Director, Development (Southwest)

ABOUT AVANTUS

Avantus is shaping the future by making reliable, low-cost clean energy a global reality. Our legacy of leadership in next generation solar energy includes developing one of the nation’s largest solar clusters and one of the first projects to beat fossil fuel prices back in 2016. Today, we are expanding the boundaries of existing technologies to build one of the largest portfolios of smart power plants with integrated storage, capable of providing millions of people with affordable, zero-emission energy – day and night. Through our relentless pursuit of better, we are decarbonizing our planet at the gigaton level, and bringing the advantages of clean energy to all of us.

ABOUT THE POSITION

We are seeking a highly motivated and organized candidate for the Director or Sr. Development, Development position. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound industry knowledge, superior communications, and detail-oriented organizational skills. This role reports to the Executive Vice President, Development.

The Director, Development will be responsible for the development of solar photovoltaic, and battery energy storage projects through leadership, project management, economic analysis, negotiation, and transaction support across a pipeline of projects targeting wholesale power markets in the US.  The successful candidate will have proven experience in the energy industry, specifically in energy infrastructure development in the Southwest market, encompassing Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico; strong financial analysis skills; an ability to effectively communicate complex ideas; and the ability and enthusiasm to drive projects forward. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Greenfield development of utility-scale solar power generation facilities.
• Communicate and synchronize cross functionally regularly to minimize project risks.
• Direct and manage tax abatements, land use agreements, mitigation settlements, interconnection agreements, offtake agreements and various other agreements
• Direct and manage project budgets, objectives, schedules, and deliverables for assigned development projects.
• Travel to site locations to evaluate sites.
• Support land use, environmental permitting applications, and preliminary engineering.
• Coordinate the real estate title curative process including diligence, supporting negotiation, and closeout with support of internal real estate team and external consultants.
• Support the interconnection process including diligence, technical review, negotiation from application through signed agreement, with support of internal interconnection team.
• Coordinate preliminary project valuation modeling with the project finance team.
• Engage community, local and state institutions for project support.
• Manage contractors, vendors, and consultants to maintain project timeline and budget.
• Assist with permitting and environmental compliance throughout the construction and operation of projects.
• Work with the finance and optimization departments during financial feasibility analysis, evaluation, and finance.

Independently lead development project initiatives or programs

• Project ownership from start to finish:
• Project economic explanation (key drivers, changes)
• Challenge project team for results
• Sign-off on project pricing and all inputs​
• Promotes all executive-level discussions / approvals​
• Cash flow approval​
• Task Order approvals​
• Owns project schedule
• May manage a team of 0-2 Analysts, Associates, and/or Managers
• Act as a trusted collaborator with broader development team for continuous improvement

REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong market experience in the Southwestern, and/or CAISO markets, US.
• Extensive knowledge of the full-cycle of utility-scale renewable power generation development and marketing.
• Extensive knowledge of interconnection, permitting, real estate, state/federal regulation, utility procurement goals, politics, law, and other issues that impact development of renewable energy projects in the eastern energy markets.
• Detailed understanding of the interconnection process (study process, contracting, utility requirements, financial obligations, and scope execution by utilities) to both site projects optimally and to advance them through COD.
• Solid understanding of economic drivers for renewable energy projects.
• Concisely frame issues by providing context, analysis, recommendations, and risk/benefit tradeoffs, both in written and verbal format, to project teams and to senior management.
• Create control and influence over the costs, terms, and schedules of key project milestones that are heavily dependent on external counterparties, often without strong commercial recourse.
• Strong understanding of the relationships within a project schedule to prioritize teams’ resource allocation
• Highly resourceful and able to navigate through key risks.
• Has taken a leadership role in development projects from start to finish, on task forces or other initiatives.
• Highly proficient in MS Excel (advanced proficiency required), Project, Word, and PowerPoint, as well as Google Earth
• Independent self-starter who can meet deadlines and deliver quality products with minimal oversight.
• Substantial ability to recognize opportunities, identify and evaluate risks in a development context and effectively communicate the foregoing.
• Demonstrated ability to translate contracts and financing agreements into concise financial and economic analysis.
• Ability to manage a large workload, often providing support to processes managed by colleagues, while prioritizing tasks and effectively juggling competing deadlines.
• Detail-oriented with a strong sense of personal responsibility and ownership of work product.
• Excellent personal organizational, pattern recognition, and negotiation skills
• At least 8 years of experience in the energy industry
• Minimum four-year bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, MBA preferred.

#LI-Remote