Policy Officer – Energy Retail Markets and Innovation

Description

ABOUT THE AGENCY

The European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (hereinafter referred to as “ACER”) is a European Union (“EU”) body, legally established by Regulation (EU) No 2019/9421 and operational since 2011. ACER is central to the integration and well-functioning of the EU’s electricity and natural gas markets.

Our purpose

Our overall purpose is achieving a transition of the European energy system in line with the political objectives set at leaders’ level, reaping the benefits of increased energy market integration across Europe, and securing low-carbon supply at least possible cost for European businesses and citizens.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

We are seeking a curious, dynamic and multifaceted expert in the area of energy retail ready to advance our energy retail monitoring in the ever-evolving context of energy transition. We welcome candidates who will be able to prove interest and passion in energy retail, energy communities, renewable communities, as well as in commercial and industrial decarbonisation options focusing on energy efficient solutions and services, while using sound and multidisciplinary methodologies to explore the landscape of the retail transformation.

We look for candidates with good communication skills to manage and develop our stakeholder relations in the field of energy retail as well as our extensive regulatory cooperation. We expect from the selected candidate to dedicate time to propagate novel approaches and best practices related to energy retail across the regulatory and institutional framework of the European Union. We will appreciate all candidates, while showing some greater preference towards those who can also demonstrate managerial acumen which we intend to gradually employ in the context of our growing department.

We are committed to continually enhancing our operational processes, which may involve modifying or reallocating specific responsibilities. It is imperative that our Policy Officer – Energy Retail Markets and Innovation exhibits flexibility, openness to change, and the ability to adapt to evolving roles in our organisation.

Main responsibilities

We are committed to promote the dynamic evolution of the energy markets and to steer consumers’ contribution to the decarbonisation of the energy system. In doing that, we promote the development of local energy markets showcasing service and commercial innovation, advocating on the one hand competition in these markets, free choice of suppliers, limited barriers to entry while highlighting the need for deep service innovation, access to local markets for alternative services, and consumer participation. Next to competition and innovation, our policies will seek the protection of vulnerable users and advocate the fair treatment of all users.

The Policy Officer will:

• Drive the activities of energy retail market monitoring2 for electricity and natural gas with a view to fulfil the objectives above;
• Focus in particular on retail price evolution and price formation, demand data and consumer behaviours (both commercial, industry and households), supply innovation and competition with the aim of identifying best practices in this evolving area in the EU Member States.
• Propose and implement continuous improvements to the annual monitoring on energy retail markets, aligned with the evolution of the retail markets, and drawing on the best practices available in the European Union to inspire this development further ahead.
• Apply a varied set of measurement methodologies, data collection approaches, interdisciplinary approaches to support his/her work.

The Policy Officer – Energy Retail Markets and Innovation may be required to work in other areas of ACER, according to needs and priorities, as determined by the Head of the Department or the Director. The Policy Officer – Energy Retail Markets and Innovation may be required to deputise for the Head of the Department, provided that a suitable candidate is found in this selection.