Head of Hydrogen

Overview

Role: Head of Hydrogen (Energy)

Location: UK, Madrid, Rotterdam or Johannesburg

Role ID: 2022-1597

Compensation: £55k-£70k + benefits

Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

Energy & Environment, one of Ricardo plc’s five operating business units, is a leader in sustainability consultancy, solving complex environmental challenges through industry-leading analysis, advice and data. With more than 40 years of heritage in addressing air quality, environmental and sustainability issues, our customers value us for our deep understanding and breadth of services covering the entire value chain from evidence, policy & strategy to implementation.

We are currently looking for a Head of Hydrogen (Global) to join our Energy team.

Job description

We are looking for a manager to become a Sector Head for our work focusing on Hydrogen in our Energy team (around 40 members of staff). This person would lead strategy, business development and delivery of the small but growing portfolio of Hydrogen work in the team, leading a small team of experts. This will be an opportunity to lead the sector within Ricardo Energy & Environment and develop it to its full potential. This person would work across business areas to our heat, transport and other teams to deliver hydrogen projects, and would also join the business area leadership team contributing to business area strategy and leadership.

Note: we will be recruiting one candidate, either based in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, or in South Africa (Johannesburg only) - with a global leadership remit.

Tasks would include:

• Business development strategy: Developing, implementing and tracking strategy for the hydrogen sector, covering market review, opportunity creation and identification, stakeholder engagement, building proposals, looking for follow up and expansion. This will include interacting with other teams and business development leads across Ricardo Energy & Environment to identify areas of collaboration and emulating synergies across different teams.
• Project pipeline management: Keeping track of all potential projects and project proposals in development, submitted, won and lost, and lessons learned.
• Bid decisions / procedure: Consulting with the team, decide which business opportunities should be pursued. Establish best practice in bid sign off, including ITT review, methodology development and costing. Follow appropriate bid procedure for higher value bids.
• Leadership of project delivery and project managers: Ensure best practice is in place for the projects falling into Hydrogen sector, with project managers and directors being supported, developed and empowered to ensure the projects are successful.
• Project portfolio delivery management: Support and drive successful project delivery across the portfolio of projects, stay in touch with the projects in each area, and identify need and opportunity for intervention. Includes positive intervention (celebrating success, promoting sharing of knowledge gained or tools created etc.), or issues (issues with paying, getting signatures, delivery, customer, contractual…)
• Contribute to the strategic leadership of the energy team: collaborate with other sector heads, BD leads, team leaders and project managers to meet shared financial targets and other relevant objectives.
• Team development and leadership: Bring together our existing team with hydrogen skills and help them develop their expertise. Identify areas for growth and lead recruitment to build our capability.

The team
The Energy team comprises approximately 40 highly experienced professionals specialising in techno-economic, engineering and management consultancy services for the energy sector. We cover power generation and transmission planning, electricity tariff and affordability studies, renewable energy and battery storage integration, regulation, policy, and “smart grid” innovation projects.

We have a small but increasing portfolio of hydrogen projects and opportunities, covering high level strategy and more in-depth feasibility work in topics such as green hydrogen generation (and the associated need for renewables), hydrogen systems, and uses of hydrogen in transport and as a feedstock. This is a relatively new area, and already has a strong start with many projects already completed and underway. You will have the opportunity to get involved early in the development of this portfolio, and help shape the work we do.

About you
If you are suited to this role, you will be experienced in delivering, managing and directing projects, team leadership, and in preparing / influencing / implementing successful business strategy plans. You will be keen to mentor more junior members of the team and we will help you develop in both technical and professional areas.

We need an excellent communicator who can explain complex ideas and articulate proposals that meet specific client needs. Must be able to travel to sites in the UK and overseas when required.

Skills and experience
The position would suit applicants:

• With a strong degree in engineering or similar and a background in energy / energy networks / O&G / engineering, with experience of hydrogen highly desirable.
• With experience developing and implementing business plans, ideally in a consultancy environment and/or in the energy / hydrogen sector.
• With experience winning and delivering energy projects, including managing and directing complex projects to a successful conclusion.
• With experience leading people and teams ranging from graduate through to more senior members of staff.
• Who are passionate about sustainable energy systems, with a desire to lead in developing the hydrogen sector.
• With strong communication skills with experience of writing and presenting for different audiences.
• Who are proactive and effective team players and leaders, ready to help and willing to support junior members of the team.

Fluency in English is essential

Desirable

• With experience in designing hydrogen strategies and/or implementing hydrogen projects.
• International consulting experience.
• Experience developing energy projects. (Pre-FEED, FEED, owners engineer / consultant)
• Practical/operational experience with hydrogen systems/technologies.

Working here

Ricardo is an exciting and rewarding place to work and you have the opportunity to make a difference. You will work with teams of talented, dedicated, and supportive individuals. Alongside having a fantastic opportunity to develop your career with us through our broad range of projects, mentoring opportunities and a personalised approach to your learning and development. We are always keen to hear from people who have driven, ambition and a flair for innovative thinking.

Wellbeing and work life balance

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that's working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential. Our People are important to us, and we take pride in our wellbeing programmes and policies that support individuals including flexible working, carers policy, mental health first aiders and readily available support through our extensive Employee Assistance programme.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.

Benefits

Our core benefits include 25 days' annual leave, plus 8 flexible bank holidays, a competitive company pension scheme, life assurance and professional subscriptions reimbursement. We also offer a wide range of flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle.

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.