(Medior) Analyst on system flexibility

CONTEXT:

AETHER is a key partner for intrapreneurial projects in Belgium, and we want to reinforce our support of key actors in the energy sector, who are facing interesting challenges regarding the assessment of electricity system flexibility to support a reliable energy transition.

New projects are therefore ongoing to ensure that Belgian companies have reliable information on available flexibility to improve long-term adequacy assessments, anticipate short-term flexibility shortages and guide flexibility development.

Hence why we are looking for a medior Analyst on system flexibility to strengthen our team of Project Partners.

TASK DESCRIPTION:

As an AETHER Project Partner embedded within the project team, your objective will be to assess electricity system flexibility and coordinate the implementation and development of a systematic flexibility monitoring programme.

The mission combines analysis and project management, with an expected 50/50 allocation of time.

The programme monitors installed, unlocked and available flexibility by technology, voltage level and product type across all Belgian regions and future time horizons. It covers storage, generation and demand response on high, medium and low voltage grids, requiring collaboration with DSOs and market players.

The assessment covers Electric Vehicles, Batteries, Heat Pumps, Photovoltaics and industrial processes such as electric boilers, heat pumps and electric ovens. It considers participation in balancing services through activation signals and responses to day-ahead, intra-day and balancing market prices, dynamic tariffs and capacity tariffs. It also examines how many assets are capable of responding, how many already respond and their response profiles.

Results are used to:

• Improve long-term projections of adequacy, flexibility and balancing requirements.
• Improve short-term forecasts of flexibility shortages and mitigation measures.
• Provide strategic recommendations for flexibility development.

Key responsibilities might include:

1. Flexibility analysis

• Support the collection of flexibility information through desktop research, interviews, data analysis and estimation methods.
• Support the development and execution of smart metering data analyses covering consumer offtake and injections, and establish relationships with system conditions, seasonality and other drivers.
• Develop and execute information-gathering strategies using regulators' websites, distribution system operators, sector federations and inventive approaches to retrieve unavailable information.
• Conduct analyses of grid user consumption time series, renewable energy forecast errors, market player nominations and adjustments, and system imbalances, applying basic statistical analysis and machine learning where needed.
• Arrange communication and dissemination of findings for experts, management and external audiences through clear presentations and communications.

Translate results and insights:

• Into tools and applications, guiding development with relevant IT departments.
• Into strategic recommendations for discussion with market departments.
• Into scenario inputs for discussion with grid study departments.

1. Project management

• Manage programme implementation and growth in close collaboration with business experts, analysts and IT.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align programme objectives with organisational strategic goals. Oversee systematic monitoring to ensure accurate and timely data.
• Report programme progress and deliverables to management and governance bodies. Identify opportunities to improve programme processes.

Project management covers scope, timing, budget, resources and the communication plan, together with coordination across grid development, market development and system operation / control center functions.

PROFILE:

• At least 3–5 years of relevant professional experience.
• Fluency in English, Dutch or French, with adequate knowledge of the other languages; fluent spoken and written English is required.
• Preferably a master's degree in engineering, commercial engineering or economics, with a strong interest in a technical environment.
• Strong interest in the energy sector and understanding of the electricity market's overall functioning; several years of electricity market experience are preferred.
• Strong analytical thinking, with the ability to understand complex processes and turn abstract strategic objectives into realistic solutions.
• Ability to translate questions into quantitative analyses or approaches, supporting clear reasoning with facts, figures and quantitative results.
• Sufficient knowledge a