About the job

Job summary

As Great Britain's regulator for the energy industry, Ofgem exists to ensure a safe, secure and sustainable energy supply to British households.

The energy sector is in a significant transformation, marked by high gas prices, the need for consumer protection, and the imperative of achieving net zero. Ofgem's SERN Directorate is central to this change, driving decarbonisation while safeguarding energy consumers. We seek a high-calibre Strategy Advisor to join us, contributing to strategic projects and guiding decarbonisation efforts with insightful analysis.

In this role, you will work collaboratively with Ofgem's teams, government departments, and external stakeholders to ensure Ofgem's work is informed and impactful. Are you creative, persuasive, proactive, and focused, and want to play a pivotal role in delivering the UK's journey to net zero?

Expertise in designing strategic projects, developing evidence-based strategies, and swiftly turning strategy into action is desired. We tackle various topics, applying a strategic approach to complex problems. We offer a Flexible Resourcing model, supporting cross-functional projects and longer-term team deployments.

You will support strategic projects and key workstreams, ensuring Ofgem remains at the forefront of change. Collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders, you will develop shared understandings and effective solutions for the energy transition.

Your role includes conducting high-quality analysis, providing valuable insights into the evolving energy landscape and confidently communicating recommendations to senior staff and even the Chief Executive, directly impacting Ofgem's direction. Your influence extends to a broader audience, leading the creation of papers for senior stakeholders and staying informed about relevant developments in the energy sector.

You will contribute to internal and external documents, supporting decarbonisation projects and encouraging constructive challenges to thinking within Ofgem and the energy industry. Through collaboration you will align individual policy teams with Ofgem's strategy. Externally, you will engage with government departments, including DESNZ, and key organisations like the Climate Change Committee. Building these relationships is essential for gathering evidence and communicating Ofgem's strategic initiatives.

Ofgem has a culture of inclusion that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our colleagues, ensuring we can represent the consumers and the communities we serve. We want to bring different perspectives and experiences to our work, so everyone is welcome - as an inclusive workplace, our employees are comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work.

Job description

Purpose

The energy sector is going through an unprecedented period of change and transformation. In the near-term, with high and volatile gas prices, Ofgem must ensure that energy consumers are protected, and our energy system is reliable and resilient. Simultaneously, Ofgem must support the transformation to a net zero and data-enabled future.

Ofgem’s Strategy and Economics Research and Net Zero (SERN) Directorate sits at the heart of Ofgem’s change and transformation, delivering decarbonisation while protecting the interests of energy consumers, and transforming Ofgem into an even more strategic, dynamic and impactful organisation. The Net Zero Strategy team delivers advice that will change the UK’s decarbonisation trajectory. We work collaboratively with Ofgem’s leadership and regulatory and functional teams, with government departments and a wide range of external stakeholders, to ensure Ofgem’s work is informed by the best ideas and evidence, and to maximise the impact of that work.

We are seeking for a high-calibre colleague to join the Directorate as Strategy Advisor, , with responsibility for developing and running priority strategic projects, informing Ofgem’s direction on decarbonisation issues, across electricity and gas, with insightful analysis, and contributing to the briefing of senior colleagues on net zero matters.

Attitude and aptitude are just as important to us as a relevant technical background. Are you creative, persuasive, proactive and focused? Would you like to play a crucial part in shaping and delivering the UK’s journey to net zero?

The successful candidate will have proven expertise in designing and shaping strategic projects or workstreams, including developing compelling, evidence-based strategies and working collaboratively and at pace to turn strategy into action. They will be proactive, skilled critical thinkers and strong communicators. All team members are involved in abroad range of topics with an understanding of the need to bring a strategic and analytical approach to the work at hand to distil complex problems into impactful projects.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

• Support the running and delivery of strategy projects or key workstreams that support Ofgem’s Strategic Change Programmes
• Engage with colleagues across Ofgem, as well as external stakeholders, to develop shared understanding of problems and collaborate on effective solutions.
• Conduct high-quality, well-structured written work and analysis.
• Communicate written and verbal recommendations with confidence and crediblity, including to senior staff and the Chief Executive.
• Lead and write papers for senior internal audiences, and external publications.
• Closely follow developments in the energy sector relevant to the specific projects and net zero transition.

 

Key Outputs and Deliverables

• Contribute to both internal and external documents, which brief senior colleagues or set out Ofgem positions.
• Conduct high-quality, well-structured analysis and present insights, as required, to support decarbonisation projects.
• Proactively and constructively challenge thinking within the Directorate and beyond, encouraging the organisation (and industry) to be more efficient, more effective and more ambitious.
• Engage with colleagues in SERN and policy teams, as well as external stakeholders, to develop a shared understanding of priority problem and possible solutions.

Essential Criteria

• Communications: Strong ability to communicate effectively to a range of internal and external audiences, both in writing and in presentations, and to convey complex issues clearly and concisely. (LEAD)
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment and proactively delivering multiple, concurrent priorities and projects (LEAD)
• Analysis and evidence: Strong ability to analyse evidence, identify issues, synthesise diverse sources and intelligence and develop options and recommendations on a wide range of issues.
• Stakeholder engagement: a track record of building collaborative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, engaging influencing skills to deliver through others

Desirable Criteria

• Energy Expertise: Knowledge of the energy sector and an understanding of the energy, electricity and gas transformation needed to get to net zero.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,498, OFGEM contributes £8,774 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.