Operations and Maintenance Manager at Sun Exchange

Job Summary 

Sun Exchange leverages financial innovation to drive sustainable energy development. We make the environmental, social, and economic benefits of solar accessible and affordable for all.

The candidate we are looking for

The primary function of this role is to ensure the effective management of O&M activities across Sun Exchange operational assets. This is achieved by developing and maintaining systems for preventative measures to ensure minimal downtime, accurate assessment of problems, and swift rectification of the same, within a defined budget. In addition, the O&M Manager is expected to ensure that all matters impacting the project are understood, and transparently recorded so that root cause analysis and lessons learned can be derived. The ability to focus on the details as well as see the bigger picture is needed as the position involves both analysing and interpreting issues at hand as well as those facing the industry, and the business objectives.

Key Job Functions

Team management of the O&M function

At present, our O&M team is small, and manages the operations of around 80 plants. We expect that the number of plants will double at least in the next year. In addition, new plants are larger and more complex than much of our existing fleet. The O&M manager must build the team, and put in place automation, to ensure that plants perform optimally.

Optimal Performance of Solar Projects

The O&M Manager is responsible for ensuring that the portfolio of projects is operating at its optimal output. Any concerns identified with projects need to be addressed as quickly as possible, and the O&M Manager is required to plan, coordinate, and oversee the implementation of both preventative and corrective maintenance. This may involve occasionally traveling to projects as well as remotely liaising with contractors and site representatives to close out any problems and confirm the quality of the work. The O&M Manager is also expected to manage the provision of reports, drawings, spare parts lists or other documentation needed after maintenance work is completed.

Project Acceptance after Construction

Once projects have been built, the O&M Manager must ensure that a thorough assessment of the plants build-quality and as-built documents has been completed. The O&M manager will facilitate the transition of newly built projects to operational projects by confirming administrative, legal and commercial requirements have been met prior to acceptance.

Monitoring of Solar Projects

The role provides vital insight into issues which could be causing under- performance and leads efforts to correct issues at plants. The O&M manager transparently communicates the status of project performance with the broader Sun Exchange community including internal teams, offtakers and cell owners.

In order to do this the O&M manager must ensure that all monitoring systems are working correctly, and that accurate data is being received and processed. Periodically specific investigative reports may be required to coordinate support with clients, subject matter experts, external consultants or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that have been engaged to assist with any issues.

Warranty and Insurance Management

The O&M Manager is expected to ensure that adequate insurance is provided for each plant and will coordinate with insurance companies to process any claims related to damage identified at operational plants. Furthermore, the O&M manager will coordinate with EPC Contractors regarding the swift correction of all defects identified during the warranty period.

Key areas of competency

Due to the direct connection between the health of the projects and the health of the company, it is important that the projects are operating optimally at all time. This requires a driven person who is invested in making sure that all issues are identified and resolved as soon as they can be. Certain issues may be particularly complex to address, thus for someone to be successful in this role, they must be proactive, have the relevant technical competencies to identify problems and be able to think creatively about new solutions to old problems.

Often a number of issues need to be addressed at the same time, so multitasking and the ability to rearrange priorities without becoming overwhelmed or inundated is important. Record keeping is critical to ensuring transparent information and “communal knowledge” which is a huge driver for success at the Sun Exchange, therefore the role requires a person who is focused, and administratively diligent.

Finally, the O&M Manager works closely with staff in all areas of the business and thus effective communication is paramount. This requires excellent written and verbal communication and the ability to present information clearly and concisely. Real-time feedback to the rest of the team about problems and progress is important to make sure that no efforts are wasted, or work duplicated across the teams.

Requirements

• 5+ year’s experience in solar industry.
• Electrical national diploma, wiring licence or Electrical Engineering degree.
• Experience with monitoring Solar projects on various platforms, including but not limited to Huawei, Solar Edge, Solar Log.
• Experience managing contractors on site by providing clear instructions on scope of work and minimum acceptance criteria, ensuring that the work is executed to the agreed cost, time and quality.
• Extensive experience with onsite trouble shooting and technical report writing.
• Expert level of proficiency in office suite software, including word, excel, and power point.
• Any experience with yield modelling software a plus (PVSyst, Helioscope and similar programs).
• PV Green Card a plus.

Key capabilities and physical requirements

• Positive, focused and solution oriented individual.
• Driven personality, with a keen eye for detail.
• Excellent time management skills, ensuring timeous attendance to meetings, and meeting deliverable deadlines.
• Must have good problem-solving abilities.
• Must be able to walk far distances, and work for extended periods in direct sunlight or on rooftops (at heights).
• Fluent in English.

Responsibilities and tasks

Site hand over and acceptance

• Continuous communication with Sun Exchange project managers and Contractors to address any areas of concern regarding the project handover documents. Ensuring that the documentation is complete, filled out correctly, and valid for the project being accepted. Finally, assisting the project manager by making sure that all documents required to legally operate the facility are obtained prior to Final Completion.

Monitoring of Solar Systems

• Ensuring that accurate monthly kWh yield values needed for the purposes of billing are being recorded no more than 2 working days after the start of the month.
• Ensuring the reliable recording into the O&M Issues Register of all matters affecting the availability or performance of the projects.
• Oversight on monthly generation of reports detailing performance statistics of all projects in Sun Exchange’s portfolio, or as needed by the company.
• Communication with site representatives to understand any factors which may have changed onsite that are affecting the project.

Rectification of issues:

• Coordination with site representatives and contractors to arrange for the swift rectification of issues on site within 1 day of becoming aware of the issue.
• Where needed, collection and assessment of quotations for work needed on site, ensuring that the best available options are used.
• Oversight of contractors that are appointed to maintain or repair projects to ensure that the work has been completed to the quality standard required and that any associated documentation is received and uploaded to the file store before the work is signed off or accepted.
• Coordination with Contractors or OEMs to initiate, track and close warranty and insurance claims for items damaged on site.
• Ensuring that work completed on site is done in accordance with OSH Act and safety regulations