Senior Consultant - Research

Senior Consultant - Research
£44,415 - £48,183 per annum + 8% employer pension contribution
35 hours per week. Full time, permanent
Edinburgh or Inverness (hybrid of home and office working)

Join Scotland’s Leading Environmental Charity as a Senior Consultant to support impact-focused research and consultancy.

Changeworks is looking for a Senior Consultant to support our research and options analysis service portfolio, with the interest and flexibility to contribute to our broader portfolio as it evolves.

As a Senior Consultant, you will play an important role in leading the development and delivery of high quality and innovative projects and services that support Changeworks’ strategy of acceleration of decarbonising Scottish homes and a just transition to net zero.

You will play a critical role in the team, working with Principal Consultants and other members of the Consultancy team to identify and pursue opportunities to develop and diversify our portfolio of impact-focused income-generating projects, services and contracts.

You will contribute both to business development – supporting client prospecting and leading on tender and bid writing. Once work is secured, you will oversee the management of a portfolio of services, projects and contracts using historic and forecasted financial and management information to ensure they achieve their aims and objectives and are delivered on time and to budget.

Senior Consultants lead by example, managing staff in a proactive and supportive manner in line with Changeworks values. As required, you will support staff to carry out their roles effectively while at the same time developing professionally.

Finally, you will also play a role in support our proactive efforts to using Changeworks insights and experience to shape sector policy and practice — through contributions to thought leadership, public engagement, and cross-sector working groups.

About You

We’re seeking a motivated and forward-thinking professional with the following strengths:

• Strategic Insight: understanding of the policy and regulatory landscape in Scotland and the UK, and the challenges and opportunities faced by our clients and partners in decarbonising domestic buildings.
• Technical Expertise: strong knowledge qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and their application to retrofit-related research areas.
• Business Development: experience in developing client relationships, writing bids and tenders, and securing contracts and funding from commercial and philanthropic/ academic funders.
• Project Delivery & Team Management: strong experience in delivering excellence in project management in a professional, research or consultancy role, with a commitment to mentoring and skills development.
• Communication & Collaboration: strong communication and presentation skills, with experience engaging with diverse stakeholder groups.

Above all, we are looking for passionate and proactive individuals who share our commitment to a sustainable, low-carbon Scotland.

While we welcome candidates with expertise across all these areas, we encourage applications from individuals with strengths in some and a willingness to grow in others.

About the Consultancy Team

Our Consultancy team offers expert analytical and advisory services to a diverse range of clients including local authorities, housing associations, the Scottish Government, and organisations across the third and private sectors. Our work covers the full spectrum of decarbonising Scotland’s homes—from energy efficiency and low-carbon heat to renewable energy systems, fuel poverty, and behaviour change.

We support clients to decarbonise their housing assets and contribute evidence to inform policy, planning, supply chains, and finance at both national and local levels.

About Changeworks

Changeworks is Scotland’s leading environmental charity, delivering practical solutions for low-carbon living for over 35 years. We are driven by a vision of a world where everyone can live, work and thrive while reducing their carbon impact. Climate change poses the most serious threat to our environment and way of life, and we are committed to enabling a fair and inclusive transition to a low-carbon Scotland.

Tackling inequality is central to our mission. We work in partnership with communities, organisations, and householders to drive impactful change in energy efficiency and fuel poverty. Our unique position as a charity operating with a social enterprise model allows us to reinvest in our work, build trust across sectors, and act with flexibility to accelerate home decarbonisation throughout Scotland.

With the launch of our 2025–2030 strategy, this is a pivotal moment to join our growing organisation and help shape a more sustainable future.

About us

Changeworks is a great place to work. We hold Investors in People Platinum accreditation (something only a few organisations in Scotland have), and we were nominated for employer of the year by the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce this year. Our staff overwhelmingly would recommend us as an employer too.

The Climate Emergency has resulted in ambitious national targets to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment and reduce rates of fuel poverty. This has driven a significant increase in the number of pilot and large-scale interventions delivered by Changeworks and external organisations in this area. These include area-based domestic energy efficiency retrofit and decarbonisation projects and programmes.

We are a growing organisation, and this role is crucial to the delivery of our ambitious objectives. We want to decarbonise homes in Scotland on a massive scale, and that needs talented individuals like you to help us deliver on our objectives. You’ll receive full training plus coaching and mentoring.

We offer a wide range of staff benefits including flexible working, bike to work scheme, an excellent pension scheme and 26 days paid holiday plus 9 public holidays per year.

At Changeworks, we welcome and encourage applications from everyone.

Closing date for applications: 5pm, Wednesday 22 October 2025

Interviews: First interviews: Week commencing Monday 27 October 2025

Second interviews: Week commencing Monday 3 November 2025

For further information about this post please contact Lauren Salmon at [email protected]

Changeworks ~ delivering positive low carbon living