About the job

Summary

Explore your future with Ofgem.

Who we are

As an independent National Regulatory Authority, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) plays a vital role in public life. We want to secure a greener and fairer energy system that will better serve consumers, and it is against this fascinating backdrop that you could get your policy career off to a great start.

The challenge we face

Over the last few months, rocketing prices in the gas market have led to a considerable increase in customers’ bills. This situation is putting pressure on British households and businesses, so it is imperative that we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and protect the population from similar crises. Join our Retail Directorate, and could play a key role in this nationally-important work.

What you’ll be doing

This is a thrilling opportunity to embark on a fulfilling career in policy development. Tasked with a wide variety of policy and regulatory-related tasks, you will tackle issues that impact on both consumers and retail energy suppliers. Working on one larger initiative or moving between a number of projects, you could work across: Financial Resilience and Controls, Retail Market Intelligence and Stability, Price Protection, Retail Systems and Processes, Retail Compliance, Retail Market Policy, Future Retail Market, and Retail Transformation and Delivery.

Regardless of which team you join, you will embark on an interesting learning curve as you work with a variety of Ofgem functions to tackle complex problems. Using qualitative and quantitative data to support the drafting of evidence-based policy documents, you will have the opportunity to develop skills in writing consultations, decision letters, impact assessments and more.

What you’ll bring to the role

To make the most of this opportunity, you will have experience of working on consultancy, government, policy, regulatory or energy sector projects. Comprehensive verbal and written communication skills are essential, and you will be comfortable working with senior colleagues. With a background in analysing problems and coming up with solutions, you will understand how to assess the potential trade-offs and risks of your proposed solutions.

What you can expect

It’s important that we are reflective of the consumers and communities that we serve, so we welcome candidates from all backgrounds, and especially those from underrepresented groups. While this is a full-time role, we will happily accommodate flexible working patterns and job shares, and we will provide you with a competitive benefits package.

Job description

The energy market situation in recent months is unprecedented. The record increase and volatility in global gas prices has put the energy market under severe strain, and is putting upward pressure on customers’ energy bills.

Now more than ever we need to go further and faster in pursuing the country’s climate goals and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to protect ourselves from similar future price shocks.

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.

You will be someone who:

- Thrives in an agile fast-paced environment with a proven background of delivering benefits for consumers, communities, or society in a role across: strategy development, policy development and regulation analysis, commercial analysis, compliance and risk management

- Champions our culture of inclusion and encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our colleagues, fuelling our innovation and ensuring we best represent the consumers and the communities we serve

Team Purpose and Role:

Successful candidates will initially be deployed in the Retail Directorate which leads on policy and regulatory issues covering retail energy suppliers and consumers. The Directorate comprises eight portfolios: Financial Resilience and Controls, Retail Market Intelligence and Stability, Price Protection, Retail Systems and Processes, Retail Compliance, Retail Market Policy, Future Retail Market, and Retail Transformation and Delivery.

You will have the opportunity to work flexibly across Retail Directorate portfolios and Ofgem on a range of projects or may have a longer deployment within a team where you have in-demand specialist skills, knowledge, and expertise.

We are looking for individual contributors from junior to senior levels as Policy Advisors, Senior Policy Advisors and Principal Policy Advisors.

Where individuals apply and do not meet the appointment criteria for a higher level, we may consider suitability at a lower grade and make an offer on that basis.

Responsibilities

Specific skills and responsibilities required will vary depending on the role and grade, however in general we expect to see:

Policy Development: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 ‘supporting 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.

• High quality, timely, and robust analysis of policy options leading to evidence based recommendations.

• Leading or supporting the drafting of clear and concise documents, including briefings, policy documents, consultations, decision letters, and impact assessments

• Supporting the project management of workstreams and stakeholder engagement, prioritising, scoping and delivering work

• Recommendations to decision makers on how specific cases/issues should be dealt with, with reference to relevant legislation and regulation as necessary

• Quantitative and qualitative analytical and commercial skills and/or the ability to analyse complex concepts and work with uncertainty to solve problems and make effective policy recommendations

Stakeholder Management:

• Effectively communicating the benefits, challenges and trade-offs from policy proposals to senior colleagues

• Working collaboratively across team boundaries and engaging with key Ofgem functions developing close links to manage risks and issues

• Representing Ofgem externally and building constructive stakeholder relationships to ensure challenges and issues are identified and resolved in consumers’ interests

We are hosting a Virtual Recruitment Open Event for our Retail opportunities on Wednesday 9th of February 2022. For further details and to register for free, please follow this link - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ofgem-open-evening-retail-recruitment-tickets-257791410047

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• Please refer to candidate pack for details.