R&D Built Environment Policy Innovation

The Energy Policy, Innovation & Circularity team (EPIC) in VITO/EnergyVille provides science and fact-based advice in four expertise areas: Energy and Climate Policy Evaluation, Life Cycle Assessment and Circularity, Policy Innovation in the Built Environment and Societal Aspects of the Energy Transition. The EPIC team is part of EnergyVille, a collaboration between the Belgian research partners VITO, KU Leuven, imec and UHasselt in the fields of sustainable energy and intelligent energy systems.

We are looking for a driven Project Manager and Expert with a strong policy background on the Built Environment.

Are you keen on diving into novel Building Performance Methods as the Smart Readiness or Real Energy Performance Indicator? Are you triggered about the potential of the Digital Building Logbook, the Buildings Renovation Passport or how to process comfort and behaviour aspects within optimisation scenarios?

Our team focuses on Energy Transition in the Built Environment and its related EU policies and implementation in the Member States. As such, we support European, national and regional policy makers with innovative thinking and outreach, based on scientifically founded analysis and data driven research.

The development and improvement of novel building performance indicators and methodologies fostering change in the building value chain are high on our agenda.

Interested to contribute? Read on!

More concretely:

• You lead (supported by colleagues) research projects related to energy performance of buildings and approaches to accelerate the energy transition in the built environment; proven project management experience is plus.
• You dive into scenario development for smart buildings for better energy performance.
• You provide technical & policy guidance to develop and implement Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for existing buildings and Zero Emission Building Standards.
• You are responsible for supporting national and regional governments in the implementation of EU building and energy related legislation, with the Digital Building Logbook and Smart Readiness Indicator as core topics.
• In this position, you also contribute to the acquisition of projects and the writing of research proposals with the aim of securing future research funding.
• You will be part of national and international consortia and build a network with relevant Belgian and international stakeholders and customers.
• You will prepare descriptive and analytical reports, translating the outcome of our analytical work into concrete policy recommendations.
• You can be asked to present your work to clients, stakeholders, and also to peers on national and international fora.

Together with colleagues …

• You will monitor and evaluate the implementation of renovation policies such as the national long-term renovation strategies and the renovation component of the national recovery and resilience plans.
• You convert the knowledge you have gained into tools and methods applicable in research projects and consultancy for public authorities.
• You will interact with stakeholders and policy makers to collect viewpoints on, for example, barriers and enablers in the policy landscape of the Renovation Wave, REPowerEU and Fit For 55.

Meer info: https://jobs.vito.be/l/nl/o/rd-built-environment-policy-innovation-ener…

• You hold at a minimum a Master's degree in a relevant field.
• You have at least 4 years of relevant work experience in the construction or energy environment, either from a project management, research, policy or industry perspective.
• You have interest and affinity with building performance related research and project management.
• You have experience or affinity with policy development or support in the fields of built environment or the energy transition. You are a flexible team player who can manage challenging projects.
• Experience with working on assignments for the European Commission is of added value You are communicative and can express yourself fluently in English (written and spoken). Knowledge of Dutch or other EU languages is an asset.

Examples of projects

• In the project X-tendo, we introduced ten features of the next generation of energy performance certificates, to provide public authorities with improved compliance, reliability, usability and convergence of next-generation energy performance assessment and certification.
• In the Smart Readiness Indicator technical support studies for the European Commission we investigated the possible scope and characteristics of the SRI. This was followed by a study on technical inputs needed to refine and finalize the definition of the SRI and the associated calculation methodology, further exploring options for the implementation of the SRI and evaluating their impact on EU level. This in order for the Commission services to assess the technical modalities of an effective implementation of the SRI scheme.
• Demo-BLog (no weblink available yet) will demonstrate how building data, accessible through Digital Building Logbooks, can be converted into actionable information for the construction market value chain. This project brings together five front-runner Digital Building Logbooks with a wide variety of target groups, demonstrating four key functionalities addressing societal challenges. As such, we will co-design a logbook platform for community driven decarbonisation projects.

• You have real impact as you look for innovative solutions for today's challenges.
• You are supported by helpful colleagues that are eager to share their expertise in the field.
• You will be part of an organisation where we show integrity and always strive for mutual benefit in close cooperation with all parties involved.
• VITO/EnergyVille is an international organisation: 40 different nationalities work with us.
• We work ‘activity based’: our activities determine our workplace. On average we meet 2 times a week in our EnergyVille office in Genk. For the other days you can work from home, Genk or work remotely at one of our satellite offices depending on the needs of the activity.
• You will learn life-long and develop your skills further by using the newest of the latest technologies that you can test on the market yourself.
• We consider work-life balance to be of paramount importance at VITO. We are open to discuss your needs at any time and we have a flexible approach to finding solutions.