Interim Head of Energy Strategic Development in England

Location: Blended between office and home (England and Wales). Time in office negotiable.

Salary: £69,664, plus £3,520 London allowance if applicable.

Employment type: Fixed Term

Contract Duration: 12 months

We are looking for an Interim Head of Energy Strategic Development to join us for 12 months (with scope to be extended and made permanent following the outcome of our transformation programme). Do you want to be part of shaping something truly significant? Are you a leader looking for your next opportunity? The Interim Head of Energy Strategic Development will be responsible for shaping a new and evolving team, while defining how we improve energy outcomes for households and small business consumers.

Citizens Advice is the statutory advocate and advice provider for energy consumers. We are a federated charity with approximately 235 Local Citizens Advice (LCA) offices across England and Wales. Our statutory advice role includes providing people and small businesses with first tier advice through the consumer service and providing extra help to vulnerable energy consumers from case handling support to holistic debt advice. Citizens Advice also delivers non-statutory energy advice services, which are either coordinated by our national organisation or directly delivered by our local offices.

In 2024 and following a successful consultation with LCAs, our network-wide energy advice strategy was agreed, outlining how we’ll transform our advice services to provide better support to our clients in a changing energy landscape. We successfully launched our new Consumer Energy Debt Advice (CEDA) service in 2025 and will start delivering case handling support for consumers on heat networks once formal regulation takes effect in January. The energy market is transforming and the scope of our statutory advice and advocacy responsibilities should continue to evolve and expand.

This role requires someone with a strong track record of delivering transformational change in complex organisations. This role will be joining a dynamic team and requires exceptional stakeholder management skills. As the Head of Energy Strategic Development, you’ll have strategic oversight of and ensure compliance with funder obligations across an expanding advice and advocacy remit as well as the development and implementation of our network-wide energy advice strategy. It will involve working with delivery teams across the national organisation and our federated network to ensure our multi-channel advice services evolve to provide people and small businesses with the best service we can, in ways that work for them.

Working closely with our energy advocacy function, you’ll lead a team of specialists responsible for managing our relationships across the energy sector, from government departments, regulators, industry and charities and consumer groups.

Please provide details in your cover letter to succinctly evidence the following essential criteria:

• Energy Sector Knowledge and Experience: A deep and up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the energy sector, ideally from an advisory perspective within the charity sector, government, industry, or regulation.
• Change Management and Transformation: Proven experience in leading strategic change projects and programmes, with a track record of delivering to time, quality, and budget, achieving planned service improvements.
• Stakeholder Management and Collaboration: Demonstrable experience of building and maintaining effective collaborative relationships with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders, including senior leaders, operational teams, and external partners.
• Team Leadership: Proven experience of effectively leading and managing teams, including remotely-based teams, utilising a range of communication and collaboration tools to foster a cohesive team culture, drive performance, and ensure consistent delivery.
• Organisational Fit: Understanding, or experience, of working within a membership-based organisation and/or a federated structure, or working within a regulated industry or one defined by statutory duties.

Citizens Advice offers confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. Through our national network of charities, we give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever their problem.

Do you want to work for an organisation that makes a difference, every single day, to people from all walks of life? The people that turn to Citizens Advice need help overcoming an obstacle in their lives – from debt to evictions to trouble at work – and you can be key to them getting the support they need in the quickest, easiest, and most effective way.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is of strategic importance within the organisation and recognised as integral to all we do as a service. Central to pursuing our EDI mission is building diverse and inclusive teams in which everyone has a sense of belonging. We believe inclusion is a social justice issue - a principle that underpins our all EDI work. To that end, we particularly welcome applications from people we would like to see better represented in our organisation and sector - people of colour, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people. We follow the social model of disability. We will offer an interview to disabled candidates who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident Interview Commitment where they meet our selection criteria in their application. Some of our roles attract a high volume of applications and in some circumstances where it is not practicable or appropriate, we may limit the number of interviews offered to disabled and non-disabled candidates. We will provide reasonable adjustments as needed.

We’re a flexible employer, so this role may suit anyone who’d prefer a flexible arrangement to help their work/life balance, many of our colleagues spend most of their time working remotely. Whilst we prefer a blended approach between a local office, if one is near you, and home we’re open to being flexible on location, occasionally a role may require you to be based in a certain location if that’s the case it will be detailed in the advert or job description. This can be discussed in more detail during your interview.

The National Citizens Advice operates from offices in England and Wales, with 4 regional offices based in Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Leeds, therefore all successful applicants must be based within England or Wales.

Please be aware that Citizens Advice is not a sponsoring organisation. Therefore the successful applicant must already possess the right to work in the UK or be able to secure the right to work in the UK independently.

We have been awarded the top charity in Third sector's employer index, where it's recognised that Citizens Advice is an organization that not only prioritises the people we serve but also values the wellbeing of its employees.

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Contract

Job function: Strategy/Planning, Project Management, and Management

Industries: Non-profit Organizations, Civic and Social Organizations, Government Administration