You?Three people at Brightfield Community Energy, and one empty chair.
Lead Solar Installer · Brightfield · Merthyr Tydfil · £40–42k · 28 staff
- Climate · community energy
- Solar installation × Apprentice training
- Closes 29 Nov
Meet the crew. There's a seat for you.
- You?This seatLead Solar Installer
Rhys Morgan · Installations manager, your manager
“I’ll be on the roof with you the first week. After that the crew is yours, and so is the call to come down when the wind picks up.”
On a bad day: checks the forecast every half hour.
A Tuesday on the roofs
April to October
- 07:30Load the van at the Merthyr yard
- 08:30First roof: scaffold check, then panels up
- 12:30Lunch in the van, or a member’s kitchen
- 13:30Second roof: wiring and inverter
- 15:30Show the member how to read their meter
- 16:30Back at the yard to plan tomorrow with Rhys
Why this seat matters
“We voted for the panels at the AGM, then the lads who fitted them came round for tea. Our bill’s down £40 a month.”
Glenys Price, member since 2021, Penydarren
Every roof we fit lowers a member’s bill, and 600 members are waiting for theirs.
Brightfield is owned by the 3,400 households whose roofs we work on. At the last AGM members voted to double installs this year, and 600 of them are on the waiting list for panels.
The Lead Solar Installer runs a crew of three on 6 roofs a week across Merthyr and the Cynon Valley, and trains the next lead, so the co-op runs two crews by next summer.
Where this role takes you
Brightfield Community Energy's 2030 goal, and where the work is today
310member roofs fitted so far
21% of the way to the goal1,500member roofs by 2030
Week 1
You fit roofs with the crew.
Your first week is on the tools with Rhys in Penydarren. Then a members’ evening in Aberdare, to meet the people whose roofs you’ll be on.
With
6roofs in your first week
What life is like
- Every month
- A members’ evening. Staff come, and many stay for the vote.
- Every year
- The AGM. One household, one vote, and staff can become members too.
- Pay
- The highest salary is 1.7× the lowest. Members set the ratio.
- Winter
- No roof work in high wind. Shorter days, same pay.
What you'll do
- Lead a crew of three on 6 roofs a week
- Sign off every install to MCS standard
- Train an apprentice to lead a roof
- Show each member how their system works
What you bring
- 5+ years installing solar PV
- MCS install experience and a valid IPAF or PASMA card
- Patience teaching apprentices
- At ease in a member’s kitchen, not only on a roof
- No heat pump experience. That’s a different crew.
Your part in it
- LEAD
- a crew of three on 6 roofs a week across Merthyr and the Cynon Valley.
- CHECK
- every install to MCS standard before you sign it off.
- TRAIN
- Dylan to run a roof on his own by spring.
- PLAN
- the week with Carys, who books the members in.
- SHOW
- each member how their system works and how to read their meter.
What success looks like
- DAY 30
- you’ve worked on the tools with Rhys in Penydarren and led your first roof.
- DAY 60
- you plan the crew’s week with Carys and sign off every install yourself.
- DAY 90
- you run your own crew of three on 6 roofs a week.
What you’ll need
- 5+ years installing solar PV to MCS standard
- A valid IPAF or PASMA card
- Patience teaching apprentices
Nice to have, not required
- Welsh, for members who’d rather use it at the kitchen table.
- Electrical qualifications beyond PV. Paid time for installer qualifications helps you get them.
Where you’ll work
- YARD
- Merthyr Tydfil. Vans load at 07:30 and come back to plan tomorrow.
- FIELD
- Member roofs across Merthyr and the Cynon Valley, two a day.
- HOURS
- UK time. 07:30 at the yard, back by 16:30.
- APR–OCT
- Main install season. In winter there’s no roof work in high wind, and the same pay.
Languages
| Language | Need | Why |
|---|---|---|
| English | Required | The crew’s working language, on the roof and in the van. |
| Welsh | Nice to have | Some members would rather use it. Carys tells you who before you knock. |
The essentials
Lead Solar Installer · Brightfield Community Energy
- Salary
- £40–42k
- Where
- Merthyr Tydfil yard
- Leave
- 30 days + bank holidays
- Pension
- 8% employer
How you'll interview · about 2 weeks
- 1 · Chat with Rhys
- 2 · Half a day on a roof (paid)
- 3 · Meet the crew
- 4 · A members’ evening
Your first stop
Penydarren, on the tools with Rhys
Not ready to apply? Talk to Rhys for 15 minutes.
No CV needed. Ask about the work, the people, or what a hard week looks like.