Assistant Project Manager

Downing, Renewable Development - Assistant Project Manager (pre-construction development) - Glasgow

Downing is a fast-growing, entrepreneurial, responsible investment manager with headquarters in central London. We believe a great investment opportunity isn’t just financial - it’s a chance to invest in things that matter: our environment, our health, our society, our communities, and our economy. This aligns with our B CORP status. Our ability to adapt and innovate to create products for our investors is key to our growth and success, and our core values are vital to everything we do - from the businesses we invest in to the people we hire.

About the team

Downing Renewable Developments (DRD) is a renewable development team, responsible for identifying suitable renewable energy project opportunities and then undertaking the required grid connection, land agreement and planning processes to obtain successfully developed projects. Following the development phase of the projects, they will then be constructed and operated long term.

Role and responsibilities

The Assistant Project Manager - Development role based in Glasgow, will be to support the development and delivery of high-quality renewable energy projects into operation through the project management of individual tasks and projects during the development and construction phase, as well as supporting senior team members in other tasks.

In particular, the role-holder will be expected to support and manage key development stages, pre-construction and construction activities including managing grid agreement interfaces, general engineering activities, procuring and placing contracts, pre-construction activities (such as planning condition discharge), contract administration and reporting, resolution of ad-hoc issues, monitoring technical and HSE compliance and managing the overall delivery of projects until handover to the asset management team. The role-holder will also require to undertake development and operation works that provides the role-holder with all round knowledge of the project life cycle and overall business.

The role-holder is anticipated to have a wide range of technical capability and Project Management experience, a real desire to succeed and be able to work autonomously and propose innovative solutions to problems.

Education, experience and skills

The ideal candidate will have the following:

• Project Management / Engineering / Planning / Environmental or Ecology Qualification (degree level as a minimum).
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience within the renewable energy industry in project management working on solar PV, battery storage or onshore wind projects (experience in other industries with suitable transferrable skills will also be considered).
• Experience in the development and delivery of renewable projects at various stages in the project lifecycle.
• Contributed to the management of contract preparation, negotiation and administration including tracking contract performance, managing payment processes and management of contract deliverables.
• Understanding of working with grid operators and managing the delivery of grid connections.
• Experience of managing project stakeholders including regulators, statutory consultees and local communities.
• Awareness of project financial management, project economics and energy markets.
• Understanding of how to implement quality assurance processes
• Understanding of health, safety and environmental legislation applicable to construction projects in particular the CDM Regulations.
• Awareness of the UK consenting processes.
• Experienced in the use of technical software (such as AutoCAD, GIS, PVSyst)
• An ability to anticipate project issues and propose creative solutions.
• An ability to translate technical detail into commercial impact.
• An ability to manage several project tasks at once and be able to plan and prioritise project workload.

Personal characteristics

• Passionate about what you do - you are always happy to roll up your sleeves.
• Team player - we do our best to cultivate an open, honest, hard-working culture at Downing.
• Customer oriented - you are approachable, friendly and professional whilst working diligently. Nothing is too much trouble.
• Assertive and focus on execution – you make things happen.