Community Based Energy Adviser

Orange Recruitment; Bradley Stoke, Filton, Yate; Hybrid; GBP 26,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity in energy efficiency seeks a Community Based Energy Adviser to support individuals facing fuel poverty. You will provide essential advice and guidance to empower clients in managing their energy use, with extensive travel required across Gloucestershire. The role offers a flexible working environment, ongoing training, and competitive benefits, promoting a positive impact on community well-being.

Benefits

24-29 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Group Life Assurance

Company pension scheme with employer contributions

Employee discounts on a range of outlets

Qualifications

• Warm, confident disposition with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Resilient problem solver capable of managing complex issues.
• Interest in energy and willingness to obtain relevant qualifications.

Responsibilities

• Provide support to clients facing barriers to energy services.
• Deliver energy advice during home visits and community events.
• Develop relationships with local partners to support clients.

Skills

Interpersonal Skills

Problem Solving

Planning and Organising

Communication Skills

Education

NVQ Level 3 in Energy Efficiency Awareness

Job description

Community Based Energy Adviser ( Yate, Bradley Stoke/Filton and surrounding areas)

Southwest, Yate, United Kingdom

Severn Wye is looking for a caring, confident individual to support people facing fuel poverty and champion energy efficiency.

This role is at the forefront of what we do as an organisation. You will be working across areas of Gloucestershire, visiting people in their own homes and giving advice at community events.

This role is home-based but requires extensive travel within the area. It can be either full or part time.

As a Community-based Energy Adviser, you will focus on supporting and educating individuals and families who face barriers to accessing energy services and may be in fuel poverty. You will be working with people in their homes or advising them at events in their local community. You will support them through the process of managing and reducing debt, accessing funding and engaging with smart technology.

This can be a demanding role – some of your clients will be facing huge challenges – but it is extremely rewarding and you will be making a measurable difference to people’s quality of life. You will give at-risk consumers the knowledge and confidence to be more engaged in their energy use and able to make sound decisions to manage it — ultimately putting money back in their pockets and improving their resilience and wellbeing. You will be a positive, intuitive and caring ally, empowering people who are overwhelmed by the world of energy and who may be facing multiple economic and societal challenges.

An enhanced DBS check will be needed: Severn Wye will pay for this.

Why you’ll enjoy working with us

Severn Wye a great organisation to work for. We love what we do. You will enjoy a relaxed and supportive work environment, and colleagues who are knowledgeable, generous and committed to making a difference. Our flexible working arrangements are designed to accommodate the work/life balance our people need depending on where they are in their life and career, which means we benefit from the experience and enthusiasm of employees of all ages and backgrounds.

We’ll provide the training you need to help you grow in your role and get to grips with the energy landscape. You’ll start on 24 days annual leave increasing to 29 days, plus bank holidays. You’ll have excellent support for the future such as Group Life Assurance and a company pension scheme with employer contributions of 7% when you put in 5% or more. We get together regularly for social events and look after you outside work hours with employee discounts on a range of outlets, including discounted gift cards and cashback.

If this sounds like an environment in which you’d thrive, we’d love to hear from you.

Working hours:Full time Preferred, Part time minimum 22.5 hrs per week

Contract 2.1:£26,429.88 FTE

Reporting to:Community-based Energy Manager

Location:Home-based with extensive travel across the area

This role will include

• Providing non-judgemental, unbiased, and comprehensive support to those facing barriers to energy services. Advocating on behalf of clients with energy suppliers to resolve billing errors, organise pre-payment plans (non-financial advice) and seek compensation.
• Delivering energy advice to households during home visits and over the phone to improve their situation, including helping them access relevant funding and support schemes.
• Developing strong working relationships with our local partners, to make sure they understand what help is available and work with us to give clients consistent and comprehensive support.
• Giving talks to partner organisations to increase their understanding of energy efficiency.
• Running stalls at community events
• Organising drop-ins and surgeries at community hubs.
• Recording visit details and outcomes on our CRM database and make appropriate referrals for energy efficiency measures.
• Monitoring progress in line with targets, evaluating and taking a pro-active approach to developing the service, and making improvements to delivery (with management support)
• Writing up case studies.
• Following all organisational policies and procedures when delivering work.
• Working for short periods in wider geographical areas, mentoring new advisers into their roles.
• Carrying out any other duties that may be reasonably required.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

We are looking for someone with

• A warm, positive and confident disposition that puts people at ease with excellent interpersonal and communication skills – able to relate to and engage with people from all backgrounds.
• An intuitive and flexible approach to problem solving – able to think on your feet, with the patience and resilience to resolve complex issues.
• Planning and organisational skills, able to work independently and manage your own caseload.
• An interest in energy and willingness to obtain a qualification (NVQ Level 3) in energy efficiency awareness and continuously develop.
• IT skills (Word, Excel, Outlook, online database systems) to conduct and accurately record all activities.
• Ability to travel is essential, this will be to regular meetings and events within a rural area where access to public transport may be limited
• An enhanced DBS check is required

Desirable skills and experience include

• Experience of community project working, delivery and reporting.
• Experience of partnership working and referral processes.
• An understanding and awareness of energy efficiency and housing issues.
• Experience of working with vulnerable people to improve their understanding of subject matter.
• Knowledge of community and support groups in your area so you can respond to unexpected circumstances by signposting relevant local help

Severn Wye Energy Agency is a charity working in Wales and England with a vision to live in a stable climate with energy for all. We achieve this by working with people to overcome fuel poverty and act on climate change by putting energy at the heart of everything we do.

We support residents and households with information and advice, empowering them use energy more efficiently and lead healthier, more affordable lives. We help businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and empower communities to meet future challenges by taking control of their energy use and implementing ideas that reduce fuel poverty and energy use. Severn Wye is at the forefront of piloting innovative new technologies that could change the future of energy. We achieve all these things by partnering with local authorities, government departments and policymakers to promote environmental sustainability through renewable energy and low carbon development.

Applying If you are interested in applying, please visit our online application portal and fill out the application form there. Please also consider filling out the optional equality, diversity and inclusion survey at the end of the form.

Equality

We are committed to improving the diversity of our team and therefore guarantee an interview to candidates from ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ or disabled communities who meet the essential job criteria, recognising that these are under-represented at Severn Wye – and in the sustainability sector at large. However, we will always appoint the candidate who best satisfies the job description and person specification.