Policy Executive

About the Role

The energy industry was very privileged to work with Audrey Gallacher. She worked tirelessly during her career and made an outstanding contribution to the industry. She championed consumer issues across the energy system and her work has benefited people all across the UK. During her career, she spent time working with the regulator, Ofgem, the consumer body, Citizens Advice and the industry body, Energy UK.

In order to honour Audrey and her career, in conjunction with Ofgem and Citizens Advice, we are pleased to be able to offer a fixed-term role of 2 years which will rotate around these organisations at the heart of the energy industry. This role has been designed to give people at the start of their careers an introduction and exposure to the breadth of energy policy from the viewpoint of a trade association, consumer body, and regulator. It is open to those who looking for a direct route into work rather than spending time at university.

The successful candidate will be employed by Energy UK where they will spend 8 months. They will then be seconded to both Citizens Advice for 8 months and Ofgem for 8 months.

Each organisation has a different role within the sector, and the work undertaken at each will vary. All three will provide a thorough introduction to different parts of the energy sector.

More information about the job role at each location can be found below.

About Energy UK

Energy UK works with our members, government, the regulator and wider stakeholders to champion a sustainable UK energy industry. Our vision for a sustainable energy sector is one in which our customers receive excellent services at affordable prices, our infrastructure powers the zero-carbon economy, and where our UK industry is both successful today, and able to invest for tomorrow.

Our members come from right across the energy sector, from energy suppliers, and large power generators, to companies providing technologies and services in heat, transport, or power. The energy sector has been changing rapidly in the UK, and with more change to come as we look to deliver on UK decarbonisation; this is the most interesting time to work in energy.

The breadth of our membership means that we see the whole picture in energy, and we bring this, and our passion for good communications, to influence policy and the wider debate on energy. We want to make sure customers have a fair deal and access to great energy services, especially the fuel poor and vulnerable; that the industry sets high standards for its performance and engagement with customers; and that we build the Net Zero economy.

We really value our organisational culture at Energy UK. We have high-quality support and development opportunities for our employees, and we are proud to have been awarded a silver accreditation with Investors in People. We know that the wellbeing of employees is key to our success and this is reflected in our progressive policies around wellbeing, flexible working and mental health.

Energy UK plays a key role in promoting diversity and inclusion across the energy industry. In addition to our Young Energy Professionals Forum, we are a founding member of TIDE, an industry-wide taskforce to tackle Inclusion and Diversity across Energy. We share best practices and foster collaboration across the industry on all issues relating to equality and diversity through our annual Diversity and Inclusion conference

The role whilst at Energy UK

The successful applicant will spend 8 months within the Policy Team and Communications Team. The post holder will have the opportunity to:-

• Help support the development of policy positions that will impact energy markets
• Conduct research to support the policy positions
• Accompany members of the team to meetings and help draft briefings for the senior team
• Liaise with stakeholders and our members
• Draft copy for web, social media and other communications
• Help on the administration of the Young Energy Professionals Forum
• Work with the membership team to learn more about our members from the energy industry
• Attend events, conferences
• Have the opportunity to attend training courses to learn more about the energy industry and also on personal professional development

About Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice works relentlessly to tackle the major issues affecting people across England and Wales. Our local Citizens Advice see first hand the problems people face day in and day out. The data we gather from these interactions means we’re uniquely placed to spot trends early, understand the root causes of issues, and develop tangible solutions to address them.

These insights, combined with our strong and trusted brand, give us unique access to the people who have the power to make the changes we want to see – including government, regulators and businesses.

As a member of our policy team you’ll be working as part of a dynamic and supportive team – contributing to designing and executing inventive and hard hitting research and creating influential outputs including blogs, reports, presentations and social media. You’ll also have opportunities to directly influence those with the power to make change happen. We’ll also give you opportunities to help deliver against our energy advice strategy.

Your development is our priority – we do everything we can to help you to develop the skills you need to take the next steps in your career. For example, we provide an extensive range of internal training courses covering everything you need to succeed in this role and progress to a more senior role, including research, persuasive writing and influencing and negotiating skills.

We are looking for an exceptional individual with good research and communication skills, curiosity, and ambition to achieve real change on behalf of our clients and consumers. Relevant professional experience is not essential but a keen interest in how political and policy decisions affect people’s lives is vital.

The role whilst at Citizens Advice

• Delivering tasks and projects related to policy research and influencing, doing so to specified deadlines and high quality standards
• Engaging external stakeholders with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Using different research techniques, developing your existing working knowledge
• Working with colleagues from across the organisation to prioritise competing demands
• Working with others to create inventive solutions to policy problems, working generously as part of a team and contributing to a supportive team culture in which equity, diversity and inclusion are prioritised and staff can do their best
• Contributing to the delivery of an energy advice strategy
• Sharing your knowledge of policy debate, with an interest to continue developing this.

About Ofgem

Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. Ofgem’s purpose is to protect energy consumers, especially vulnerable people, by ensuring they are treated fairly and benefit from a cleaner, greener environment.

Energy policy is something that touches on every aspect of our lives – at home, at work and at play. Energy fuels our society and our economy. That’s why our policy work is so important, and so rewarding. It protects consumers. It enables businesses. It influences the entire energy industry. And it helps to bring about the seismic societal and infrastructure changes that will be the foundations for a Net Zero future.

Rising prices and security of supply are challenging all parts of the energy sector to consider how we can collectively ensure that this crucial foundation for our society remains accessible to all. And as well as the complexity of the here and now, we continue to look to the future – ensuring that energy policies support a shift away from fossil fuels and that new, renewable energy sources are identified and developed into viable alternatives. And we are challenging the wholesale energy market to do more to ensure more efficient pricing and a better deal for consumers.

You can expect to be working on some of the biggest questions that the energy sector faces. The work you do will impact our economy, our environment, and people’s wellbeing. Policy at Ofgem is not just about driving regulation, but being able to influence the industry as a whole.

The breadth of our work is extensive, and that means a diversity of roles on offer – whatever stage you are at in your career: from apprenticeships through to experienced policy professionals. You’ll be encouraged to get involved in different types of projects that will allow you to build your expertise in different areas. Our policy practice is founded on three pillars: Strategy – ensuring that sound evidence and analysis informs our approach; Democracy – giving confidence that robust governance and accountability supports effective decision-making; and Delivery – effective implementation and delivery systems that see policy impact on practice.

If you enjoy pursuing improvement and can be bold in brokering new approaches; asking questions about how things have been done; and spotting opportunities to do them better: there is no better place for you to invest and develop your skills.

The role whilst at Ofgem

This role holder will have the opportunity over the 8 month duration at Ofgem to participate in a varied workload across one of Ofgem’s consumer centred policy teams.

You would be working towards gaining skills and experience that our Policy Officer’s hold. These key responsibilities may include:

• Contribute to the development and implementation of policy reform. This will involve working closely with industry and other stakeholders in Ofgem.
• Undertaking analysis on proposals and their impacts and effectively communicating the benefits, challenges and trade-offs to senior colleagues
• Support the production of key work, such as briefings, consultations, decision letters and impact assessments
• Supporting the project management of workstreams and stakeholder engagement, prioritising, scoping and delivering work and engaging with key Ofgem functions to manage risks and issues
• Internal: Colleagues within Ofgem, senior management, legal and other teams within your division and Ofgem more widely
• External: Effective interaction with the electricity and gas system operators, DESNZ, network companies, and other industry stakeholders

Benefits

• A competitive salary will be offered
• 25 days annual holiday plus statutory holidays with the benefit of buying an extra 5 days a year.
• Birthday Leave and extra day at Easter
• Energy UK is a member of Climate Perks allowing employees to claim up to two days for staff who travel on holiday by train, coach or boat instead of flying.
• Annual season ticket loan
• An employer’s pension contribution of 5%
• Axa Health insurance
• Leave for Charitable work
• Access to an employee assistance programme
• Training and Development
• A hybrid working environment with the opportunity to work 2/3 days a week from home
• Agile working arrangement with core hours of 10am to 4pm
• Flexible Working Arrangements available to be requested from day one of employment