EU Project Communications Officer

South East Energy Agency (SEEA) is a non-profit, independent energy agency working primarily with clients across the Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford regions and beyond. Our key focus is to increase awareness and promote behaviour change to accelerate ‘energy transition’ for the South East Region of Ireland. We have a broad remit across the energy sector and work on a wide range of local, national and EU projects which require multi‐disciplinary teams and skills. SEEA provides a range of energy services to its clients including developing and delivering EU projects, Sustainable Energy Management, Energy Auditing, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Development, project management & delivery, Grant administration, Energy Master Planning and more.

We offer

• A blended work model which includes remote working arrangements at agreed times.
• Dynamic working environment that offers great experience to further your career.
• Support for you to achieve your career goals and personal development / CPD.
• Working with our highly skilled multi‐disciplined dedicated team.
• Laptop, ongoing training and development for staff.
• Pension Scheme Employer Contribution. Subject to T&C’s.

Qualifications and Experience

• 2+ years’ experience in a similar role (Communications, Business, Project Management).
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, or a related field.
• Excellent communication, customer service, writing and networking skills.
• Proactive and Proven experience as a communication professional, preferably in the context of EU projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; proficiency in additional EU languages is a plus.
• Familiarity with EU communication guidelines and policies.
• Past experience in relation to energy, data, building industry, construction etc is a bonus, but not essential.
• Excellent organisational and project management abilities.
• Proficiency in digital communication tools and platforms.
• Proven experience working on multi-stakeholder projects.
• Availability to travel and work EU wide is essential.

What you will be doing

• Day-to-day administration and co-ordination of EU Projects, communication and marketing management and successful delivery of such programs.
• Communication Strategy
  • Develop and implement communication plans aligned with the goals of EU projects.
  • Ensure consistent messaging and branding across all communication channels.
  • Develop comprehensive communication plans around project initiatives to support South East Energy Agency’s technical delivery team to execute EU project deliverables.
  • Provide communication support for partner companies who work closely with the Energy Agency to advance the development of renewable technologies in Ireland.
• Content Creation
  • Create compelling content, including press releases, articles, social media posts, and visual materials.
  • Collaborate with project teams to gather information and stories for effective communication.
  • Translate technical project language into user friendly accessible content.
  • Maintain projects’ web-platforms.
  • Coordinate and upload content on the web-platforms on an on-going basis.
  • Producing blog posts and articles on EU project activity, updates, news, events etc.
• Media Relations
  • Build and maintain relationships with media outlets, journalists, and relevant stakeholders.
  • Prepare and distribute press releases and respond to media inquiries when required, work closely with our PR partner as required.
• Digital Presence
  • Manage and update project websites and social media platforms.
  • Monitor and analyse online engagement metrics to optimise digital communication strategies.
  • Promote South East Energy Agency EU project visibility through our digital communications channels and develop relevant and engaging multi-platform content.
  • Produce blog posts and relevant articles on projects updates and share through social media
  • Coordinate the delivery of projects periodic newsletters as required.
  • Handling live social media during events (both online and physical).
• Event Coordination
  • Manage South East Energy Agency communications around major EU project events.
  • Organise and coordinate events, workshops, and webinars to promote project objectives.
  • Support the planning and execution of project-related conferences and meetings.
• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Engage with project partners, beneficiaries, and external stakeholders to ensure effective communication.
  • Foster positive relationships and address inquiries regarding project activities.
  • Stay up to date with ongoing energy efficiency and renewable energy technology grant programs in Ireland.

General Tasks

• Undertaking other duties and other active projects to meet the needs of the department and the organisation such as administrative and marketing tasks.
• Participating and presenting in project partner webinars, events, tele-conference calls, partner and steering group meetings etc.
• Manage day to day communication and project management activities to drive project awareness and deliver on project tasks.
• Manage the project communications budget and ensure timely reporting, collate report and analysis of communication initiatives.
• Act as the EU project focal point for all stakeholders
• Liaise with the other members of the wider Team, to assist with general strategic objectives of the organisation and daily tasks as required.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will have a collaborative, flexible and innovative approach to his or her work. They will be highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple projects, with a specific focus on budgets, deadlines and quality. They will:

• Apply creativity and attention to detail across all of their work for effective communication to stakeholders.
• Possess the skills and initiative to design successful projects communications’strategies and activities for projects and new project proposals.
• Have strong time management skills and is comfortable working to meet tight deadlines.
• Be an experienced user of web content management systems, confident in managing the content of one or more websites and proficient user and creator of word documents, spreadsheets, presentation packages etc.
• Have a good understanding of technology and IT with detailed knowledge of the social media marketing landscape and tools. Have the ability and the ambition to navigate and grow social media following across Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and other channels as necessary.
• Seamlessly manage the coordination, production and design of projects’ periodic newsletters and communication tools (presentations, brochures, event flyers, videos, factsheets etc), targeting identified relevant audience.
• Have the capacity to coordinate, proofread and edit reports to ensure quality is consistent.
• Demonstrate experience in their ability to take initiative and multi-task across multiple projects.
• Possess excellent English verbal and written skills.

How to Apply

To apply, please complete and return:

1) Application Form available on http://www.southeastenergy.ie/careers to Bill Lowe at blowe@southeastenergy.ie with subject line ‘EU Project Communication Officer” telling us more about yourself, your experience/ambitions. Please also indicate your earliest available starting date.

2) The names and contact information of 2 references.

3) Your CV.

Closing date for applications is 5pm, December 15th, 2023

NOTE. If you do not wish that we contact current or past employers, please state so and explain the reasons in your letter of motivation. All applications will be treated confidentially and by respecting the privacy of the candidate. Applications that do not meet the deadline will be excluded.