Head of Project Construction
Office Location: West London
Our client is a clean energy private equity fund who are looking for the Head of Project Construction to lead construction of battery storage projects around the world. You will report directly to the COO of the fund and work closely with the Operational Risk Manager.
You will supervise a team of project engineers and managers that constitute the primary interface between the Fund and the stakeholders in the battery storage development processes, including the developer, the grid operator, ICP and EPC contractor, planning authorities and land-owners to track project progress, manage risks, initiate and apply any necessary modification and mitigation strategies to ensure projects are delivered, on time, within budget, and at anticipated performance standards.
Your Responsibilities
- Implement a project development schedule and monitor project development risks to ensure timely compliance with the project schedule (including in relation to grid energisation, lease execution, ICP and EPC engagement, testing and commissioning).
- Work with the Operational Risk Manager to develop and thereafter, ensure maintenance of appropriate insurance planning, security (including cybersecurity), HSE (including fire safety), construction management, decommissioning and recycling management, and other construction programs for the Fund’s portfolio.
- Develop budget enforcement strategies, evaluating change orders, variations, and other budget related risks to ensure they are adequately mitigated.
- Ensure construction managers adequately interface with and hold accountable the EPC, ICP, DNO or TSO, Planning, Land Lease owner and other external stakeholders to:
o ensure timely delivery of projects in line with agreed standards for quality;
o ensure effective project governance and controls (including HSE and planning
compliance);
o ensure project consistency;
o define/champion good performance;
o support the preparation of and amendments to project execution plans;
o prepare and/or monitor project risk management plans and budget deviations. * Manage the construction phase of the portfolio projects including planning conditions discharge obligations, grid connection compliance process, project risk management, and construction and testing
- Proactively develop strategies to drive down project construction costs, including by evaluating tender scope and sourcing strategies
- Support development of tender and EPC contractual documents in order to confirm adequate description of the scope of work, project requirements and proper allocation of risks and constraints.
Desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience
- Engineering degree required (masters preferred)
- Preferred 4-5 years of professional experience in energy storage sectors and minimum 8 years in project development
- Professional-level capabilities with project management tools and documentation (including Microsoft Office).
- Ability to establish portfolio wide policies in line with international best practises
- Understanding of battery energy storage system applications, technology and components
- Understanding of engineering principles related to distributed energy resources and electrical design
- Understanding of project acceptance tests and commissioning procedures
- Ability to manage utility, interconnection, distribution and transmission evaluation processes and stakeholders on the one hand, and supervise and manage EPC, O&M and related third party contractors on the other.
- Strong ability to manage the energy storage procurement processes, and knowledge of overall development life cycles (including interrelationships between various development activities)
- Knowledge of the UK, Irish, EU and US power markets.
Ability to travel periodically
