Highland Energy Community Partnership
*January 2025
Community Energy Officer - Job Description
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Transition Black Isle is recruiting a Community Energy Officer to deliver their part of the Highland Energy Community Partnership agreement for the Black Isle.
Job title: Community Energy Officer, Highland Energy Community Partnership
Term: Fixed term 1st April 2025 - 30th September 2029, 4 years 6 months.
Salary: £32,000 p.a.
Hours per week: 35 hours per week. There will be some degree of flexibility required in hours worked, depending on the needs of the post. Evening and weekend work will be occasionally required. Annual leave entitlement is 25 days + 10 days public holidays. We are open to applications from candidates wishing to job share.
Work base: Working from home with access to a vehicle for some travel locally for events and occasionally within the Highlands.
Reports to: Transition Black Isle’s HECP Manager.
Closing date for applications: 13th February 2025
Project Background
The Highland Energy Community Partnership (HECP) is a new programme funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and coordinated by environmental charity Changeworks, in partnership with six local community partners in the Highlands, including Transition Black Isle.
The project will build collaboration across the partnership and beyond, aiming to improve domestic energy efficiency, reduce emissions across the households in the partnership and build a movement towards more
sustainable consumption, consistent with a Net Zero future. It will operate across the following key outcomes:
- Promote environmentally friendly energy use People will be supported in energy saving and home retrofit awareness, helping them to adopt environmentally friendly energy use behaviours
- Support communities to retrofit their homes Over the five years and the whole partnership, nine hundred households will be empowered and supported to retrofit their homes
- Share learning that supports rural retrofit activity beyond project area The partnership will share learning across the Highland region and beyond to support the acceleration of rural retrofit across the UK.
The Post
The Community Energy Officer will be a committed and enthusiastic individual who will manage their own time and priorities. As a member of the Highland Energy Community Partnership, the post-holder will:
- Positively and actively participate in the Delivery Group, ensuring an effective interface between Transition Black Isle and the Partnership, collaborating, sharing learning and providing support to other members as needed.
- Ensure an effective contribution to the overall outcomes and activities of the Partnership, including a Highland-wide programme of workshops, events and communications, and the establishment of a Highland-wide online energy efficiency community.
Main Project Responsibilities
The Community Energy Officer will lead these activities in the Black Isle, and collaborate with other partner organisations to implement measures in their own areas.
1. Represent and promote Highland Energy Community Partnership
- Represent and promote Highland Energy Community Partnership at forums, meetings, community events, advice surgeries and technology showcases and through traditional and social media
- Promote the Highland Energy Community Partnership by delivering presentations tailored to the audience and by running workshop/ training sessions
- Work with the Partnership co-ordination team to support local marketing campaigns and to promote events
- Organise events, meetings, advice surgeries and technology showcases.
2. Provide energy advice and support to households within the Black Isle
- Provide quality advice on energy efficiency, renewable energy and support to reduce fuel bills to householders
- Refer and signpost householders to appropriate support and funding options agreed through the Partnership, and support them through the process
- Provide support to householders undertaking retrofit measures including acting as a point of contact between the householder and any agreed installation measures
- Conduct home visits to assess the needs of householders and present options based on their needs
- Ensure all records completed in line with agreed partnership procedures.
3. Encourage and support vulnerable households to access support through the partnership
- Promote Highland Energy Community Partnership activities aimed at helping vulnerable householders
- Work with organisations engaged with vulnerable groups and generate referrals for further support
- Represent and promote Highland Energy Community Partnership at appropriate forums and events to support engagement with vulnerable households
- Undertake home visits to help vulnerable households save money and keep warm
- Provide handholding support to vulnerable households undertaking retrofit measures acting as a point of contact between the installer, scheme and householder
- Maintain records and activities relating to these households in accordance with partnership procedures.
4. Represent Community needs and priorities into the Partnership
- Represent the Black Isle’s needs and priorities into the wider partnership through representation in the Partnership’s working groups
- Design, adapt and deliver partnership initiatives and activities in the most appropriate way to reach households within the Black Isle.
- Provide feedback to the Partnership on the effectiveness of activities and projects within the Black Isle and make recommendations for improvements where appropriate
- Participate in monitoring and evaluation activities as outlined by the Partnership and National Lottery
Other general responsibilities in support of the project
In addition to working to improve energy efficiency in the Black Isle, the Community Energy Officer will also work collaboratively with other partners:
- Working to co-ordinate events such as climate conversations and cafes, film nights and discussions across the Partnership, but with particular ownership for events in the Black Isle
- Helping to build a vibrant online community to foster collaboration and exchange of information and ideas on energy use and retrofit activity, sharing networks and contributing to the creation and promotion of Highland-wide installer engagement and development activities
- Supporting and localising the partnership-wide communications strategy, using local channels to share top tips, inspiring stories of ordinary people making a difference and signposts to further
- information on issues such as home and community energy, retrofit measures, climate adaptation and low carbon heating.
Person specification


Additional information
The postholder will be required to undertake training and qualifications relating to energy efficiency in order to provide advice and support to householders. Full support will be given to support the post holder to
undertake these qualifications which are fully funded from the Partnership.
The post is funded by the Transition Black Isle portion of National Lottery Community Fund for the Highland Energy Community Partnership. Transition Black Isle will be your employer as one of the six delivery partners. Changeworks is the programme lead, reporting the National Lottery Community Fund on progress.
Transition Black Isle (Charity Registration No. SC042309) was formed in 2009 as part of the worldwide Transition movement. Transition Black Isle is about helping Black Isle communities thrive in the face of
Climate Change. We run community markets, we support local food and drink producers, we help people grow more food, we encourage non-car travel, support energy saving and promote reduction of single use plastics - and much more.
If you have any accessibility requirements relating to your application and interview process please contact us via info@transitionblackisle.org and we will ensure these are met during the application process.
Closing date for applications: 13th February 2025
First interviews will be held via Zoom on 19th February, during which candidates will be asked to give a 10 minute presentation. Second interviews will be held on 21st February.
To apply send CV and covering letter to info@transitionblackisle.org or by post to: Transition Black Isle, Stoneybank, Culbokie, Dingwall IV7 8JH.
Please state whether you are applying for the full-time role or a job share arrangement at the time of application. If you are applying for a job share, please state how many days a week you are interested in.
Download this document as a PDF file
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*28 May 2024
HECP funding bid submitted
Home Energy Scotland have submitted a funding bid to the National Lottery on behalf of the six member organisations of the Highland Energy Community partnership. The bid is for a 5-year project 'establishing a blueprint for more, and better quality, home energy improvements in the Scottish Highlands.'
Follow the links for more information
Partnership menbers and project objectives
Funding bid (27 page PDF)
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March 2024
Home energy in the Highlands - community consultation
TBI is one of six community groups currently in the process of setting up and obtaining funding for a Highland Energy Community Partnership, which it is intended will 'implement a step-change in energy advice and retrofit activity in the Scottish Highlands'.
In preparation for setting up the partnership the groups are conducting a simple survey to gather information from people throughout the Highlands about their current heating systems and energy use, and what they might be able to do to use less energy and reduce carbon emissions.
The survey will only take 5 or 6 minutes to complete, and consists of simple tick-box questions with the opportunity to add additional comments. Submissions are anonymous, and we encourage you to complete the survey as a step towards increasing the efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of heating in all Highland homes.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HEHighlands
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