Project Coordinator, Research and Development

Who we are

Energy Saving Trust is a leading and trusted organisation, dedicated to promoting energy
efficiency, low carbon transport and sustainable energy use. We aim to address the climate
emergency and deliver the wider benefits of clean energy as we transition to net zero.

At Energy Saving Trust we don’t just offer jobs – we offer careers. For our people, being part
of the effort to address the climate emergency makes working for us truly meaningful and
rewarding.

Here are some of the benefits we offer:

• We offer an outstanding pension scheme including employer contributions of up to 9%, 11% or
  13% (age-linked).
• Enhanced parental leave.
• Private BUPA insurance.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with service-linked increases as well as three
  goodwill days over the Christmas period.
• Staff wellbeing allowance of up to £25 per month / £300 per year.

Please see our careers page
for the full list of benefits we have to offer and why Energy Saving Trust is a great place to
work.

The team

This is an exciting opportunity to join Energy Saving Trust’s growing energy access team
working within the international team to develop and deliver our global portfolio of work.

You’ll be part of a team working to make a positive impact on the lives of people and
businesses in the Global South, You’ll support the delivery of our multi-annual and
multi-million-pound initiatives funded by UK Aid and IKEA Foundation and jointly managed with
our partner CLASP:

• The Low Energy Inclusive Appliances (LEIA)
  Programme is a research and innovation programme that seeks to improve the efficiency,
  performance, availability and affordability of a range of household, community and productive
  use solar appliances and technologies. It’s the flagship initiative of…
• The Efficiency for Access
  Coalition, a global coalition working to accelerating the uptake of off and weak-grid
  appliances to boost incomes, reduce carbon emissions, improve quality of life, and support
  sustainable development.

The role will be specifically working in the Research and Development workstream of the LEIA
programme . This workstream is primarily focused on accelerating innovation in the off-grid
appliances sector through the delivery of the Efficiency for Access Research and Development
Fund, an innovation fund that provides early-stage support to innovators developing off-grid
appliance products for use in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The role 

You will be responsible for supporting the day-to-day delivery and management of the Efficiency
for Access Research and Development Fund. It will involve liaising closely with grantees to
ensure timely implementation of their R&D projects.

You will support the Project Manager with a variety of tasks, largely relating to grantee and
financial management. Activities will include reviewing milestone reports and grant claims and
co-ordinating project closures, along with maintaining grant reporting to ensure projects are
delivered to budget, on time, and are yielding high quality outcomes and impacts in line with
the workstream’s Theory of Change.

Wider project coordination support will also be a key part of your role and may include tasks
such as organising and facilitating team meetings, taking minutes, and supporting with
financial reporting and forecasting for the wider LEIA programme.

What you’ll do 

Grantee management

• Coordinate and support on project delivery and reporting, including reviewing and providing
  summaries of milestone reports / claims, and supporting the annual review and workplan.
• Provide administrative support relating to delivery of the R&D Fund, including tasks
  such as general inbox monitoring, uploading, and updating information on the internal grants
  management systems and ensuring various process documentation is up to date.
• Coordinate on relevant internal reporting around key performance indicators for projects
  (risks, milestones, contractors, and budgets) to assist the Technical Programme Manager and
  Project Manager in understanding and taking measures to mitigate key risks within the R&D
  Fund portfolio.
• Work closely with the LEIA R&D and Communications teams to prepare communications
  associated with the R&D Fund, including publication of knowledge products.

Financial management

• Work with the Project Manager, R&D and Technical Programme Manager to ensure all
  financial reporting and forecasting is up to date and accurate.
• Work with the wider LEIA team to ensure financial forecasting for the wider LEIA programme
  is communicated clearly and accurately.

Supporting additional programme activities

• Support with additional activities that complement the work of the R&D Fund, such as
  liaising with programme partners or companies to execute newly funded work.
• Coordinate wider team activities, such as team meetings, within the international
  programme.

What you’ll bring 

• We’re looking for someone with experience delivering results to deadlines and working under
  pressure in a fast-paced environment.
• You’ll have a proven track record managing different priorities and working effectively on a
  variety of tasks.
• You’ll demonstrate a keen eye for detail and confidence working with large spreadsheets,
  databases and documents containing large amount of data.
• Our ideal candidate will have an interest or experience of working with energy efficiency
  and/or in the energy access sector
• You’ll possess excellent interpersonal, presentation and communications skills, with the
  ability and commitment to work across a geographically dispersed and culturally varied network.
• You’ll be self-motivated, with a willingness to learn quickly and be pro-active.

Applications close 23.59, 11 September 2024. Interviews are intended to be
held 19th, 23rd and/or 24th of September. 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient
applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as
early as possible.

Please click ‘apply online’ via our recruitment portal. We will ask for your personal details,
work history and a supporting statement. Applications submitted without a supporting statement
will not be considered.

In your supporting statement please explain how you meet the essential areas in the job
description. Applications submitted via email or without a supporting statement will not be
considered.

Reasonable adjustments: We are a Disability Confident Committed
employer. We want to ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive of and accessible
for, everyone.

If you think you may need additional support or reasonable adjustments made to any part of the
recruitment process, please get in touch with [email protected] or call reception on
+44 (0)20 7222 0101. We will do our very best to support you. 

Flexible working: We offer a range of flexible working arrangements, including
working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements. There is
no need to justify your preferred working pattern and we encourage our people to work in
whichever way helps them to perform at their best.

We will be happy to discuss this and our blended working model at the interview stage with you.

Please note, that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this post. To apply for this
post, you must be able to demonstrate your eligibility to work in the UK.

Diversity and inclusion

Energy Saving Trust is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace where
everyone can be themselves, with support to be their best.

We strongly encourage applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and with different identities
and experiences to apply for roles with Energy Saving Trust.

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and we ringfence a minimum number of interview
slots for candidates who apply via the Disability Confident scheme and meet the minimum
criteria for a role. Find out
more here.

You can find out more about
our commitment to diversity and inclusion here.