Project Manager

Permanent
Part Time
22.5 hours per week which can be worked flexibly.
Marches Energy Agency, Home-based in or near to Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire, Nottingham or Nottinghamshire. Bi-monthly team meetings at our office in Shrewsbury.
£23.505 pro rata

Project Manager, East Midlands Lead

Marches Energy Agency (MEA) has over 21 years of experience in tackling climate change and fuel poverty, working with householders and communities. We help keep householders warm and well at home; whilst also working with community groups taking practical action to address the climate emergency. We are an independent, Midlands-based charity working with a wide range of partners around climate change, health and social care.

To find out more visit www.mea.org.uk and www.everybodys-talking.org. Alternatively look at our annual reports on the charity commission website.

We are working in a fast-changing environment. In the last 12 months many of the Local Authorities we work with have declared a climate emergency, with others taking significant action to tackle climate change. New climate change-focused community groups are forming in the area this post will be based in and existing ones are thriving and growing. Public and media interest in climate change is rising. We are supporting a wide range of organisations to respond to the tremendous challenge that is often now referred to as the climate emergency.

At the same time more than 75,000 households in the areas MEA works in are experiencing fuel poverty. The choice to ‘eat or heat’ is still very real for far too many. In tackling the climate emergency we must not leave behind the most vulnerable and so our fuel poverty work provides very practical assistance to help these householders keep their homes warm, which in turn contributes to keeping them in good health.

As our service continues to develop, our small, friendly team is now seeking an enthusiastic, motivated individual to lead on our work in the East Midlands. Our work in this area is varied and includes:

• A longstanding relationship with a partnership of 20 Local Authorities in the area, providing a Climate Change Communications Service. This service is more than a decade old now, and has provided consistent leadership, support and action within communities both at times when climate change has been high on the public agenda and when it has been nowhere on the public agenda. All of these authorities have, in the last 12 months, either made an emergency declaration around climate change or committed to take strong action on climate change. Many have also set target dates by which to be carbon neutral both as Local Authorities and for the communities they serve. Our work is assisting them to put these declarations and commitments into action.
• A unique mobile energy efficiency exhibition which tours community events in the area offering domestic energy efficiency and renewable advice, as well as affordable warmth advice, to the general public.
• Community Climate Action Network: work with around 60 climate change focused community groups in the area, each taking a variety of practical and campaigning actions. We provide an e-newsletter, website, desk-based research service, and organization and delivery of a range of bespoke events and training to support their work. Most recently we have developed an accredited Carbon Literacy training course for communities, which we are keen to roll out.
• Warmer Derby & Derbyshire: an affordable warmth service funded through the Voluntary Redress programme offering a free phone service for householders in the area, plus follow up support and home visits.

The overwhelming majority of our East Midlands work takes place in Nottingham, Derby, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. You will also be expected to undergo a basic DBS check.

Specific skills:

To fulfill this post, MEA is looking for you to have essential and desirable skills as follows:

Essential:
• Be passionate about environmental issues and fuel poverty.
• Have experience of supporting community groups and grassroots community action.
• Have experience of organising and delivering events and training, particularly in the areas of climate change, community action on environmental issues, and domestic energy efficiency and renewables.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Be self-motivated and able to work independently. This role will be home-based.
• Be highly organised with good time-management skills.
• Be a good team player, able to work as part of a small, geographically dispersed team.
• Experience of reporting to funders – both verbally and in written reports.
• Have experience of line management.
• Hold a clean driving license.
• Be competent with IT, including the use of Outlook, Word, Excel and Access.
• Be able to offer domestic energy efficiency, renewables and affordable warmth advice.

Desirable:
• Have experience of working in either the charitable or public sector.
• Have some knowledge at least of fuel poverty, and if limited to demonstrate a willingness to learn.
• Be competent in using a CMS to maintain and develop the content of a community-focused website.
• Experience of applying for grants and tendering for funding.

Major Tasks and Job Activities:
• Act, on behalf of the Director, as the Project Manager with overall responsibility for all aspects of MEA projects in the East Midlands. This includes ensuring all deliverables are achieved in a timely and cost-effective manner and all reporting, claims and administration achieved to the funder’s satisfaction. This includes, but not exclusively our contract with the Local Authority Energy Partnership and the Warmer Derby and Derbyshire project as outlined above.
• Maintain existing relationships with a wide range of Local Authority, community, third sector and business organisations, and develop new ones as opportunity allows.
• Supervise and guide the work of 2 part-time colleagues who are currently delivering on website updates, fuel poverty home visits and some events.
• Look after and keep fresh and updated the Fantastic Home display van.
• Work with the Director and key Local Authority contacts to develop new opportunities and funding bids to enhance delivery of our fuel poverty and climate change work.
• Delivering some home visits.

Pay: £23,505 – pro-rata per annum, rising to £26,558 after 3 years subject to satisfactory performance. Optional employer pension of up to 5%; travel costs paid, and an opportunity to benefit from a team-related annual performance bonus.

Hours of work: 22.5 hours per week which can be worked flexibly. This can go up as funding changes. Some evening and weekend work required, but Time Off In Lieu can be taken.Leave: 24 paid days pro-rata per annum + bank holidays.

For an informal discussion about this role please contact Simon Ross on simon@mea.org.uk. 

Application process: Please send a CV and covering letter. explaining why you are interested in the job and how you meet the specification, to Simon Ross, Director, by email:simon@mea.org.uk .

Closing date for applications: 5pm, Thursday 2nd April 2020.

Interviews: Thursday 9th April, location tbc (via teleconferencing – instruction on using Zoom can be given in advance of the interview if needed, subject to Covid-19) at a location tbc in the East Midlands (likely to be in or near Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham or Nottinghamshire) The successful applicant will start in April/May, and ideally be able to attend a team meeting in Shrewsbury on Tues 12 April.

 


 

This vacancy is closed to applications.