Policy Advisor

at  Ofgem

JOB SUMMARY

Shape the policy that delivers a greener, fairer energy system for the UK.
Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. Ofgem’s purpose is to protect energy consumers, especially vulnerable people, by ensuring they are treated fairly and benefit from a cleaner, greener environment.
We work for consumers and with many industry partners. Energy fuels our society and our economy - that’s why our policy work is so important, and so rewarding. It protects consumers. It enables businesses. It influences the entire energy industry. And it helps to bring about the seismic societal and infrastructure changes that will be the foundations for a Net Zero future.
In these roles, you will take on a varied and challenging workload, including problem analysis, stakeholder engagement, build valuable relationships and understanding of the expertise and evidence to draft policy proposals, briefings, consultations, and other key documents to support effective decision making to ensure the maximum benefit for consumers. There will be a range of quantitative analytical tasks, such as basic data analysis and spreadsheet manipulation.
This role is initially in our team responsible for electricity security of supply and market management, policy areas include wholesale electricity markets, capacity market policy and electricity security of supply.
We operate a Flexible Resourcing model where you’ll have the opportunity to work across Ofgem supporting on a range of projects or may have a longer deployment within a team where you have and build specialist skills, knowledge, and expertise. We’ll support you to learn and develop the Policy & Strategy skills and knowledge you need to build your career.
To join us, you will need to have knowledge or previous experience of wholesale electricity markets, electricity security of supply or capacity market policy. You’ll also need excellent written and verbal communication skills along with strong analytical and problem-solving skills. You will also have demonstrable interest or experience in public policy/energy/net zero and bring experience in collaboration and engaging with multiple stakeholders and project management skills.
The ongoing professional development, training and support of all our dedicated colleagues is at the core of our way of working. You can also expect an excellent benefits package, a great working environment sounded by professional expertise to learn from and with, hybrid working, and a shared sense of purpose.
We welcome candidates from all backgrounds, and especially welcome individuals from underrepresented groups.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Energy policy is something that touches on every aspect of our lives – at home, at work and at play. Energy fuels our society and our economy. That’s why our policy work is so important, and so rewarding. It protects consumers. It enables businesses. It influences the entire energy industry. And it helps to bring about the seismic societal and infrastructure changes that will be the foundations for a Net Zero future.
Rising prices and security of supply are challenging all parts of the energy sector to consider how we can collectively ensure that this crucial foundation for our society remains accessible to all. And as well as the complexity of the here and now, we continue to look to the future – ensuring that energy policies support a shift away from fossil fuels and that new, renewable energy sources are identified and developed into viable alternatives. And we are challenging the wholesale energy market to do more to ensure more efficient pricing and a better deal for consumers.
Such challenging times require bold action. We are looking for people to meet the challenges we face head-on, and help us deliver a greener, fairer energy system.
Our policy practice is founded on three pillars: Strategy - ensuring that sound evidence and analysis informs our approach; Democracy - giving confidence that robust governance and accountability supports effective decision-making; and Delivery – effective implementation and delivery systems that see policy impact on practice.
The purpose of this specific role is to produce robust analysis to make evidence-based recommendations on technical policy areas to decision makers.
Successful candidates will initially be deployed in our team responsible for electricity security of supply and market management. Key policy areas include wholesale electricity markets, capacity market policy and electricity security of supply

TECHNICAL SKILLS

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Please refer to the Candidate Pack and Role Profile attached for full details.

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.
Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; 30 days annual leave after 2 years; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; Hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but is in review), flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.
Things you need to know

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)

ROLE SPECIFIC KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Policy assessment, such as considering the costs, benefits, risks, and trade-offs of policy proposals, and providing evidence-based policy recommendations. For example, delivering electricity code modification decisions, delivering decisions on Capacity Market rule changes, delivering our decisions on the Capacity Market Tier-2 disputes.
• A range of quantitative analytical tasks, such as basic data analysis and spreadsheet manipulation. For example, supporting our analysis of wholesale electricity markets to assess liquidity and scrutinise market behaviour.