Executive Support Officer

Incorporated in 2007, Community Energy Scotland’s charitable objects are community development, environmental protection and the prevention and relief of poverty. Community Energy Scotland has been at the forefront of community energy development since then, supporting communities to take control of and benefit from their local renewable energy resources and help lower carbon emissions.

The successful candidate will work directly with the CEO and Directors, managing day-to-day tasks, coordinating schedules, taking on the executive’s administrative tasks and providing secretariat to the Management Team. The main aim of the post is to reduce the administrative burden on the CEO and Directors, and there will be some trialling of tasks in the first few months to determine which are most effective in achieving the aim, and therefore some tasks may be prioritised while others may be dropped.

Daily Tasks

Your role will be to deliver the following tasks:
• Act as a trusted gatekeeper for the CEO and Technical Director, managing
communications and prioritising requests
• Provide comprehensive executive support to the CEO, including diary, inbox, day to day admin and meeting management, prioritising effectively
• Handle any correspondence on behalf of the CEO or directors, including confidential and sensitive information, with the utmost discretion, professionalism and integrity
• Anticipate executive needs and proactively resolve issues to maximise effectiveness and increase efficiency
• Undertake desktop research to identify local priorities and needs related to energy

Regular Tasks

• Coordinate and prepare for Management Team and other internal meetings, preparing agendas & briefings and taking minutes
• Track actions, deadlines, and deliverables for the Management Team and provide reminders to ensure follow through
• Attend meetings at request with the CEO and Technical Director, taking notes and actions for them
• Organise Board meetings, confirming the agenda with the Executive Team and Chair, ensuring quorum, creating the Board Meeting Pack using papers and updates from staff, and taking minutes.
• Taking minutes for the CES Trading Board Meetings.
• Provide support to governance processes, such as updating internal CES budgets
• Act as a key point of contact for the CEO, liaising with senior takeholders and external partners
• Draft and format correspondence, reports, presentations and briefing documents for the CEO and Technical Director
• Support with proof-reading key documents
• Provide administrative support to HR, including processing staff forms, monitoring EDI and drafting/updating documents
• Make travel arrangements, including flights, accommodation, and tineraries for CEO and Management Team
• Lead and co-ordinate two CES in-person Team Meetings a year
• Work as part of a team on the delivery of CES’ Quality Assurance Self-Assessment

Occasional Tasks

• Provide support in organising CES’ Annual General Meeting
• Ensure GDPR compliance within CES HR processes and filing system
• Provide administrative support for staff recruitment
• Support the Head of Finance with finance admin
• Support with research tasks, review documents, identifying, mapping and summarising information
• Support HR with updating and creating internal CES policies
• General administration for project when required

Other Tasks

• To keep all personal work records up to date such as annual leave requests, My Hours and Monday.com

• To play a full role in the evolution and operation of the team at Community Energy
Scotland, and support the success of Community Energy Scotland as a whole
• Ongoing requirement to ensure work activity is well communicated to the wider
Community Energy Scotland team
• Providing photographs and updates to the Communications Officer for use on social
media and the website.
• Maintain a safe working environment ensuring your own personal safety and the safety
of others.
• Act as an ambassador for Community Energy Scotland, promoting Community Energy
Scotland in a positive manner.
• Ensure relevant consistent branding across all CES and funder communications.

• Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time by the CEO

Essential Knowledge, Skills & Attributes

• A high level of self-motivation and strong commitment to Community Energy Scotland, its ethos and purpose
• A commitment to diversity and inclusion and achieving a Just Transition in Scotland.
• Excellent organisational and time‑management skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands
• Strong written communication skills, including drafting reports, briefings, and correspondence
• High‑quality IT and administration skills, including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and Teams, and data management
• Ability to analyse information, identify key issues, and present them clearly
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy
• Effective interpersonal skills, able to build positive working relationships at all levels
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to adapt
communication styles to different audiences including individuals, community groups, government agencies and private developers
• Effective partnership-building skills and practical and experience of partnership working
• Proactive and able to work on own initiative
• Calm and resilient under pressure
• Flexible and adaptable in a fast‑moving environment
• Demonstrates sound judgement, creative thinking and problem‑solving ability
• An ability to adapt quickly to new requirements and opportunities
• Ability to build, maintain and work effectively in high-performing teams
• Ability to prioritise work and meet deadlines

Essential Experience

• A minimum of three years of experience of working or volunteering in a related role, e.g. as a Personal Assistant, in the Third Sector and community development or in renewable energy.
• A degree in community development, renewable energy or other relevant qualification or equivalent commensurate experience.
• Experience of diary management, meeting coordination, and document preparation
• Experience of handling sensitive and confidential information appropriately
• Experience of monitoring & evaluation and reporting
• Good understanding of the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation and be able to apply these within the organisation
• Ability to use Microsoft Excel and databases for creating spreadsheets, formatting cells and organizing data
• Ability to use Microsoft Word for creating and formatting documents and reports

Desirable:

• Good understanding of inclusion and dignity in a charity setting both internal to Community Energy Scotland, and with our prospective clients/partners
• A full driving license
• Experience of seeking funding and applying for it.
• Ability to use Canva for creating and formatting documents and reports