Bristol City Council (BCC) is a vibrant local authority responsible for providing services to over 459,000 people in Bristol. It delivers a diverse range of services to support people who live and work and visit Bristol, and aims to build a better Bristol that includes everyone in the city’s success.

The City Leap Energy Partnership is aimed at delivering low carbon energy infrastructure, such as solar PV, heat networks, heat pumps and energy efficiency measures at scale, all which will help Bristol meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. The partners will invest in the council’s estate to deliver low-carbon energy infrastructure and support others, such as residents, community energy groups and businesses, to deliver local carbon projects.

Private sector partners will contribute capital funding, capacity and expertise to support the delivery of low carbon energy infrastructure projects, resulting in around 140,000 tonnes of carbon emission reductions across the city in the first five years of operation, and the delivery of at least £1bn of investment in infrastructure over its 20-year lifetime.

BCC has recently selected Ameresco Limited as its strategic partner to form the City Leap Energy Partnership joint venture. Ameresco, a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner and operator, will work in collaboration with Vattenfall Heat UK, Sweden’s nationally-owned energy company, who specialise in low and zero-carbon heat networks.

BCC seeks an experienced Non-Executive Director to represent its interests on the Board of Directors of the Joint Venture company, and work with the Board and Executive to ensure the delivery of City Leap’s objectives over the coming years. This role is a unique opportunity to propel an innovative, novel approach to decarbonisation at city scale.

The successful candidate will agree and then support the continuous development of the partnership’s strategy and activities so that its delivery remains consistent with its agreed mission, mandate and expectations of the Council as shareholder. As a Council appointee to the Board, they will engage regularly with senior politicians and officers to facilitate an effective relationship and understanding between the Board and the Council as shareholder.

It is important that the successful candidate acts in a way that takes collective responsibility for the company and provides challenge to the Executive. It is expected that they will impartially monitor the commercial and social performance of the company and its executives against board-agreed business objectives and contractual obligations. They will hold the Executive to account for their performance with a particular focus on whether or not the company is achieving its strategic objectives.

The strategic objectives of City Leap are as follows:

• Establishment of a long-term, flexible City Leap Energy Partnership to strategically develop, co-ordinate, deliver and facilitate a programme of work which supports the creation of a smart, low-carbon, resilient energy system for Bristol on its pathway to carbon neutrality.
• Optimise Bristol City Council’s assets and services, and supply and attract additional investment, generating revenue to deliver a sustainable business model for the City Leap Energy Partnership.
• Deliver the future smart low carbon energy system for Bristol and support innovation more broadly.
• Ensure that the residents, communities, and businesses of Bristol are fully engaged by the City Leap Energy Partnership and are able to influence and participate in the programme of work.
• Maximise the economic, social, and environmental benefits arising from the programme of work carried out by the City Leap Energy Partnership, including job creation and the alleviation of fuel poverty in Bristol.
• Further enhance Bristol’s reputation as a leading energy city through monitoring, evaluating, and disseminating the lessons learned from City Leap and working towards replicating City Leap across the UK and beyond.
  

They will ensure that there is effective and robust governance in relation to:

• Financial performance monitoring and reporting.
• Risk monitoring and mitigation – covering finance and regulatory risk.
• Corporate governance, including in the context of the Council as shareholder, and the strategic partner as shareholder.
• Policies including scheme of delegation, senior salaries and risk management.

They will also oversee company performance against Key Performance Indicators and manage any reputational risk that may emerge.

The successful candidate will bring prior experience with a public-private partnership. They will ideally have relevant and recent experience in the low carbon energy sector, including experience of oversight of a portfolio of major projects. Significant experience of working in this sector is beneficial for this appointment as would an understanding of where the sector is heading, in terms of policy, infrastructure investment, and grant funding opportunities. Ideally, the successful candidate will be well known and respected for their work.

It is expected that the successful candidate will bring senior, strategic board-level experience and demonstrate their ability to operate effectively within a board environment. They will have a well-developed appreciation of the value of effective governance, risk management and financial control. In addition to significant commercial insight, they will also have the abilities to ensure that the company delivers its obligations to the Council as shareholder and remains a financially viable business.

Furthermore, they will demonstrate certain characteristics, representative of a collaborative Non-Executive Director:

• Integrity and strong ethical standards.
• Strong personal credibility and ability to champion the values of the organisation with ease.
• The skills to build enduring relationships within the company, with the Council, with the industry and the local community.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills and the ability to handle conflict comfortably.
• Sound judgment and the ability to understand and evaluate complex problems.
• The ability to challenge and influence in a persuasive and constructive way.
• Strong self-awareness and a desire to continuously improve their personal performance and knowledge.

Finally, BCC is committed to ensuring the Board's diversity, particularly as it recognises the importance of representing its community and it welcomes people from all genders, ethnicities, cultures, and social backgrounds. Ensuring the Board's diversity will therefore be a key consideration in this appointment. 

The Board will be comprised of four Non-Executive Directors - two of whom will represent BCC and the other two individuals will represent Ameresco.

This role is remunerated, compensation is £12,300 per year. Reasonable out of pocket expenses will be paid in accordance with the BCC expense policy. Time commitment is estimated on average at c.12-24 days per year (1-2 per month), including Board meetings, preparation time, training and ad hoc communication with BCC.

Process

This process is being run by Nurole on behalf of Bristol City Council, who will view the applications without edits. We therefore advise applicants to avoid using ‘see CV’ or ‘please call me to discuss further’ in your application as it may restrict your chances of progressing to the next round.

Connected parties

The Council has requested that candidates do not contact them directly. Instead, if you know someone at the organisation, please mention it in your Reason for Application. Members who do not respect this may risk having their membership terminated.

The City Leap Energy Partnership is based in Bristol and meetings will take place in person or virtually. It is expected that candidates will be UK-based. Any connection to Bristol or ties to the city's community will be welcomed.

The City Leap Energy Partnership welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where diverse candidates can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.