Women Local Energy Leader Volunteers
FEL is the Scottish environmental charity that’s changing our world for the better, project by project.
We believe that powerful change can be simple to make, and we design the collaborative social and environmental projects that deliver it – helping everyone take small steps to make their lives better and the world a healthier, happier, more sustainable place.
Now we’re looking for the best people to keep us striding in the right direction.
Overview
Within our FEL Energy team, we help individuals and communities take control of their energy use, save money, and reduce their carbon emissions. We are now looking for Women Local Energy Leaders to help us deliver our work.
Women Local Energy Leaders are volunteer community leaders who support efforts to make energy advice and services fairer, more inclusive, and more relevant to everyday life.
This role is open to all women: we encourage applications for anyone who identifies as a woman and welcome participation from women of all backgrounds, life experiences, and identities.
Energy decisions have often been made without sufficient input from women, despite women frequently managing energy use at home and playing key roles in families and communities. We recognise that women are not a single group and bring a wide range of perspectives shaped by culture, caring roles, income, housing, health, and lived experience. Our Women Local Energy Leaders will lead and promote practical, community-led action to help ensure these voices are better reflected in local energy conversations and decision-making.
Why Women-Led- Systems Change Matters
Women are still underrepresented across the energy and climate sectors. Although women make up around 40% of the overall workforce, they account for only around 20% of those working in the energy sector. The gap is wider in leadership roles, with women holding approximately 18% of senior positions in energy, compared with around 25% across the wider economy.
Underrepresentation is also evident in renewable energy, where women hold around 32% of roles overall but are much less represented in senior management and technical positions (International Energy Agency, 2023; DevelopmentAid, n.d.).
This underrepresentation matters because when women’s voices are missing, energy decisions do not always reflect how homes and communities operate in practice. As a result, responses to fuel poverty may fail to reflect lived experience, trust and engagement can be weaker, and climate action risks being less effective and less fair.
Despite being underrepresented in the sector, women are often responsible for everyday decisions about energy use in the home. Women frequently provide care for children, older relatives and others who are most affected by cold or damp housing, and they are often well connected within their local communities (Housing LIN, n.d.; UK Parliament, 2023).
Women Local Energy Leaders help address these inequalities by ensuring women’s voices and lived experiences are part of energy decision-making. They help ensure energy advice and support make sense locally and reflect the realities of everyday households, not just how systems are designed on paper. This role does not require technical expertise; its strength lies in changing whose knowledge is valued and who gets listened to.
What You’ll Do
Support people across your community to understand energy bills, costs, and available help (for example, talking through a bill together, helping someone prepare questions for their supplier, or explaining support in plain language)
Create friendly, informal spaces where people can talk openly about energy, homes, and wellbeing (such as small online group chats, drop-in sessions, coffee mornings, or organising conversations alongside existing community activities)
Offer practical support and signposting to help people take actions that work for them (including pointing people towards local energy advice, housing or wellbeing support, and encouraging small, realistic next steps)
Encourage and build women’s confidence, participation, and leadership around energy (creating space for women to speak, share experiences, and support others)
Help grow and support other women leaders, so knowledge and confidence spread over time (for example, mentoring others, co-hosting sessions, or encouraging women to pass what they’ve learned on to friends, family, and neighbours.
Build trusting relationships between communities and local energy or support services (by listening to people’s experiences, helping them feel heard, and connecting them with the right help)
Share community insights and experiences to help improve local energy services (for example, by providing feedback on common questions, barriers, or concerns so services can work better for real households)
What You’ll Bring
You don’t need to be an energy expert; we’ll provide training and ongoing support. This role is perfect for someone who:
• Enjoys speaking with people and building community connections
• Is passionate about helping others and improving local wellbeing
• Is interested in energy, sustainability, or community development
• Wants to develop confidence, leadership skills, and experience in a growing sector
Support & Training
Volunteers receive:
• Ongoing support from the FEL Energy Team and Climate Team
Skill-sharing sessions with other FEL teams to learn about topics including effective event and project planning. You can learn more about our other projects on our website: Our Projects – FEL Scotland
• All resources and materials needed for events and pop-ups
• Opportunities to build skills, attend workshops, and connect with other women leaders
• Introductory and bespoke ‘Stay Warm, Stay Well’ training through Energy Action Scotland, covering:
Introduction to EAS and the ‘Stay Warm Stay Well’ training
− Fuel poverty causes and effects
Cold damp homes and health impacts
− Condensation dampness
− Energy efficiency
− Heat loss in the home
− Paying for fuel and fuel debt issues
Sourcing help and effective signposting
− Tariffs and switching
Time Commitment
This is a flexible voluntary role that can be suited to best fit your schedule. Most volunteers contribute between 3–6 hours per month, depending on local events and availability. We're happy to work with you to shape this role around your interests and time.
Skills You Will Gain
Through this role, you will develop:
Energy awareness and carbon literacy:
Understanding home energy efficiency, practical ways to reduce energy use, and the impact of everyday behaviours.
• Community engagement skills:
Confident communication with residents, listening to concerns, and sharing advice in an accessible, supportive way.
• Leadership and facilitation:
Helping guide conversations, supporting community sessions, and representing local women’s voices in energy-related initiatives.
Environmental sustainability knowledge:
Deeper understanding of climate action at community level and how individual choices contribute to larger change.
Confidence building and advocacy:
Developing your voice as a community leader and inspiring others to take positive energy actions.
Impact of This Role
By volunteering as a Women Local Energy Leader, you’ll be helping to:
• Reduce fuel poverty in your community
• Cut carbon emissions across the Forth Valley and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
• Improve household comfort and wellbeing
Strengthen local resilience
• Promote inclusive community leadership
Sound like you?
If this sounds like you – and you like the sound of us – then please apply: email us a covering letter explaining why you’d like to volunteer for us and what you can bring to the role (500 words max) at the following address to energy@felscotland.org.
If you need more information, any support in making your application or would just like to chat to us about the role and how your skills and experience might fit, please get in touch: just email energy@felscotland.org to arrange a time to talk.
We look forward to hearing from you and working together to help people, their communities and our planet thrive.
References
Development Aid (n.d.) Gender inequality in the energy sector. Available at: https://www.developmentaid.org (Accessed: 13 April 2026).
Housing LIN (n.d.) Local people leading: the role of women in the birth of Scotland’s community-based housing associations. Available at: https://www.housinglin.org.uk/Resources/ResourceLibrary/ (Accessed: 13 April 2026).
International Energy Agency (IEA) (2023) Energy and gender. Available at: https://www.iea.org/topics/energy-and-gender (Accessed: 13 April 2026).
UK Parliament (2023) Women and the economy (CBP-9696). Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9696/CBP-9696.pdf (Accessed: 13 April 2026).