Senior Energy Officer (Projects) - Portsmouth

This is a fantastic opportunity in our Energy & Sustainability Services Team for a Senior Energy Officer to act in a senior capacity and lead a team of energy officers and other technical staff to develop and deliver energy and sustainability projects for Portsmouth City Council.

Portsmouth City Council's Energy & Sustainability Services Team is one of the largest and most successful local authority teams in the country, having won a series of awards and recognition in recent times. The team consists of 15 professionals who manage all aspects of energy services for the authority and a number of external clients. Functions include:

• Utilities procurement and management
• Compliance, audit, and certification
• Capital investment pipelines
• Consultancy services
• Domestic energy efficiency and fuel poverty mitigation

Some examples of recent projects are the delivery of significant upgrades to a large district heating network scheme, over 10MW of commercial rooftop PV, battery storage installations, water saving measures, automated meter reading roll-out, and several large-scale domestic retrofit programmes. Projects are funded through a mixture of grant funding, commercial agreements, and council investment.

The team works closely with the Council's in-house surveyors, architects, and engineering teams, both feeding into their projects and leveraging their specialist expertise into energy and decarbonisation projects. The postholder, and the team they manage, are responsible for identifying and developing projects relating to energy efficiency and decarbonisation for Portsmouth City Council. This includes project identification, feasibility, financial appraisal, procurement, and project delivery support across HRA and General Fund assets. The postholder is responsible for the designing & delivery of projects in conjunction with the Head of Service and managing staff and budgetary resources to achieve the programme and objectives of the service.

The ideal candidate is someone who will be able to demonstrate:

• A relevant energy, building services or environmental-based degree or MSc including the disciplines of decarbonisation strategies, energy management, sustainable design, building services, renewables and power systems or significant experience in a similar role.
• Appropriate membership of professional bodies such as EI or IEMA together with extensive knowledge of the energy sector, both commercial and domestic.
• Experience of identifying, developing, and delivering complex projects related to energy and sustainability, managing budgets.
• Significant experience in a similar energy, sustainability or decarbonisation focused role.
• Knowledge of, and the ability to provide, advise and lead others regarding energy projects.
• Ability to lead a team of energy professionals and technical staff to achieve the demands of the service.
• Ability to develop staff training and competency; in particular, the ability to lead graduates through to full energy officer status.
• Work with the head of energy & sustainability services and other managers to develop projects and programmes of work.
• Knowledge of, and experience of working with, key energy technologies related to energy efficiency or renewable generation.
• Experience of managing with contractors and consultants to develop and deliver works and services related to energy.
• Experience of energy audit, modelling, and data collection to develop feasibilities and investable business models.
• Communication with clients and other stakeholders to allay concerns and manage expectations.
• Ability to inspire change in themselves and their team in reaction to changes of legislation, funding opportunities, or by identifying opportunities or weaknesses for analysis of measures.
• Knowledge of the prevailing legislation and regulations related to energy services.
• Developing procurement strategies for the delivery of capital energy projects and services.
• Experience of communicating with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of the organisation and undertaking presentations and leading meetings as appropriate.
• Performance management - setting and achieving targets, monitoring progress, recognising good performance and dealing with poor performance.

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act. We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focused.

Interviews will be held in person at the Civic Offices, Portsmouth between 15th June and 26th June 2026, and will last approximately 1.5 hours. You must demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work/personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. If you apply without a detailed personal statement, it is unlikely that you will be successful.

We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.