Community Energy Project Manager – South Gloucestershire

What is community energy?

Community energy is where a group of people take action locally to reduce or generate their own
energy. It could be installing solar panels on a community building or running an awareness
campaign about energy efficiency.

Community energy benefits our whole society. It introduces people to the energy system at a
level they can understand, and provides lots of ways to get hands-on. This may be through using
their existing skills or learning new ones,

There are over 500 community energy groups in the UK. Each is unique, but many have the same
origins: a few motivated people getting together, hatching a plan, combining their skills, and
getting to work. The projects chosen depend on factors such as their geographical location
(urban/rural), the skills within the group, and the finances available.

Most community energy groups are run by volunteers, but a growing number now have paid staff.

About the job

There are a number of established and emerging sustainability groups in South Gloucestershire.
They cover the areas in and around Bradley Stoke, Chipping Sodbury, Emersons Green, Filton,
Frome Valley, Kingswood, Lyde Green, Marshfield, Patchway, Thornbury, Winterbourne, and Yate.
These groups are interested in forming a network to share information, learning and resources.
The building blocks for this are already in place as the South Glos Climate and Nature
Emergency community group – facilitated by South Glos Council – has been meeting for 2 years.

Many of the groups have previously run low-carbon initiatives, but none of them has yet
completed a community-funded renewable energy project. This is because such schemes are
notoriously time-consuming – especially the first one – and require an element of upfront risk
capital. Despite the challenges a number of the groups are now making good progress on
developing a first community energy project. South Glos Council’s draft Local Plan is very
supportive of community energy and provides details on where such schemes could potentially be
developed. Additionally, several groups are currently hosting energy discussions in their
communities using the Future Energy Landscapes model developed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and supported by Bristol Energy
Cooperative, which includes identifying and discussing options for potential community energy
projects.

The South Glos community groups wish to accelerate both the establishment of a formal support
network and the rollout of pathfinder community energy schemes that can act as case studies for
the wider community. They therefore sought funding for a project manager to progress these two
objectives, and applied for a grant from the West of England Combined Authority’s Local Energy
Scheme. The application was successful, and the groups are now ready to recruit the project
manager, hence this advert.

Job Responsibilities

The role has two workstreams:

1. To work with the local groups, building on existing network foundations and relationships,
   to co-design and establish a constituted, resourced South Glos community energy network
   organisation, and begin sourcing the financial support for it to be self-sustaining in the
   future.
   
2. To support 2-3 community groups to progress pathfinder energy projects (probably rooftop PV)
   to the shovel-ready stage.

For Workstream One the grant award includes funding for:

• The administrative / legal costs of setting up a constituted network organisation.
• Support from a grant-funding specialist to produce a long-term funding plan for the network
  and assist with initial funding applications.
• A third party digital marketing specialist or agency to set up a website, email
  accounts, shared drive, and social media account for the network and manage the social media
  accounts for a 3-month period.
• A launch event for the network.
• Promotion of the network in community newspapers and newsletters.

For Workstream Two the grant award includes funding for the groups’ technical and legal costs.
Bristol Energy Cooperative is also providing additional technical support. The project
manager’s role here is therefore to provide secretarial support to all parties and share
lessons and experience with newer groups who are less advanced.

The two workstreams therefore include a combination of hands-on interpersonal work and project
management, and recruitment and management of specialist providers.

The project manager is also required to input to regular progress reports to the grant funder.

Employment details / options

As the South Gloucestershire community groups aren’t legally constituted, Bristol Energy Cooperative (BEC)
is administering the recruitment process for this role and will provide background support to
the winning candidate.

The community groups will be involved in the candidate selection process, and a steering group
will provide support and guidance to the winning candidate over the length of the contract.

Salary: £38,000 FTE on Bristol Energy Cooperative payroll or equivalent sum on a freelance basis.

Contract term: 9 months, commencing November / December 2024.

Hours: Available as a Job Share (managing one workstream individually), or as Full Time (managing both workstreams, 35 hours per week)

Location: Hybrid working possible: Bristol Energy Cooperative office / from home.

What we’re looking for

We actively encourage people of all backgrounds, ages, races, religions, belief systems, sexual orientations and gender identities to apply for this role. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented groups.

Essential skills and experience:

• Experience of working in a project support role

• Excellent organisational skills

• Ability to work independently and manage your own workload to tight deadlines

• Ability to communicate with a range of stakeholders

• Experience of organising public events

• High IT literacy

• A commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

Desirable skills and experience:

• Knowledge of renewable energy technologies

• Knowledge of the community energy sector

• Experience of writing grant applications

• Experience of writing articles for local media

• Experience of giving presentations

• Good social media skills

• Experience of overseeing contractors / suppliers

• Good knowledge of/local connections in South Gloucestershire

How to apply

To apply, please email [email protected] with a CV and one-page covering letter,
explaining why you are a good fit for the role, including relevant examples of your experience
and skills.

Please include the names of two referees in your application – these will not be followed up
until after an offer is made. Finally, please complete BEC’s anonymous equality and diversity monitoring form.

BEC is committed to being an inclusive employer and providing an inclusive and accessible
recruitment process for everyone. If you would like to submit your application in a different
format such as video, or for any questions or access support, please email
[email protected].

Next steps

The closing date for applications is Wed 16th October 2024 at 5pm.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, we will invite you to an interview at BEC’s
office in Bristol.

We also offer reasonable travel expenses for attendance at interview (ie within the UK).

We plan to interview in late October 2024.

The successful candidate(s) will start in November / December 2024 depending on availability /
preference.