Date posted: Tue 9 June 2020
Closing date: 11pm, Tue 30 June 2020

We are looking for an experienced and skilled project manager to drive practical actions to cut carbon emissions in South Lakeland.

You’ll coordinate and deliver support to inspire, motivate and enable communities to cut their carbon footprints in a range of ways, including through low-carbon energy.

You’ll share your extensive expertise on everything from carbon footprinting and renewable energy to emission reduction for households and businesses. You’ll offer practical advice, signposting, mentoring and events, building the capacity of communities to take action and increasing their resilience to volatile energy prices and the worsening impacts of climate change.

For full details of this post, please see the job description and person specification below.

Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. We do not accept CVs. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

Application Form – Project Manager – Low Carbon Communities

The closing date for return of applications is 11pm on 30 June 2020. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed by 5pm on 6 July 2020. Interviews will be held on 14 July 2020. These are likely to be online.

Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Job Description – Project Manager – Low Carbon Communities

EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)

LOCATION: Principally home working, with meetings required in the South Lakeland area and at our office in Penrith when Covid-19 restrictions allow. Rural Eden Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET.

REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer

HOURS: 22.5 hours a week (3 days). Flexible working hours.

SALARY RANGE: £24,000-£30,000 per annum full-time equivalent (£14,400 to £18,000 for the 22.5-hour week), depending on skills and experience.

DURATION: Fixed-term contract from 1 August 2020 to end July 2021 (12 months with potential for extension subject to funding).

APPLICATIONS BY: 11pm on Tuesday 30 June 2020. Please apply using the application form. CVs will not be considered.

ABOUT CAFS:

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria and we strive to bring about a better way of life, in balance with our environment.

Our mission is to empower and enable people, communities and businesses to live and work more sustainably by sharing our knowledge, practice, skills, networks and practical experience. We manage and deliver events, advice, training and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services to enable individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities to drive a shift towards a Zero Carbon Cumbria.

 CAfS is an award-winning charity with a team of fourteen highly skilled staff, working with a pool of specialist contractors and volunteers to deliver around 20 major, transformational low-carbon projects each year. CAfS is the leading organisation in Cumbria showcasing low-carbon living, energy-efficiency improvements, renewable technology and reduced use of fossil fuels, both on a domestic scale and in the community. Now in our 22nd year, CAfS is the first point of reference in the county for information on sustainability. CAfS is a dynamic, pro-active and responsive organisation, continually striving to deliver effective projects that make an impact and drive real change towards a low-carbon future. As such, we continually initiate, scrutinise, refine and launch new projects, accessing funding from a variety of sources or earning income from delivering specialist services.

 BACKGROUND TO THE LOW CARBON COMMUNITIES PROJECT:

Since 2015/2016, South Lakeland District Council has been supporting the drive towards a low carbon district by funding CAfS to deliver advice and support to communities in the South Lakeland area. The project provides practical advice, events, support, technical expertise, signposting and mentoring which leads to action on low carbon energy and other carbon reduction activities in South Lakeland communities.

The Project Manager will build the capacity of the supported communities’ to take informed decisions, and implement measures which simultaneously reduce emissions whilst making communities and resources more resilient to increasingly volatile energy prices and worsening impacts of climate change.

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE: 

The key role of the post is to take overall responsibility for the coordination and delivery of our work funded by South Lakeland District Council to provide support and advice to communities wishing to improve the energy efficiency of their place.

You will be responsible for delivering a number of actions that will support the community of Ambleside to work towards becoming a zero-carbon community, with a focus on delivering benefits for the local economy and businesses.

The post holder will also play an important role in supporting CAfS to develop and deliver other similar projects which enable communities, businesses, organisations and individuals to respond to the challenges of climate change.

EXPECTED KEY OUTCOMES:

  • A costed, renewable energy scheme proposal for Ambleside, worked up to pre-planning stage.
  • Bespoke carbon footprint tools developed for businesses and residents in Ambleside.
  • Carbon footprint assessments undertaken with businesses and residents and data collated and reported.
  • Advice provided to businesses and residents on carbon reduction measures and commitments to carbon reduction measures made by participants.
  • Lessons from Ambleside shared with other communities in South Lakeland, inspiring wider adoption.

 KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

  • To take overall responsibility for the coordination, budgeting, delivery, evaluation and reporting of South Lakeland District Council’s support for low carbon communities.
  • To provide and co-ordinate advice to communities wishing to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in their community or to generate community owned renewable energy.
  • To manage a bank of energy efficiency and renewable energy experts to provide additional technical advice to these communities.
  • To coordinate and facilitate learning and skill sharing amongst communities.
  • To support CAfS existing sustainability projects and to develop ideas and funding for new projects in collaboration with CAfS staff and Chief Executive Officer.

MAIN TASKS:

  • To support Ambleside Action for a Future, and its sub group Ambleside to Zero, to work towards zero carbon.
  • To work up options and manage feasibility work on new local renewable systems.
  • To develop and roll out carbon footprinting tools for businesses and residents.
  • To provide carbon reduction support for businesses.
  • To deliver a low-carbon events programme, including visits to homes and a conference in the wider South Lakeland district.
  • To deliver a programme for sharing lessons learned in Ambleside with other communities in South Lakeland.
  • To expand the CAfS online low-carbon knowledge hub for communities to enable them to learn about different aspects of low-carbon energy transitions.
  • To advise and support local authorities on zero/low-carbon transitions.
  • To respond to enquiries from community representatives from South Lakeland.
  • To disseminate learning from the programme so far.
  • To manage the budget to maximise outcomes from the project.
  • To monitor, measure, evaluate and report on success.
  • To be the primary contact for CAfS’ work with SLDC.
  • To secure ongoing funding to provide support to other communities in Cumbria.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • To support other programmes of community energy efficiency and climate change activity in South Lakeland and elsewhere in Cumbria.
  • To be a conduit for information to individuals on wider CAfS projects.
  • To contribute news articles, web content and other information about the project to the marketing team for publicity and CAfS’ profile raising.
  • To work with the chief executive officer and other CAfS staff to create new projects, secure additional funding and deliver effective projects based around sustainability.
  • To contribute to the ongoing work of CAfS generally, including attending appropriate networking meetings, team meetings and training sessions and carry out other tasks or projects required from time to time, as directed by the CEO or trustees.

 

Person Specification

 Essential skills and attributes:

  • A good understanding of the basic principles of energy efficiency in buildings and sustainable building methods.
  • A post-16 qualification in a relevant field e.g. sustainability, building, energy management, community development or similar.
  • A good understanding of the main features of various renewable technologies and how they can be used appropriately with buildings and on a community scale.
  • Understanding or experience of carbon footprinting tools for households and/or business.
  • An understanding of and demonstrable interest in the objectives that CAfS seeks to deliver around sustainability and creating a zero-carbon Cumbria.
  • Experience of planning, organising, scheduling and budget management of projects.
  • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to put complex information across simply and concisely and to a range of different audiences.
  • Ability and willingness to prioritise, work to deadlines and juggle multiple priorities.
  • Creative and innovative approach to work.
  • Ability to work in a small team as well as on own initiative without day-to-day supervision.
  • Ability to work flexibly including evening and weekend working by agreement.
  • Ability to travel independently throughout rural Cumbria.
  • Good IT skills.
  • Experience of working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including community groups.

Desirable criteria

The following attributes are desirable but not essential:

  • Knowledge of and contacts from the South Lakeland area and/or across Cumbria, preferably across various community and/or sustainability-driven initiatives.
  • A degree-level qualification in a relevant field e.g. sustainability, building, energy management, community development or similar.
  • Experience of delivering community-led schemes, especially on energy efficiency and renewables.
  • Experience of community engagement (especially with volunteers and committee members) or community consultation.
  • Specialist knowledge of renewable technologies or sustainable building methods.
  • Experience of providing energy audits, including site surveys, energy data analysis and technical report writing.
  • Fundraising experience, specifically the ability to act quickly on opportunities and attract contract and grant funding.
  • Experience of monitoring and evaluating projects.
  • Experience in online meeting platforms and webinars.

If you would like more information about the role, please email: [email protected].