• Title: Communications & Engagement Officer
• Reports to: COO / CEO or relevant Project Manager
• Remuneration: $80,000 – 90,000 (pro rata) plus 10.5% superannuation
• Tenure: 1.0 FTE, 12-24 months

At YEF, work feels different. Engage in ground-breaking projects with others who show up because of a shared passion to make a difference for a zero-carbon future.

Be part of a team that values diversity and empowers each individual's unique contributions, celebrating the richness of difference backgrounds and expertise.

Enjoy a hyper-flexible work arrangement, with access to a co-working space, in which we recognise our staff as whole people with needs to balance personal and professional worlds.

Join a team that supports your growth, fosters collaboration, and celebrates your success every step of the way.

Learn more here.

Organisational context

The Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with big ambitions for a zero-carbon future.

We enable individuals and communities to cut their energy emissions, and have established a leading position community energy storage, including launching Victoria’s first inner urban community battery.

YEF plays a unique and trusted role bringing together private and public partnerships to deliver better energy within our communities.

Through our expertise, channels, and partnerships we:

• Catalyse equitable, renewable, resilient energy ecosystems
• Engage local communities to be part of the solution
• Unlock innovation at scale, addressing complex climate challenges

Context

Climate change, emission reduction targets, and a rapidly transitioning electricity system has created a new and growing need for community energy solutions.

In response, we are developing new services for communities, governments, and businesses and promoting community batteries, solar, and electrifying everything.

YEF offers unique services that bridge institutions, local governments, and grassroots community organisations to coordinate and drive innovative solutions with partners.

About you

You are a passionate changemaker interested about decarbonising the energy system and have relevant study and/or work experience.

You are highly proficient in both communications and community engagement, understand the needs in multi-stakeholder projects, have experience conducting outreach and engagement activities, have excellent attention to detail, have demonstrated success in managing stakeholder relationships, and executing communications, marketing and/or engagement plans.

You show a strong willingness to immerse yourself in new knowledge areas, including some areas of technical knowledge, and have well established listening skills which allow you to constructively contribute to team decisions. You preferably have some experience working or volunteering in not-for-profit, non-governmental, sustainability, and/or local government sectors.

You work well in a small and close-knit team that operates in a flexible co-working culture. You can work effectively with a high level of autonomy and agency in your role, contributing to and benefiting from a passionate and supportive team environment.

Objectives of this role

1. Lead and deliver community and stakeholder engagement processes
2. Write and design communications and engagement collateral (digital and physical)
3. Establish strong and trusting relationships with clients and community stakeholders

Tasks and responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of this role:

• Working with internal staff and external project delivery teams to implement communications and stakeholder engagement plans
• Planning and delivering community and stakeholder engagement activities such as information sessions, webinars, in-person events, FAQs, website content etc
• Writing and designing communications/marketing/engagement materials, such as letters, webpages, surveys etc
• Deploying engagement strategies and processes for creating social license and community support for community energy projects
• Building rapport and strong stakeholder relationships with clients and community to support the delivery of communications and stakeholder engagement projects
• Continually seeking to improve engagement strategies, processes, and resources

Organisational relationships

Internal

YEF management and employees.

External

Local councils, community groups, businesses, industry stakeholders, public, partner organisations, service providers and contractors, media, state and/or federal government agencies.

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification and/or experience in related field

Key Selection Criteria

• A clear passion for making a positive impact in renewable energy and sustainability areas, demonstrated by prior or current engagements
• A relevant degree and/or demonstrated industry experience or qualifications
• Experience in communications, community engagement, and/or delivering stakeholder engagement activities, including events and meetings
• Excellent communication skills including oral, written, empathetic, and listening skills
• Can work autonomously within the responsibilities and delegated authority of the position

Highly Desirable

• Experience working with government and community stakeholders
• Experience working in not-for-profit or non-governmental sectors
• Experience in community energy projects

How to apply

Email both a copy of your CV and a response to the Assessment Task to Tim Shue.

Assessment Task

Purpose

A fictitious task for the job applicant to complete and submit to YEF as part of their application / expression of interest for the role Communications & Engagement Officer.

Scenario

YEF is working with a local government and a community group to install a neighbourhood battery. The project is funded by the Federal Government.

The local community group is extremely supportive of the project and has been advocating for the solution for the past 6 months. The local government is the grant recipient and will be the owner of the battery. The battery would be located on council-owned land in a quiet residential area.

However, there are known to be members in the local community who strongly oppose ‘climate action’ and could be categorised as ‘climate deniers’. Within the council, the project has approval from executive but there are also senior managers who have expressed resistance or scepticism about the project.

YEF’s responsibility is to generate the social license for the project to proceed, and ideally be completed with widespread community support.

Task

Explain your approach to design a process for communicating and engaging with the local community and internal stakeholders within the council to enable the project to be completed on time.

Suggestions

• You could do a stakeholder graph/map
• Do a SWOT assessment / risk matrix
• Articulate specific strategies for communications and engagement
• Outline the principles or standards of engagement that should be followed

Do not worry about

• Your technical understanding of batteries – you can make reasonable assumptions or make up statistics to get your point across
• Spending more than 30 minutes on this task – we’re looking to glean high-level aspects of how you problem-solve, plan, analyse and create
• Length – your response can simply be a series of dot points, but feel free to use graphics/images as you see fit. Suggest keeping your response to 1-2 pages maximum

Please submit your response with a copy of your CV via the Apply Now link below.

A position description is attached.