Freelance Energy Consultant

Invitation to Tender – Freelance Energy Consultant 

Hodan is a registered charity providing advice, information and support to the Somali community and other racially minoritized (‘Black and Minority Ethnic’) communities in west London. We run a bilingual English/Somali advice service accredited with the Advice Quality Standard (AQS) that covers a wide range of issues, including welfare benefits, housing, social care, employment, and utility bills. We also offer employability and digital literacy training, non-regulated money guidance (e.g., support with household budgeting), and free ‘Wellbeing and Social Space’ sessions for women.  

We have recently been awarded a grant from the Energy Redress Scheme for a new project to support people who are in, or at risk of, fuel poverty. The aim is to help 150 households in west London to access advice on improving the energy efficiency of their homes and applying for relevant financial support. We will implement this project through four key strategies: 

·         Home visits to carry out a full energy efficiency audit 

·         In-depth energy advice appointments at our North Kensington office 

·         Light-touch advice on saving energy, e.g., through stalls at events 

·         Telephone conversations, including ‘virtual home visits’ via Zoom / WhatsApp 

We are recruiting a Freelance Energy Consultant to support us with the following aspects of initial project setup: 

1.      Creating a simple and accessible checklist for home energy audits, identifying specific outcomes to be achieved by both the assessor and the householder. This will form the basis for our project monitoring and reporting.  
 

2.      Developing texts for flyers and other educational materials to inform householders about different ways to save energy, with estimates of the expected monthly savings where possible.   

3.      Conducting a workshop to train the project team in conducting home energy audits. Project team members will have completed the City and Guilds Level 3 Energy Awareness Certificate by this point, so the workshop should bridge any gaps between formal training and practical competency.     

4.      Conducting a short workshop with service users to provide information on different energy-saving measures and raise awareness of the project activities. 

Our budget covers four days’ work at a per diem rate of £400. 

The postholder should be available for up to 2.5 days in December 2024 and 1.5 days in January 2025: the specific dates can be arranged at your convenience. 
 

Eligibility Criteria: 

Essential 

Desirable 

City and Guilds / NEA Level 3 Certificate (or equivalent) in Domestic Energy Assessment and/or Energy Awareness 

Level 4 Diploma or equivalent qualification in Energy Assessment, AEE Advanced Energy Manager qualification, or similar 

2+ years of experience in environmental consultancy, with at least one prior role focused on energy efficiency  

Experience of conducting and/or overseeing home energy audits 

Experience of conducting training sessions for other professionals 

Workshop facilitation specifically within the energy efficiency sector 

Ability to estimate the monthly cost savings associated with specific energy efficiency measures 

Experience of estimating the monthly cost savings associated with specific energy efficiency measures 

Active interest in supporting members of economically disadvantaged communities to reduce fuel poverty (or the risk of it) by improving home energy efficiency  

Experience of working with economically disadvantaged communities in a Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) or public sector role as a consultant, volunteer, or employee 

Awareness of racial disparities and commitment to anti-racist practice 

Experience of working to combat racial disparities and/or engaging in anti-racist practice 

Active interest in creating educational resources that are accessible to people whose first language is not English 

Experience of creating educational resources that are accessible to people whose first language is not English 

Ability to communicate effectively in spoken and written English  

Experience of communicating with people from diverse cultural backgrounds 

Please submit your tender application by 23:59 on Friday 29nd November 2024. Your application should be sent via 'Quick Apply; and should consist of: 

·          a recent CV 

·         contact details of two referees 

·         a one-page response to the eligibility criteria listed above (please ensure that you mention all the ‘Essential’ criteria, and as many ‘Desirable’ criteria as applicable) +

·         a one-page sample of your professional writing on a topic relevant to energy efficiency, e.g., an excerpt from a blog post, a completed report, or your website