Outreach Officer - Energy Advice Team

This is an exciting opportunity for a community engagement professional who wants to help tackle fuel poverty, reduce energy-related inequality and support a more inclusive, sustainable future.

As Outreach Officer, you will work with a diverse and supportive team to strengthen access to Selce’s energy advice services across Greenwich, Lewisham, Bromley and Bexley. You will plan, deliver and adapt outreach activity that engages voluntary sector organisations, frontline workers and residents who are in, or at risk of, fuel poverty. This will include workshops, pop-up events, community publicity and the development of strong referral networks across South East London

The Role:

·       Work closely with the Energy Advice and Outreach teams to deliver a joined-up approach to community engagement.

·       Plan, organise and deliver energy advice workshops, pop-up stalls, energy cafés and other community-based events.

·       Build and maintain strong referral pathways with voluntary, community and public sector organisations, and train frontline workers to identify and refer residents who may benefit from Selce’s support.

·       Develop positive partnerships with community centres, local organisations and other stakeholders to reach residents who are in, or at risk of, fuel poverty.

·       Keep local organisations and residents informed about Selce’s services through newsletters, direct contact and community-level publicity.

·       Maintain constructive relationships with funders, partners and key stakeholders, representing Selce professionally at public-facing events.

·       Carry out other duties within the scope of the role and support wider organisational priorities where required.

Person specification

Essential skills, experience and qualities

·       Experience of community engagement, outreach, participation or partnership work, ideally with voluntary, community or public sector organisations.

·       Confidence delivering workshops, presentations, pop-up stalls or other public-facing activities for a range of audiences.

·       Ability to build trusted relationships with community organisations, frontline workers, residents and local partners.

·       Understanding of the barriers that can prevent people from accessing advice or support, particularly people experiencing fuel poverty, financial pressure or other forms of disadvantage.

·       Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to adapt messages for residents, partner organisations and frontline workers.

·       Good organisational skills, including the ability to plan events, coordinate activity, keep accurate records and follow up referrals or partnership actions.

·       Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team while also managing your own workload and priorities.

·       A flexible, positive and practical approach to solving problems and responding to changing project needs.

·       Good attention to detail and understanding of confidentiality, data protection and consent when working with residents, partners and publicity materials.

·       Confident user of Microsoft Office and willing to learn new digital systems used for service delivery, monitoring and reporting.

·       Commitment to Selce’s aims of tackling fuel poverty, reducing inequality and supporting a fairer, greener energy system.

Desirable skills, experience and knowledge

·       Knowledge of domestic energy efficiency, fuel poverty, retrofit, community energy or related advice services.

·       Experience giving energy advice or supporting residents with energy, housing, financial inclusion, welfare or cost-of-living issues.

·       An energy advice qualification, such as NEA Level 3, or willingness to work towards relevant accreditation.

·       Experience using CRM systems or similar tools to record referrals, monitor activity and support project reporting.

·       Experience producing newsletters, social media content, flyers or other communications to promote services and engage communities.

·       Experience coordinating volunteers, community champions or peer-led outreach activity.

·       Good influencing or negotiation skills, with the ability to work constructively with funders, partners and other stakeholders.

·       Ability to communicate in another community language spoken locally.

About South East London Community Energy

South East London Community Energy (Selce) was founded in 2014 by people in Greenwich and Lewisham who wanted to help create a clean, fair and affordable energy future.

Over the past decade, we have developed projects that tackle inequality, reduce carbon emissions and support communities at different points in the energy system.

To date, we have built 12 solar arrays on community buildings in South East London and helped 11 buildings improve the efficiency of their lighting systems. We are also developing new share offers to support further lighting upgrades and solar installations on community buildings.

We have supported well over 4,000 households with their energy bills and are now helping homeowners make their homes more energy efficient through the Love Lofts and Future Fit Homes pilot programmes.

About Our Energy Advice Services

Almost one in ten households cannot afford to heat their homes adequately. Our energy advice team provides practical, impartial support to households struggling with fuel bills. This includes advice on reducing energy costs, accessing discounts and grants, changing energy use, fitting small energy-saving measures such as low-energy light bulbs and draught proofing, and securing funded home improvements such as loft or cavity wall insulation and heating upgrades.

Benefits:

25 days annual leave (pro rata)
4% employer pension contribution
Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) for agreed evening and weekend work