Solar Development Process Manager at Sun Exchange

Job Summary:

Sun Exchange has deployed and operates one of the largest fleets of embedded generation commercial solar and energy storage projects in South Africa. The sectors we solar power include education, retirement, retail, non-profit, manufacturing, agriculture and more.

The candidate we are looking for

The Solar Development Process Manager is a key operational role player in our business. You will coordinate the work of different people and teams inside and outside the company. You will ensure that the workflow is planned and streamlined with all role players in our value chain – from business development and funding, through project construction to final commercial operations.  

This role reports to the company’s Head of Business Development.

This is a Cape Town-based role.

Key areas of competency

This is a dynamic role that touches on all teams and levels within Sun Exchange giving the individual exposure to multiple requirements and stakeholders including executives and external partners. You therefore need to be passionate about solving people-orientated problems while improving processes and improving efficiencies. This is a fast-paced and dynamic role that forms the core engine of the business development processes and is intimately tied to revenue.

Requirements

The Solar Development Process Manager role requires a minimum of 5 years’ experience in project management in the energy space; operations; business process; or general business management. Industry-specific skills and knowledge in renewable energy; due diligence processes; experience in power purchase agreements and financial modeling will be beneficial.

Responsibilities and tasks

Pipeline Management

• Track projects as they move through the development process.
• Push project priorities according to knowledge of the pipeline and business priorities.
• Identify and coordinate type of, and requirements for funding.
• Ensure tempo is kept as projects move through the development process while making sure all required documentation is gathered and filed.
• Support in any blockages that may occur with projects.
• Communicate / report with the broader team on status on pipeline projects.
• Coordinate execution of projects from contracting with the offtaker, appointment of the EPC and management of the funding milestones.

Construction and operations oversight

• Coordinate with the project construction management team to plan for upcoming projects.
• Assist with making sure a project reaches commercial operation.
• Work with all teams to manage expectations around timelines.
• Identify blockages and work with management to resolve.

Process

• Support the development and funding processes of Sun Exchange.
• Facilitate, update and manage internal project development.
• Document and communicate changes to the broader team.
• Implement changes as part of pipeline management.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve processes.

Forecasting & Reporting

• Prepare and manage regular pipeline reporting
• Includes the management of Hubspot (CRM tool) along with other software tools
• Through knowledge of pipeline, work with the Funding Manager and the Financial Director to forecast the project sales
• Deliver other monthly KPI reports and support ad hoc reporting requests

Project Administration & Support

• Manage all project documentation with the support of engineering, business development and finance to ensure project documentation is comprehensive and complete through all stages of development.
• Manage business across various software suits: MS Office / Slack / HubSpot / Google Drive / Dropbox.
• Ensure all aspects of a deal are complete and cross referenced before funding. i.e PPA, EPC Agreement, helioscope, project financial model and costs.