Community-Based Energy Adviser (Ceredigion)

Wales, 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 Ceredigion, 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.

A 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.

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 and able to communicate fluently in Welsh.
• 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 – with a full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work.
• 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.

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

Applying

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