Net Zero Business Support Officer

Full time
Fixed term until 31 March 2025

The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 07 April 2024.
Interviews are expected to take place on Tuesday 16 April 2024.

There is an expectation that work will be undertaken in the UK.

This role is not eligible for sponsorship. Applicants require to have existing right to work in the UK.

The University of Stirling recognises that a diverse workforce benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers and welcome applications from those who would contribute to further diversification of our staff and ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion is woven into the substance of the role. We strongly encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds including gender, identity, race, age, class, and ethnicity.

The Net Zero Business Support Officer will take a lead role in planning and delivering support programming for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) aligned to the work of Scotland’s International Environment Centre (SIEC). Working with the context of a project supported through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the role holder will work to maximise the impact of SIEC by designing and overseeing activities that support SMEs on their journey transitioning to Net Zero. They will coordinate an appropriate range of support structures and mechanisms, including planning of, and access to, services, advice, Net Zero resources, networking opportunities and more. They will contribute to the establishment of an innovation community with a shared focus on just transition. Reporting to the SIEC Manager, the role holder will work with members of the SIEC team, as well as colleagues from Innovation & Enterprise Services, the wider Research, Innovation & Business Engagement Directorate, other Professional Services as well as Academic Faculties.
This hybrid role will be based primarily in Stirling at the University of Stirling’ campus and will work on an agile basis, including working away from the office as required to engage effectively with clients, partners and stakeholders.

• Reporting to the SIEC Manager, working with the SIEC team and colleagues from the University’s Innovation & Enterprise Services team, oversee the successful operation of the Stirling Net ZeroBusiness Support project, a new initiative providing support for SMEs transitioning to Net Zero
• Manage SIEC student/graduate interns supporting the Stirling Net Zero support project (i.e. delivering appropriate Net Zero support and assisting with one-to-many events)
• Establish and manage external networks through which SME Net Zero support can be informed, accessed, and delivered, including with intermediaries
• Manage the development of appropriate marketing collateral and events to support Net Zero Business Support activities
• As an active team member, maintain, contribute to, and disseminate current expert knowledge to support SME journey to transition to Net Zero
• Lead engagement with relevant networks to identify and increase engagement with relevant opportunities
• Support SIEC’s participation in relevant networks. Liaise with internal and external stakeholders as required on a wide range of SME Net Zero issues
• Collaborate with the SIEC Business Engagement & Innovation Officers to maximise the opportunity with current and prospective clients
• Work closely with the wider Business Engagement & Development team ensuring that the one-to-one support opportunity is maximised
• Use the Business Engagement & Development team’s CRM system to track project progress, working closely with the relevant client account managers
• Undertake such other duties as may be required, commensurate with the grade and nature of the role

• Educated to degree level or equivalent, or employment experience across a range of roles with increasing levels of responsibility
• Extensive and practical experience in a directly relevant role, including experience of working successfully in SME Net Zero support
• Experience of working successfully within complex regulations / frameworks
• Knowledge of the current business landscape and of the wider policy context relevant to Net Zero, along with the capability to understand the impact on the ongoing operation and development of related opportunities
• Competence and experience to deliver high-quality SME Net Zero support, with a strong commitment to operational excellence, customer care and experience
• Ability to initiate processes and procedures to resolve new problems. Anticipates implementation difficulties and identifies practical ways of overcoming or preventing them
• Proven ability to provide advice and guidance relevant for SMEs on journey to transition to Net Zero
• Proven ability to summarise complex ideas or information, which may be highly detailed, technical or specialist
• Proven experience of effective delivery of projects and events to deadlines within complex and diverse workload
• Highly organised with the ability to work with strong attention to detail, accuracy, and within specified deadlines
• Ability to consider the wider impact of decisions, assess the likelihood of outcomes and use judgement to make decisions with limited or ambiguous data and considering multiple factors. Able to distinguish between the need to decide, when to defer and when not to take a decision
• Excellent skills in communicating effectively at all levels, both orally and in writing, with the ability to communicate using a wide range of styles appropriate to different individuals, groups, and situations
• Ability to work independently and with initiative, but to also operate successfully in team and wider collaborative contexts
• Ability to build proactively productive and enduring relationships between internal and/or external bodies to benefit SIEC
• IT skills, including proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Office 365

• Relevant post-graduate degree
• Professional training, ideally a formal qualification delivered by a professional body
• Experience line-managing student/graduate interns or trainees

The role holder will be required to evidence that they can meet the qualities associated with the following behavioural competencies, as detailed within the AUA Competency Framework.

The Directorate of Research, Innovation and Business Engagement works in partnership with Faculties, other Professional Services, and a wide range of external stakeholders to support and enhance the University’s research and innovation performance.

The University is committed to making a difference through our research, generating new ideas, insights and approached that address the complex challenges and issues that are faced by human society. Supporting and enabling achievement of the strategic objectives set by the University for delivering research with impact is our core mission.

The Directorate provides a full range of services in research and innovation strategy and policy; research funding and development; research governance and integrity; researcher development for staff and postgraduate researchers; contract and legal support; systems, data and analysis; research evaluation; innovation, commercialisation and knowledge exchange; enterprise, company creation and growth; and engagement with businesses and other research and innovation partner organisations. Responsibility for delivering the range of transformational projects within the University’s City Region and Growth Deal programme is embedded within the Directorate. We work closely with the Deputy Principal for Research, the Dean of the Institute for Advanced Studies, the Dean for Research Engagement and Performance, and academic leaders throughout the organisation.

The University of Stirling is currently implementing an agile working framework, a whole University approach, that is focused on a set of principles that facilitate a high-performance culture. Leaders and teams are empowered to co-create effective working practices that suit the business need and align to the agreed principles.

The University of Stirling is committed to providing education with a purpose and carrying out research which has a positive impact on communities across the globe – addressing real issues, providing solutions, and helping to shape society. Stirling is 4th in Scotland and 43rd in the UK for research impact, with 87% of its research having an outstanding or very considerable impact on society – and more than 80% rated either world leading or internationally excellent (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

The University of Stirling is ranked among the top 30 UK universities for student satisfaction (National Student Survey) and top 30 in the UK for postgraduate student experience (Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey), and has an overall five-star rating in the QS Stars University Ratings.

More than 17,000 students study with the University of Stirling globally, with over 140 nationalities represented on its scenic central Scotland campus alone. The University – also home to 1,700 staff – is ranked first in the UK and top three in the world for its campus environment (International Student Barometer 2022, wave two). Ranked first in the UK and top five in the world for its sports facilities (International Student Barometer 2022, wave two), Stirling is Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence. Its world-class facilities provide the perfect training environment for the University’s sports scholars – many of whom compete at the highest level, including at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games – and for students, staff, and the wider community.

The University has twice been recognised with a Queen's Anniversary Prize – the first for its Institute for Social Marketing and Health (2014) and the second for its Institute of Aquaculture (2019).

The University is a signatory to the £214 million Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal and a central partner of the Forth Valley University College Health Partnership.
www.stir.ac.uk @stiruni