Technical Officer / Assistant Technical Officer

Community Energy Scotland is recruiting for a Technical Officer or Assistant Technical Officer (dependent on skills and experience, with
responsibilities on the successful candidate allocated accordingly).

Personal development opportunities, and support will be provided by Community Energy Scotland.

1. Fixed-Term Post to 31st March 2025.
2. Part-Time or Full Time Post (21 hours minimum to full time at 35 hours per week)
3. Potential for flexible working / job share

We are looking to recruit an energetic, well-organised and self-motivated individual to work as
part of a team delivering the technical aspects of several of CES’s projects. Training as
required, personal development opportunities, and support will be provided by Community Energy
Scotland.

Community Energy Scotland currently has 26 members of staff based all over Scotland, including
Orkney, the Outer Hebrides, Shetland, the Inner Hebrides and across the mainland. Staff have
the option of working from home or being based in a local office.

In our Staff Satisfaction Survey in January 2024 when asked what they liked best about working
for CES, staff gave the following feedback:

• “Being treated with respect.”
• “The opportunities provided through my role to meet new people, learn new things, and work
  on meaningful issues.”
• “Fellow colleagues and opportunity to do worthwhile work benefiting communities.”
• “Kind and friendly colleagues and management team. The trust in staff to explore new work
  and light touch management giving the freedom to develop new areas.”
• “Flexibility of working allows me to maintain a work-life balance and pursue interests and
  have good relationships outside of work. I think there is a good sense of community and
  belonging within our team despite being based in different areas”
• “I really like the type of work, the team are all really driven and it feels like we are
  trying to make a positive change in the world.”

1. Technical Officer Job description

Community Energy Scotland is looking to recruit an energetic individual who shares CES’ values
to be part of a team delivering and providing support on the technical elements of projects.

1.1. Job Profile

1.1.1. Overall Purpose

Working as part of a technical team in CES to provide practical & technical support for
community energy project development across a portfolio of innovative projects and research
activities on areas including renewable electricity generation, low carbon heat, sustainable
transport, smart energy systems and building fabric improvements.

1.1.2. Job Description

Main Tasks 

Tasks within the role will vary depending on current projects and the skillset of the officer
but may include any of the following:

1. Working as a team to carry out options appraisals and analysis of the technical &
   financial feasibility of energy projects.
2. Advising on technical systems and solutions for projects.
3. To provide technical analysis of demand and generation profiles, and opportunities for
   closer integration of renewable energy sources and local loads.
4. To generally give technical support to community energy groups and their activities and
   collaborate with community organisations to further the aim of a Just Energy Transition. This
   will include technical support and advice to communities on areas including reducing energy
   costs and increasing energy efficiency for their buildings and facilities and developing
   low-carbon local transport projects.
5. To support communities through the process of setting up local energy clubs.
6. Create viable financial models for investment in energy distribution infrastructure and new
   business models for energy delivery
7. Delivery of framework & metrics, baselining & gap analysis and data collection for
   carbon audits and other work.
8. Delivery of ground truthing to ensure carbon audits reflect as accurately as possible the
   picture of emissions across communities in Scotland.
9. Energy monitoring and gathering baseline data such as data on energy demand and generation,
   and analysing this data using statistical methods, as well as innovative and exploratory
   methods. Coding computer scripts may also be used to work with live data streams such as those
   accessible over API to build data pipelines for project data requirements. Customisation of
   these scripts to correctly format data or generate summative statistics.
10. Working with the CES Community Data Digital Officer to share information and data with
    community groups and key stakeholders.
11. Supporting the Head of Development by providing technical inputs for bids and project
    proposals.
12. To assist the CES (Trading) team in the delivery of innovation advice and consultancy to
    clients.
13. To support the development of an innovation knowledge centre within CES, including a
    project database and toolkit for innovation options.

Administration 

To keep all personal work records up to date such as annual leave requests, timesheets and
CES’s online systems (Monday.com and Sharepoint).

1. Attending project and team meetings.
2. Writing and distributing minutes and actions from relevant meetings.
3. Feeding back information about the project’s progress to CES colleagues.
4. Communicating any issues or deviations from project plans.

Representing CES:

• Acting as a positive ambassador for CES and ensuring that all activities are performed in a
  way that is in line with its vision and mission.
• Working collaboratively with the entire CES team to encourage collaboration on related
  tasks and projects.
• Representing CES at local, national and international outreach and promotion events as
  necessary.
• Providing updates on your work on projects for social media and website pages to ensure a
  good public profile.

Other Tasks

1. To prepare, deliver and facilitate presentations/open meetings and discussions when
   required.
2. To play a full role in the evolution and operation of the team at Community Energy
   Scotland, and support the success of Community Energy Scotland as a whole.
3. Ongoing requirement to ensure work activity is well communicated to the wider CES team
4. Support the provision of educational materials and training sessions for other CES staff,
   CES Members and other community organisations.
5. To undertake other duties as may be required from time to time by the Chief Executive.