Programme Manager | Home Energy and Communities

Cumbria Action for Sustainability

Location

  • Flexible working patterns with blended home, site and office (Penrith) work.

Salary

  • £33,900-43,900 (FTE)

Hours

  • 30 hours per week

Job description

We’re looking for an experienced project, people, budget and strategy manager to head up our Home Energy and Communities team.

The Home Energy and Communities Team lies at the heart of CAfS’ operations. Their mission is to enable both individuals and communities to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, while creating positive impacts on people’s everyday lives and economic wellbeing.

Main purpose of the role

  • To lead the development, coordination, delivery and evaluation of CAfS’s wide range of related projects and services.

  • To oversee project budgets and timelines to ensure staff resources are in the right place at the right time across the range of workstreams.

  • To oversee existing funding and secure new funding to ensure the vital work of this skilled team can continue.

    Key responsibilities and tasks

  • Project and service development management

  • People management

  • Budget and risk management

  • Strategic management

    • Skill Requirements

    The team has two key strands to it’s work:

    Home energy:

  • Our flagship Cold to Cosy Homes programme supports eligible households across Cumbria with energy efficiency measures.

  • Our growing Retrofit Service supports households with more comprehensive retrofit measures – delivering Home Retrofit Plans and ongoing bespoke advice to households to help them implement improvements.

    Working with communities:

    We have a number of projects which focus on inspiring and enabling communities to take action on climate change, mostly delivered in partnership with local volunteer sustainability groups. Key projects are;

  • Our suite of ‘Made Easy’ projects, which aim to reduce barriers to change by engaging with communities to help increase the uptake of low carbon technologies, such as domestic solar panels and electric vehicles.

  • Supporting local consideration of opportunities for community renewable energy generation.

    The Team carries out consultancy as well as delivery projects – engaging contractors and other specialists to deliver work. A number of our projects and services are funded by a combination of grant sources, with different timescales, targets and funder conditions, so careful resource management is key to this team’s success.

    Essential skills

  • At least five years of relevant experience of which at least two are in a senior role.

  • Proven ability to lead and support a team of people.

  • Excellent problem solving and analytical skills, with the ability to absorb detailed or technical information provided by others, and identify the key issues that need to be addressed.

  • Proven expertise in resource management, particularly staff capacity and budgets.

  • Fundraising experience, particularly the ability to act quickly on opportunities and attract contract and grant funding.

  • Experience of co-ordinating multiple projects.

  • Proven ability to build networks and relations with people and organisations.

  • Demonstrable knowledge of sustainability issues and decarbonisation.

  • Experience of risk management.

  • Excellent verbal and written communication and understanding of how to engage an audience.

  • Good IT skills, including of Excel which we use to manage project budgets.

  • Ability and willingness to prioritise, work to deadlines and juggle multiple priorities.

  • Ability to work flexibly including evening and weekend working by agreement.

  • Ability to travel independently throughout rural Cumbria.

  • Personal commitment to the objectives that CAfS seeks to deliver.

    Desirable skills

  • Experience or awareness of techniques for engaging communities.

  • Knowledge of buildings energy efficiency and retrofit.

  • Knowledge and experience of project evaluation techniques.

  • Knowledge of community renewable energy initiatives.

  • Experience of delivering high quality customer service.

    • Working at CAfS comes with great benefits. You’ll be joining a friendly and supportive organisation, and your wellbeing and work:life balance are hugely important to us. As well as flexibility around your working hours and location, you’ll have 22 days of paid annual leave pro rata, plus bank/public holidays. We pay an employer pension contribution of 6% from day one of employment.

    Closing Date: 9am, Monday 20th January 2025

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