Senior Manager - Living Lab & WESA (Fixed Term - 6 Months) - #1780685

Context

At the Energy Systems Catapult, we devise innovative solutions to some of the toughest challenges facing our energy sector. We look for growth opportunities created by the transition of the energy system: one of the greatest market opportunities in the coming decades, as well as one of the most urgent issues for society. We pursue our mission at the Energy Systems Catapult by accelerating technology-based solutions and working with Government to address the market mechanisms and business models required to enable these solutions.

Decarbonising UK homes is one of the hardest challenges on the way to Net Zero.

Energy Systems Catapult created the Living Lab to offer a quick, safe and affordable, real-world test environment to de-risk and scale innovations by running trials directly with consumers in their homes. Expanding the capabilities of Living Lab through our collaboration with PNDC is the Whole Energy Systems Accelerator allows us to research, test and accelerate multi-vector energy systems to enable the better understanding of the interactions between consumers in their homes and future smart energy distribution system.

We have an opportunity to join the Homes team in an interim role whilst our permanent Senior Manager Living Lab WESA has much reduced capacity. Driving forward our planned activities in this area, and maintaining continuity.

Key work activities

You will be responsible for driving the strategy, development, and utilisation of the Catapult’s Living Lab/WESA facility.

Working collaboratively with colleagues across the Catapult, including Commercial, engineering (Systems Development, Dynamic Energy System Simulation), Consumer Insight, Living Lab Operations, Marketing, and other teams as appropriate, the key work activities are:

Senior Advisor for Living Lab and WESA trials

• Capturing the necessary level of detail, requirements & information to identify high level solution option/s for our clients, spanning consumer research, in-home technologies, and whole systems trial capabilities.

• Drive the necessary discussions & dialogue with the client, relevant project partners and colleagues to ensure those high-level options are explored and that realistic, timely and impactful solutions/s are selected for actual development and delivery. Secure ongoing commercially viable work with our established clients, whilst exploring, engaging, and securing additional work with other organisations that can benefit from the Catapult’s expertise and know how.

• Identify and secure new funding/commercial opportunities, this will often require you to use your consultative capabilities to bring relevant parties together. Provide the direction/support necessary for bid and commercial managers to write proposals, and review bid documentation.

• Working collaboratively with our established clients to explore & understand their needs, challenges and opportunities.

Delivering impact, managing projects and delivering work to clients

• Lead or support successful development and delivery of multiple externally funded projects at one time, managing relationships with any third parties. This will involve ensuring successful scoping, contract negotiation, understanding of customer needs and requirements, effective resource and budget management, client satisfaction and quality assurance

• Develop or contribute towards wider strategies for future work and follow-on impacts, including consistently considering opportunities for innovation, and managing key stakeholder relationships during project delivery

• The Senior Advisor will manage and direct teams to ensure that projects are managed correctly, support team members to thrive and coach them to further develop and work closely with wider team to maintain resource plans for opportunity pipelines

• Support quality assurance of outputs and insights being reported/presented to stakeholders

• Apply a clear commercial awareness across activities, including directing engagements with clients, to ensure impact is maximised within available resources; and opportunities for follow-on work are identified.

Continuing the development of Living Lab & WESA

• Maintain and refine the product vision and strategy: capture intel on market opportunities, target customers, key proposition, and industry trends. Based on these and our customer, participant, and internal development needs propose refinements to the product vision, strategy, and outcomes/objectives for the Living Lab and WESA.
• Develop and prioritise the roadmap: Drawing on insights into customer, participant, and internal development and commercial needs, develop actionable proposals for new features/innovation priorities and maintain the product roadmap, ensuring ongoing prioritisation of development work for the Living Lab & WESA. Ensure the roadmap is reviewed at least quarterly and synced with individual team backlogs (e.g. Systems Development (general software engineering and hardware deployment), Dynamic Energy System Simulation (WESA feedback loop engineering), Delivery and Operations, Consumer Insight).
• Develop the business plan for the Living Lab: In conjunction with the Homes Programme Manager, develop the annual business plan for the Living Lab, identifying priority activities for the next year’s budget request. This will involve drafting initial plans and iterating with the Business Lead.
• Direct product development: In conjunction with the project manager, direct the end-to-end product development process, from concept to launch. Collaborate with engineering and other teams to ensure that product requirements are clearly defined, and provide appropriate support to ensure timely and high-quality product delivery.
• Allocate budget to development priorities: Responsible for the regular prioritisation of the Living Lab development and operational budgets to ensure these align with the latest roadmap priorities. Note – overall accountability still lies with the Business Lead, and you will work with the Homes Programme Manager for analysis and execution.
• Track performance: Track existing KPIs and objectives to measure the success and impact of the Living Lab/WESA against the defined outcomes. Monitor and analyse performance, gather customer feedback, and make data-informed decisions to enhance Lab development and customer/participant satisfaction.
• Support development of the go-to-market strategy: Support Marketing and Commercial teams to develop go-to-market plans, including pricing, positioning, and marketing strategies.

What credentials are we ideally looking for?

• Proven ability to manage relationships between organisations with different priorities and find ways forward that all parties are content with
• A thorough understanding of consumer trial delivery, blending a knowledge of data analytics with consumer research.
• Understanding of UK home low carbon technologies, including heating, EV charging, home generation and storage, smart metering and energy management.
• Experience working with internet of things/connected home technologies for sensing and control applications, and an understanding of the opportunities and technical constraints of working with these technologies, including interoperability challenges.
• Understanding of consumer user experience design/research approaches.
• Understanding of the UK energy system, and whole systems decarbonisation challenges, such as the need for flexibility, the implications for energy networks, markets, and policy makers, and current challenges in home decarbonisation and home energy management.
• An understanding of consumer needs and perspectives in relation to low carbon energy, such as ensuring fair futures for all, and making complex energy technologies understandable and compelling to consumers.
• Ability to understand complex technologies and systems (e.g. WESA, Living Lab platform, home energy management systems). While this is not a technical expert role, you will need to work with engineering teams to identify the need for and specify Living Lab development work, and with a technical solution architect to specify complex trial arrangements using the WESA feedback loop. You will need to be capable of understanding the workings, capabilities, and limitations of the technology, and to bring this perspective into prioritisation.
• Be comfortable with managing the uncertainty inherent in advanced innovation projects.
• Be comfortable with the hands-on work and flexibility required in a small team
• Strong presentation, communication and writing skills
• Ability to excel in a rapidly growing, fast-paced organisational environment
• Willing and able to travel around the UK as required
• Degree level in a relevant discipline.

Desirable

• An understanding of the commercial, funding and technical factors within consumer energy trials
• Experience of working with public sector partners and an appreciation of how these organisations work, their motivation and constraints