Job title: Policy Manager

Job salary: £51,000 - £52,000 per annum

Job location: (hybrid working, minimum 2 days per week in the office)

Deadline: 1st May 2026

Purpose of the job

Sitting within the Corporate Affairs Directorate, reporting into the Senior Policy Manager, you will be instrumental in delivering Smart Energy GB’s policy programme in support of Smart Energy GB’s strategic aims.

The smart meter rollout is in a period of significant change in 2026, with the advent of the new smart metering framework and our expanded role on meter maintenance. The Policy Manager will be integral to supporting our understanding of and navigating the impact of upcoming policy and regulatory changes on Smart Energy GB, energy suppliers, government and other external stakeholders as the rollout continues towards completion in 2030.

Within Smart Energy GB, there are two primary elements to the policy function.

The first is to work with internal and external stakeholders to identify potential barriers to the installation of smart meters and any missed opportunities for their promotion. We want this role to support and socialise well-designed, evidence-based proposals for reform as well as creative ideas to further their promotion, from a policy perspective.

The second element is to understand the complex and ever-changing energy sector and the role of smart meters within that. These policy areas are expected to include (but not necessarily be limited to) those relating to the smart meter rollout, the flexibility of the electricity system, and the changing nature of consumer participation in energy and wider energy consumer policy, which, if shaped correctly, could further extend the benefits that can be gained from smart meters.

To support this, you will work with the Senior Policy Manager providing input across the organisation’s policy function, focussed on working with industry and government to support the smart meter rollout.

Key tasks and responsibilities

• Assist the Senior Policy Manager and broader Corporate Affairs team in delivering Smart Energy GB’s policy programme in support of Smart Energy GB’s strategic aims

• Be a subject matter expert on the energy sector, the role of smart meters within this and any implications of change across the sector for the rollout

• Work with internal and external stakeholders to identify and develop possible improvements for the smart meter rollout policy approach, and engage with stakeholders in this context

• Support thought leadership by creating new and compelling evidence to drive stakeholder engagement and promote smart meters, both as the foundation to a flexible energy system and as a tool to support consumer engagement in energy

• Ensure that Smart Energy GB applies high-quality methodologies to develop evidence-based policy views

• Communicate Smart Energy GB’s policy views with clear and compelling arguments and supporting evidence, and assist the wider team with the materials and arguments that they need to be advocates for Smart Energy GB’s policy aims

• Represent the Corporate Affairs Directorate on cross-directorate working groups, including for segmented audiences such as the private rented sector, microbusinesses and consumers in vulnerable circumstances

• Provide regular and timely policy updates across the organisation, compiling briefings on key consultations and decisions for dissemination to senior leadership

• Attend Smart Energy GB and third-party events for political and stakeholder audiences

• The role will involve a certain amount of travel within Great Britain and occasional evening and weekend working

Skills, experience and competencies

Essential

• Experience in monitoring and analysing complex policy environments at pace, interpreting relevant impacts on an organisation, and subsequently advising on the organisation’s approach

• Experience developing policy positions and related materials, in particular, those which are based on a strong and/or sophisticated evidence base

• Experience in communicating complex policy aims and broader thought leadership through clear and compelling materials and arguments

• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written); creativity and innovation when communicating technical topics to varied audiences

• Ability to act as an external ambassador for Smart Energy GB

Desirable

• Knowledge of the policy and regulatory landscape governing the smart metering rollout and/or the energy sector is desirable

• Appreciation of the objectives and activities of Smart Energy GB

• Appreciation for the diversity of the people and communities of Great Britain and embrace this diversity in your approach to work

Welcome to Smart Energy GB. It’s our task to engage everyone in England, Scotland and Wales with the national rollout of smart meters - and we are all thrilled to have this once-in-a-career chance to communicate with the whole of our diverse nation.

Every British home and microbusiness has the opportunity to upgrade to new gas and electricity smart meters, which will utterly transform the way we all buy and use energy and pave the way to a smarter, more energy efficient future. It’s one of the biggest technological and infrastructural investments of our time; the smart meter rollout has already converted approximately 70 per cent of British households. The goal for this voluntary technological upgrade is to engage every household in Great Britain, and so there is a continuing critical role for Smart Energy GB in the years ahead.

Our campaign is one of the most far-reaching of any campaign in the country. We are talking to consumers from all backgrounds, across the whole of Great Britain. Our legal duties mean that we have a particular need to make sure that consumers who are harder to reach or need greater support are not left behind (already an important part of our responsibilities and likely to be an increasing focus over the period leading beyond 2025).

It’s an important time to join one of the most talented and creative teams (c70 FTE) in the country to deliver marketing and communications campaigns. We have an exciting mission, and we pride ourselves on having a fully inclusive working environment.

We’re looking forward to meeting you and hope you’ll be as fired up about the challenge ahead as we are.

The Smart Energy GB team

Smart Energy GB is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity. We use data to measure the effectiveness of our attraction and selection methods to ensure that they are fair and equitable and that opportunities at Smart Energy GB are accessible to people from all backgrounds.

We actively encourage applications from currently under-represented groups. We have identified ethnic minority, lower socio-economic background, disability and gender as the key areas we would like to focus our recruitment efforts in.

What do we do at Smart Energy GB to promote diversity and inclusion?

Every person who applies for a role at Smart Energy GB is asked to complete a diversity questionnaire and they are asked whether or not they consent to their diversity data being taken into consideration at the shortlisting stage.

Disability Confident Scheme

We have the Disability Confident Leader status and we are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive and fair as possible for all applicants. Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to help us make the most of the talents of those with disabilities and/or health conditions in the workplace.

All disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements of the job as set out in the job description and person specification will be guaranteed an interview. If there’s anything we can do to make our interview process or working environment more inclusive and to meet your particular needs please let us know. Our offices have full wheelchair access.

We want every candidate to have a fair and comfortable experience during the application and interview process. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our People Team – we’ll do our best to support your needs. You can email us at [email protected]

We consider our commitment to the Disability Confident scheme in many aspects of our work life, including our offices. We moved to a new London office in September 2021, and having an accessible layout was a high priority in this search.

All In Champions

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels like they belong. That’s why we’re proud to be one of the first organisations awarded All In Champion status, as part of the Advertising Association, ISBA and IPA’s initiative. To achieve this, we provided evidence that we have adopted the first six actions from the All In Action Plan – improving the experience and representation of:

• Black talent

• Disabled talent

• Working-class talent

• Women

• Asian talent

• Older talent

You can read more about how to become an All In Champion and what it means here.

Rooney Rule

If consent is given, of the candidates who meet the selection criteria for the role and who are from ethnic minority or lower socio-economic backgrounds, we aim for at least one to be shortlisted for the next stage in the recruitment process, which is usually an interview.

Every member of our team goes above and beyond, helps one another out and contributes to the achievement of our ambitious goals. We think it’s only right for us to reward them accordingly:

• Competitive pension scheme

• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)

• Gym memberships

• Private medical insurance

• Annual health check

• Annual eye test

• Season ticket loan

• 5 annual volunteer days

• £1,000 (net) work anniversary gift

• Local discounts with Better Bankside Buzz Offers

• Option to buy additional annual leave

• Option to take out a personal loan

• Cycle to work scheme

• Free standard breakfast and healthy snacks provided in the office

• An in-house wellbeing programme, Thrive

Thrive

We take our role as an employer seriously and work hard to create a great place for people to work. But we also have an opportunity to support our employees outside work. In order to do so, we’ve rolled out Thrive; a programme to help our people live healthier, feel better and deal with life’s curveballs.

Through our employee assistance programme we’re all able to, anonymously and confidentially, access financial, medical and mental health advice if we would ever need it. We’ve even extended this offer to our employees’ immediate families. Throughout the year we also invite various experts, such as mental health and wellbeing coaches to help us live life a little smarter.

Alongside this, we also have the ‘Thrive Room’ in our London office, which is used as a private and comfortable space. It can be used for people to take time out, meditate, pray, or for new mums returning to work who may be breastfeeding and need to express milk.