Renewable Energy Project Developer

Bristol Energy Cooperative is a community-owned enterprise delivering ground-breaking
renewable energy schemes which benefit the local community. Since 2011, we’ve raised £15
million to develop 17 clean energy generation projects around Bristol. They currently generate
enough energy to power 3,500 homes. We have over 1500 investor members.

We create a massive positive impact by recycling revenues into community benefit
projects, with over £350,000 already channelled into social and environmental
initiatives.

We recently completed a 1MW rooftop PV install at the second Bottleyard Film studios
TBY2. We believe it’s the largest community rooftop solar array in the UK, and it won the 2023
Sustainable Initiative Award at Screen International’s Global Production Awards. We also manage
numerous other solar installations, utilising Bristol’s potential for rooftop solar energy
generation.

You can find more information about our work on our website. Our social media
channels include Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. This recent video is a nice outline of our journey
as an organisation and this video explains the concept of community
energy.

About The Job

• Position: Renewable Energy Project Developer
• Accountable to: Senior Project Developer
• Working closely with: Operations Director
• Hours: Available as a Job Share, or as Full Time (35 hours per week)

It’s an exciting time to join Bristol Energy Cooperative (BEC), as the team is growing to
deliver an ambitious business plan, increasing community-owned energy in Bristol and across the
South West. You will support the development and implementation of new renewable energy
projects within BEC, and manage the South West Local Solar Scheme (funded by the West of
England Combined Authority).

You’ll have great organisational skills, and be able to oversee project delivery. You’ll have
an appetite for detail, along with excellent numeracy skills, to help us assess the viability
of new proposals.

This is the chance to play a proactive role in a small, friendly team working in a vibrant and
growing sector, and contributing ideas to joint policies, documents and campaigns. Training will be available on renewable energy, health & safety, finance and project
management. 

In the midst of the climate crisis, project development of renewable energy is needed more than
ever, at speed and at scale, and you can be at the forefront of that in this role at BEC. It is
a fulfilling and inspiring sector to work in, making a tangible difference to the local Bristol
community.

Job Responsibilities

Key Roles

• Assessing new project opportunities
• Coordinating the development phases of new projects
• Reporting to internal and external stakeholders on project progress
• Taking new projects to a fully commissioned stage
• Ad-hoc support to operations and marketing teams

Project development and management work may involve:

• New project evaluation
• Working up project financial modeling, either directly or with colleagues
• Coordinating installation contractors 
• Communicating with project stakeholders such as funders, local businesses, councils
  and community organisations
• Reporting to colleagues and the Board
• Assisting with grant applications
• Attending events and giving presentations
• Troubleshooting and problem resolution

What We’re Looking For

As an inclusive employer, at Bristol Energy Cooperative, 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 knowledge and experience:

• Experience of communicating with a wide range of stakeholders
• A good working knowledge of Excel and/or Google Sheets 
• Experience of overseeing contractors or suppliers delivering projects
• Ability to manage your own workload to tight deadlines
• A keen interest in being part of the community energy sector
• A commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

Desirable knowledge and experience:

• Renewable energy expertise in areas such as solar PV, grid connection and
  energy markets
• Experience of full life-cycle project development
• Experience of grant writing and grant management
• Working knowledge of leases
• Experience in the community energy sector
• Knowledge and experience of community consultation methods
• Experience of sales pipelines and using CRM tools

How To Apply

Please visit our jobs page to download a recruitment pack.