$15.4M) from the UK government.
The South West was designated the UK’s first Low Carbon Economic Area because of its strength in marine energy in July, attracting a further £10M (US$16M) of UK government investment for projects that will support the industry.
