Job Introduction
This new role offers an exciting opportunity to influence how one of the world’s great cities thinks about the role of data in responding to climate change and achieving net zero. Net zero means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Working as part of the LOTI team, you will work closely with the Energy and Climate Change teams at both the Greater London Authority (GLA) and London Councils to understand their core aims and objectives in the field of net zero and explore the role that data can play in helping achieve them. Example areas of interest might include how data could:
- Enable homeowners to make energy and carbon saving improvements to their homes
- Ensure London’s energy infrastructure can match the city’s net zero ambitions
- Accelerate the delivery of retrofit in social housing
- Enable partners in the private sector, from construction to finance, to support and deliver London’s net zero goals.
- Enable new products and services to be developed that help Londoners
Your role will involve convening key stakeholders from the public, third and private sectors within the net zero ecosystem to understand their needs. You’ll help drive data innovation by exploring which data sets should be considered as essential assets and infrastructure for London, how data access and standards might need to be changed to enable individuals and organisations to act effectively, what data products and services have already been created and which ones may be needed in future. You’ll run workshops and oversee the design and delivery of micro-experiments to validate hypotheses about the role data can play. This may include expanding existing platforms, such as Data for London, running data innovation challenges and identifying opportunities to test and scale emerging technologies, including new connected networks, to solve London’s problems.
Finally, in conjunction with the wider LOTI team, the role will support relevant cross-sector groups and partnerships, including with utilities and regulators, upon which the delivery of these objectives is reliant.
How We Work
The LOTI team is currently made up of ten people. While being small, LOTI can draw on the time, ideas and talents of dozens of people from across all our members. We are committed to being a high-performing team, constantly reviewing, learning and adapting our ways of working, and operating in a high-challenge, high-support culture.
This role will report into LOTI’s Programme Manager for Data, Smart Cities and Cyber Security and have support from other members of the LOTI team who have specialisms in data, information governance and service design.
Role Responsibility
- Work closely with the Climate Change and Energy leads and their teams at the Greater London Authority (GLA) and London Councils to understand their core aims and objectives in the field of net zero and explore the role that data can play in helping achieve them.
- Convene and develop strong working relationships with key stakeholders in London’s net zero ecosystem to identify current and future problems and outcomes and help prioritise those where data is hypothesised to play a useful role.
- Design and deliver workshops to explore net zero goals and issues and triage opportunities and barriers to using data.
- Manage the delivery of a portfolio of net zero data projects, ensuring they serve London’s net zero goals.
- Conduct desktop research and interviews with public, third and private sector organisations to understand international best practice and trends in the use of data for net zero as well as current data tools and services available on the market.
- Map the current data ecosystem in London in relation to net zero to identify gaps, pain points and future opportunities.
- Guide partners on the use of LOTI’s outcomes-driven methodology for data projects to identify where data can play an enabling role.
- Design and develop micro-experiments to validate hypotheses concerning the use of data standards, data access and data products, working with other members of the LOTI team, boroughs, GLA, London Councils, external partners and consultants as needed.
- Ensure LOTI’s data ethics and information governance processes and principles are incorporated into all aspects of this work.
- Monitor and seek effective solutions to issues and risks, escalating where necessary.
- Write summary reports and briefing notes for stakeholders.
- Represent LOTI at relevant meetings and events with local authorities, the GLA and other organisations.
- Actively participate in the coordination and delivery of other LOTI team projects and activities as required.
Organisational Responsibilities
- Adhere to London Councils’ policies, procedures, regulations and protocols in the discharge of all duties, in all aspects of work, including the Data Protection Act 2018.
- Take care at all times to uphold health and safety at work for self and others and observe London Councils’ Health and Safety policy and related procedures.
- Uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct in line with the expectations of a local government officer and to adhere to such standards in order to uphold the reputation of London Councils and local government in London.
The Ideal Candidate
Our ideal candidate will:
- Enjoy problem-solving and project management in complex, changeable and sometimes ambiguous environments where creativity and pragmatism are required.
- Be informed and credible in talking to local authorities about the role of data and related issues like data standards, data products, data platforms, interoperability, etc. and have experience of using data to achieve goals in a particular field. While you do not need to be a data scientist or technologist, you should be comfortable working with data and technology professionals to oversee the development of data products.
- Have knowledge of key issues related to net zero. Or, at minimum, you’ll be deeply curious about this policy area and be able to demonstrate the ability to get up to speed fast on a complex topic.
- Have experience managing projects using agile methods involving multiple teams and/or organisations, while building strong relationships with all partners.
- Have buckets of initiative and a willingness to find or develop new approaches.
- Be a clear and articulate communicator, both in writing and in person.
- Be comfortable working in a small and fast-moving team, managing a mixed and varied workload, and responding effectively to the needs of a range of stakeholders.
- Be committed to constantly learning and honing your craft with the support of the LOTI team.
Note
LOTI’s work constantly involves as we try new things, learn and adapt to meet the needs of our members. This job description is therefore not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the post-holder works. Other duties appropriate to the post may be assigned from time to time.
Package Description
Division: London Office of Technology and Innovation
Working Hours: 35 per week
Responsible to: LOTI Programme Manager: Data, Smart Cities and Cyber Security
Contract details: Full time, Fixed Term 1 year contract. LOTI is open to offering this role as a secondment opportunity. Please note that London Councils is unable to sponsor visa applications. Candidates should only proceed with this application if they are eligible to work in the UK.
Hybrid working
The nature of LOTI’s activities is such that a significant amount of work can be conducted remotely. However, the post holder should be willing and able to spend at least 2 days per week at London Councils and GLA offices.
If you have any queries, please contact Eddie Copeland, Director (London Office of Technology & Innovation) – eddie.copeland@loti.london
Please be advised that this role will close at 23:59 pm on Monday 6th January 2025. Interviews will be conducted w/c 13 January 2025.
About the Company
About LOTI
The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) is London local government’s Collaborative Innovation community. We help boroughs and the GLA use innovation, data and technology to be high performing organisations, improve services and tackle some of London’s biggest challenges together. We’re funded by our membership of 28 London boroughs, the Greater London Authority and London Councils. We’re hosted by London Councils, which represents London’s 32 councils and the City of London. Read about LOTI’s work at: https://loti.london/.
About London Councils
London Councils is the collective of local government in London. We work in collaboration to deliver shared ambitions for London and Londoners, which are agreed, cross-party, at our Leaders' Committee. We run a number of services on behalf of our members, providing opportunities for all residents. They include the Freedom Pass, Taxicard, Health Emergency Badge and grants programme for voluntary sector organisations.