Project Development Manager, Utility Scale Solar

Company Overview

rPlus is a team of committed energy industry professionals working together to develop large-scale renewable energy generation and electric storage projects in the United States. rPlus is a market leader in the western US with a proven track record of delivering projects to utility and corporate customers on time and on budget. rPlus specializes in bringing projects to market through partnership with the private sector, municipalities, utilities, and industry-leading technology and service providers. Its portfolio consists of a strategic mix of solar, solar plus battery, wind, and pumped storage hydro facilities. rPlus is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and is backed by the Gardner Group and Sandbrook Capital.

The Project Development Manager (PDM) manages and coordinates all aspects of the project development life cycle, from early-stage site evaluation and site control, through complete development and handoff to a Construction Manager. The PDM is responsible for planning, scheduling and managing scope and budget for vendors, coordinating company resources such as legal, engineering, environmental/permitting, and navigating interconnection studies, site design and financing due diligence efforts. The PDM will be assigned to multiple projects simultaneously depending on project status and individual project development needs and is responsible for communicating project updates to various stakeholders. The position will require a maximum of 50% travel in support of regional projects and business development.

Key Responsibilities

1) Project Leadership

- Identify and secure suitable development properties

- Provide technical input and direction to the following: site evaluation and characterization, permitting, technology selection, power purchase agreements, interconnect applications and agreements, financial modeling, title curative work and other project development aspects

- Leads projects through permitting and interconnection milestones (supported by internal technical specialists)

- Prepare projects for detailed and thorough third-party financing due diligence reviews.

- Represent rPlus in development, permitting and marketing meetings on engineering and technical issues.

- Negotiate key agreements such as land leases, interconnection agreements, and consultant contracts.

- Assess and anticipate deliverable needs; manage budget, schedules, and scope of work documents; communicate resource requirements to senior management; participate in contract review and RFP review

- Develop and evaluate options to optimize cost and scheduling and “problem solve” as required to recover schedule

2) Team and Stakeholder Management

- Manage staff and/or project teams, setting clear goals and providing performance feedback

- Manage project transitions and hand-offs from development to construction phases

- Primary interface with internal development directors, senior management, and internal departments (construction, legal, finance, etc.) on matters relating to development progress

- Serve as point of contact with utilities, landowners, community stakeholders

3) Consultant and Vendor Oversight

- Engage with, and manage, third party vendors by establishing MSA and ESA agreements, managing the scope, schedule and budgets of the work orders, and actively managing the output product of the vendor agreement

- Maintain strong working relationships to ensure high-quality, on-time deliverables

4) Communication and Reporting

- Provide regular updates to senior leadership on project progress, budget, and risks

- Model professional communication and collaboration across executive, technical, and external stakeholders

Skill Requirements

- 5-7 years solar industry or electric utility generation project development experience including project management, jurisdictional permitting, conceptual and detailed design, scope writing, scheduling, cost estimating, procurement, and contracting

- BS degree, preferred - engineering discipline, desirable

- Expert level of proficiency in Microsoft office suite software, project management and scheduling software

- Comfortable with geospatial file types, methods and software

- Advanced written, verbal, organizational, and interpersonal skills

- Ability to work independently with periodic check-ins and to manage multiple projects simultaneously