Solar Site Manager (home based)

The WPO Group is an independent European platform of renewable energy expert-services. Our clients are asset owners, investors, lenders and insurers. By providing asset management services on 6.4GW of wind and solar sites with a capital value of €8.8bn generating €1.7bn of electricity sales annually, WPO is the market leader in France, UK, Ireland and Sweden. Our integrated service offering also includes technical due-diligence, asset inspections, testing and insurance brokerage. WPO currently operates across 13 European countries through 48 offices or service points.

The role

We have a requirement for a Site Manager to join our busy team with direct responsibility for a large solar farm near Faversham in Kent. The role is based from home with a requirement to travel regularly to site, the successful candidate will need to be located relatively close (within an hour) to the site as frequent visits will be necessary. This role has responsibility for ensuring day-to-day safe, reliable & fit-for-purpose operational management of a large solar farm on behalf of a key client. This includes overseeing the operations and maintenance of all renewable power generation operating assets. The role has full responsibility for maintaining client logs and generating reports using data from various SCADA.

Due to the travel involved, a vehicle is provided for business use.

The Person

To apply, you will have previous operations and maintenance (O&M) experience within the UK solar industry. You must also be a confident user of IT with the ability to handle and interpret SCADA data an essential requirement. As you will work largely independently, you must be able to demonstrate the ability to manage your own workload, juggling multiple priorities. Direct contact with various stakeholders and O&M contracts is key to the role and so strong communication and relationship development skills are essential. You must have a full and clean driving licence.

Primary Objectives

As a Site Manager you will report to the Operations Manager and work within the WPO team to manage a key solar farm. You will:

• Effectively organise all the activities on site on behalf of the owners; Typically, this will mean tracking the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance activities on the solar farm, including the associated HV equipment and additional balance of plant.
• With support from WPO HSEQ team, ensure HSE compliance and best practices throughout.
• Complete regular site inspection audits to assess the service levels of O&M contractors and produce appropriate inspection reports identifying any shortcomings.
• Liaise with external stakeholders such as owners, contractors, landlords, and grid operators.
• Work with all parties to ensure that WPO has a comprehensive record of all site activities. Excellent record keeping is essential, including any maintenance reports from contractors attending site.
• Monitor all contractor’s performance in terms of both safe working and adherence to maintenance schedules and standards through site visits, inspections, checking systems and paperwork and other appropriate methods.
• Manage appropriate site activities including the induction of staff and 3rd parties on site (including all contractors LV & HV, Civils workers, etc.).
• Ensuring the solar farm remains compliant with all required planning conditions, including landscape and ecological management plans.
• Recommend & manage any specialist services on site that may fall outside of O&M contractor responsibilities, such as civils or ecological works.
• Play a proactive role in further developing good working relationships with customers and any other 3rd parties involved in the operation of the contract and delivering a professional service that is “best-in-class”.

The Candidate

• 3+ years direct experience working in UK solar farm operations or construction.
• Strong understanding of solar PV technology.
• Previous experience with battery storage facilities is desired but not mandatory.
• Ability to review, understand, and challenge legal contracts.
• Experience of handling and understanding solar SCADA data and supporting the wider team with accurate reporting for our clients.
• Excellent organisation skills, working to strict deadlines.
• Attention to detail, proactivity in identifying areas of continuous improvement for the business.