We are seeking a compassionate, engaging and dedicated Energy Advisor to join our Energise Manchester project, to provide tailored support to households from underrepresented communities vulnerable to the energy crisis.
Summary
- Time: 0.8 – 1 FTE (flexible)
- Salary: Officer: £26,800 – £29,480 (salary range, dependent upon experience and hours worked)
- Location: Manchester, UK
- Holiday: 30 days flexible (pro rata) including bank holidays + Christmas Shutdown
- Contract: Fixed term Contract until Feb 2028, with potential to extend
- Deadline for application: Friday 11 September
- Interviews of shortlisted candidates: w/c Monday 21 September
- Starting: As soon as possible after offer and acceptance of employment
Apply now
Send your CV plus a single cover letter to info@carbon.coop
We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.
Applications will be reviewed until the 11th of September.
Please draw from professional, volunteer and outside of work experience to set out how you meet the job description.
Put ‘Energy Advisor role’ in the email subject. For questions or queries please contact Aneaka Kellay at aneaka@carbon.coop or call 0161 820 1273.
Download here this Job Application as a PDF document.
Download here the Job Applicant Privacy Notice.
About us
Carbon Co-op is a Community Benefit Society established in 2011. We are an energy services and advocacy co-operative that helps people and communities to make the radical reductions in home carbon emissions necessary to avoid runaway climate change. You can learn more about our work on our website www.carbon.coop.
Project aim
This vacancy is specifically linked to our current Energise Manchester project, which provides community-based energy advice to support underserved and underrepresented households in Moss Side, Rusholme, Longsight and Levenshulme to overcome energy crisis issues.
The project is focused on delivering foundational energy advice. For example, workshop topics focus on DIY draught proofing, tackling damp and mould and heating controls. One-to-one support is primarily about helping households navigate the energy system. Whilst making home upgrades may be touched on at times (e.g. through a referral to a partner organisation for repair or upgrades), retrofit assessments and technical advice on the suitability of different retrofit solutions is outside of the scope for this role.
Job Overview
We are seeking a compassionate, engaging and dedicated Energy Advisor to provide tailored support to households from underrepresented communities vulnerable to the energy crisis. You will provide handholding support to help people navigate issues such as damp & mould, staying warm in winter, understanding energy bills and referring on for further support. You will also support the engagement team in delivering street stalls and community workshops on energy issues.
The successful candidate will work on a one-to-one basis, in person at local community hubs; and via phone calls, offering practical guidance, advocacy, and support to improve resilience and ensure fair access to energy support offers.
We believe this role could be suitable for people from a wide range of backgrounds, so we are not listing any minimum levels of qualifications or years of experience. The skills and competencies we are after can be developed in a range of settings, not solely from formal education.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide a nonjudgmental, friendly and positive energy advice service for people at risk of cold & damp homes, unaffordable bills and energy debt.
- Deliver an inclusive service to a diverse client base, adapting communication and approach to effectively engage with different perspectives, personalities, behaviours, and cultures.
- Support people to understand their bills and access support.
- Work both in one-to-one, in-person settings at community hubs local to the wards we are working in; and over the phone.
- Work with people so they can understand how to empower themselves to solve the same energy-related problem on their own if it arises in the future. This may include explaining a bill fully or demonstrating heating controls, explaining how a hygrometer works or simple draughtproofing measures.
- Design and deliver appointments/drop-in sessions to enable people to access one-to-one support.
- Signpost and refer people to further support, and check-in to help unlock any arising barriers to accessing support.
- Promote the project’s full energy advice service by working with the Engagement Officer to deliver regular engagement opportunities, such as street stalls and energy workshops with community groups.
- Keep up to date with the local and national support available.
- Produce factsheets and promotional material where necessary.
- Undertake appropriate training where necessary, with the support of the organisation and the Engagement Lead.
- Accurately complete all necessary project administration, including data input, referrals, and paperwork, to a high standard.
- Effectively manage and organise your own time and diary.
- Support with data collection, monitoring and evaluation, to help understand the changes made to households/people/clients through advice and support given and seek feedback about how we can better meet their needs.
- Manage the expectations of the people you meet, be open and honest about the limits of your knowledge, and be proactive in identifying and pursuing opportunities to enhance your own learning.
Required Skills and Experience
- Experience in working with the public in a people-facing frontline role
- Experience of working with people experiencing vulnerability. Experience to be inclusive of high levels of empathy, patience, and the ability to build trust, to empower individuals to regain control of their lives.
- Excellent communication, active listening, verbal and written skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively with members of the public, without judgment and while being aware of any cultural sensitivities.
- Ability to explain complex information in a clear, empathetic, and accessible manner.
- Aptitude to work with individuals, community organisations, referral partners and energy company customer services to secure objectives.
- Strong organisational skills.
- Confidence in working independently and in self managing own workload, alongside regular check ins and support by the wider project team.
- Ability to meet agreed targets and deadlines.
- Problem-solving skills and the ability to advocate effectively for clients.
- Ability to use IT tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, and team communication platforms such as Slack.
- Robust adherence of confidentiality, privacy and Data Protection.
- Experience or openness to working flexibility with remote/hybrid teams.
- Willingness to undertake evening and weekend work when required.
- Willingness to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
- Contribute to defining and then following a clear set of standards and expectations in relation to engaging with the public
Desirable Skills, Experience and Qualification
- Appropriate/relevant professional qualifications
- Level 3 City and Guilds qualification in Energy Awareness.
- Experience in advice work, casework, or customer support (e.g., energy, debt advice, housing, or welfare support).
- Experience supporting individuals in crisis or financial hardship.
- Experience of using trauma-informed approaches.
- Strong understanding of the challenges faced by underrepresented groups.
- Knowledge of fuel poverty, energy billing systems, and debt management processes.
- IT proficiency for case management systems and reporting.
- Experience working in the energy, charity, or community sector.
- Knowledge of UK energy support schemes and consumer rights frameworks.
- Training in safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion.
- Ability to speak community languages, including Urdu, Arabic, Somali, or Bengali (with Sylheti).
- Familiarity with community organisations in Manchester wards: Moss Side, Rusholme, Levenshulme & Longsight.
Key Competencies & Aptitudes
- Experience working in the energy, charity, or community sector.
- Knowledge of UK energy support schemes and consumer rights frameworks.
- Training in safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion.
- Ability to speak community languages, including Urdu, Arabic, Somali, or Bengali (with Sylheti).
- Familiarity with community organisations in Manchester wards: Moss Side, Rusholme, Levenshulme & Longsight.
Benefits
- Working in a multi disciplinary and supportive team, passionate about facilitating a just energy transition
- Competitive salary
- Ongoing training and professional development
- Flexible or hybrid working options
- Employee wellbeing support
- Group life cover
- Pension scheme
- Office based in Manchester social change centre, a sustainable and characterful mill in Ancoats; with access to a staff kitchen with hot and cold drinks
- Cycle to work scheme
- Sustainable Travel Leave (see more here)
- 30 days of holiday applied on a pro rata basis(6 weeks), (inclusive of bank holidays), with an additional Christmas to New Year’s week as shutdown period.
- Enhanced sickness and family leave
Other information
- Please read this job description alongside our Applicant Privacy Notice linked at the top of this same page.
- Please note that we don’t currently hold a sponsor license.
- Please submit your CV with a covering letter to info@carbon.coop by Friday the 11th of September 2026.
- If you are shortlisted we will ask you to prepare a short presentation/activity as part of the interview.
- Interviews will be held during the week of the 21st of September.
- Ideally, we’d like you to be available to start working with us 1st of October or as soon as possible.
- Please let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments to help you make an application or to navigate the interview process.
- AI Statement:
- At Carbon Co-op we do not use AI software for recruitment related decision-making.
- We understand that some applicants may wish to use AI software to support the writing of their application. We do however encourage all applicants to use their own voice as we value this above any AI support. If you do use AI software in your application, we kindly ask that you include an “AI Transparency Statement” when you submit your application response to us.