Mission Clean Energy is seeking a Director of Development, Renewable Energy with extensive utility-scale renewable energy experience to join our rapidly growing company either remotely or at our office location in San Francisco, California. Our team is located in Arizona, California, Colorado, D.C., Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Washington, Texas, Maine and beyond.
Mission Clean Energy (“Mission”) is a values-driven company focused on accelerating the clean energy transition. Our mission is to decarbonize the grid responsibly, one renewable energy project at a time. We are leading the way by providing clean, abundant, and reliable energy to communities throughout the US.
Mission is a newly founded, well-capitalized company with an established leadership team that has worked together for several years delivering extraordinary results. We value our strong employee culture rooted in collaboration and transparency and favor innovative thinkers who help us reach our ambitious growth and impact goals.
About the Role:
Mission seeks a Director of Development, Renewable Energy, who will be responsible for driving the development of renewable energy projects, including managing project teams, overseeing project schedules and budgets, and working with stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
The Director of Development, Renewable Energy will report to the Head of Development and will work closely with our growing cross-functional group that includes representation from finance, engineering, GIS, real estate, permitting, transmission/interconnection, and revenue contract origination.
This person will be responsible for development of a portfolio of large and complex renewable energy projects, with an emphasis on mid-stage through NTP. The Director of Development, Renewable Energy will coordinate and review the mid-stage work product of multiple permitting staff and Developers.
This person will be responsible for development of a portfolio of large and complex renewable energy projects throughout their lifecycle from initiation to construction. The Director of Development, Renewable Energy coordinates and reviews the work product of multiple developers. This person will also identify, assess and execute on potential strategic partnerships, acquisitions and investments by the company and assist the finance team in the divestment of assets as well as in any third-party debt or equity financing.
This position is a rare opportunity to join a well-capitalized, outstanding team in a critical role that will shape the growth and future of the company. This is an ideal job for a deeply skilled person who wants to lead in an entrepreneurial environment while maximizing their impact on the clean energy transition.
Key Responsibilities:
Development:
- Land and Real Estate: Manage all matters related to real estate for mid to late stage projects. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Obtain initial title commitments, perform all require title curative to achieve the proforma policy in a form acceptable to the financier;
- Manage title closing and issuance of the closing letter and final title policy with required endorsements;
- Manage all changes to the ALTA survey to provide a survey acceptable to the financier and the title company;
- Review and manage all lease agreements as well as any required amendments acceptable to the financing parties, including recording the memorandums;
- Manage real estate land purchases and any sale lease backs;
- Obtain any needed easements in a form acceptable for financial close;
- Perform any subdivisions and or lot line adjustments needed for land acquisitions;
- Obtain any required crossing agreements such as, driveway, pipeline, transmission and distribution line, canal, DOT, communications, sewer and water, etc.;
- Manage key landowner relationships.
Permitting:
- Acquire all permits needed to construct and operate utility scale solar and energy storage projects. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Obtain all local land use approvals from the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), such as Conditional Use Permits, Zoning Authorizations, Zoning Letters, etc.;
- Obtain required State siting and or facilities permits, such as Certificates of Public Necessity (CPCN), Electric Merchant Permits (EMP), Electrical Siting Permits, etc.;
- Hearing preparation and lead face for the project at all Local and State land use hearings;
- Receive all environmental clearances from Local, State, and Federal agencies as applicable, such as CEQA, NEPA, SEQR, etc.;
- Perform historic and cultural resource studies and obtain clearance from the State SHPO as required;
- Manage filings with the Federal Aviation Authority and any other affected airports;
- Evaluate and obtain any required threatened and endangered species initial screening, protocol surveys, and any required State or Federal take authorizations or permits. This includes consultations per Section 7 of the ESA, Section 10a Take Permits, or any State Take Authorization;
- Manage wetland surveys, filing of Preliminary and/or Approved Wetland Jurisdictional Determinations (PJD/AJD), and applying for and receiving approval of Preconstruction Notices (PCN) for issuance of the required Nationwide Wetland Permits.
Interconnection:
- Manage interconnection applications through the process until commercial operation. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Working knowledge of the ISO/RTO interconnection processes for filing interconnection applications including (CAISO, PJM, ERCOT, SPP, and MISO);
- Manage relationship with the utility and RTO/ISO from application to COD;
- Manage internal and external resources to provide engineering support for the process;
- Make all required security postings and payments in a timely manner;
- Review and solicit comments from consultants and internal team on the feasibility, system impact, and facilities studies;
- Negotiate all agreements needed to construct the facilities including Interconnection agreements, engineering and procurement, and construction agreements;
Asset Divestment
- Provide support during project sale, debt and equity closings;
- Prepare projects for debt and equity finance or divestment by addressing low and medium finance risk items identified during acquisition process;
- Confirm that project land control documents, easements, right-of-way agreements, etc. meet minimum finance thresholds;
- Manage all matters related to real estate for the project closing.
Project Management:
- Act as the primary gatekeeper for project budget, schedule updates, risk management, and other essential functions for mid-stage projects.
- Define project objectives in partnership with stakeholders ensuring practicality
- Maintain project schedules with stakeholders using Smartsheet and other relevant software.
- Collaborate with in-house teams and external partners to execute projects seamlessly.
- Guarantee on-schedule, scope-aligned, and cost-effective project development advancement.
- Collaborate with leadership to develop dashboards showcasing pivotal milestones, schedule risks, and other essential data.
- Create standardized project schedule templates for different regions to optimize company operations.
Desired Qualifications:
The successful candidate must have utility-scale renewable energy experience, as well as the following experiences, skills, and attributes.
- Bachelor’s Degree or higher in a business, urban planning, engineering, environmental or finance related fields
- 5-9 years of experience in a similar position, ideally in renewable energy, infrastructure, real estate development, and/or construction industry.
- Demonstrated experience in land development, entitlement, permitting and interconnection.
- A proven track record as a lead developer with a “deal sheet of projects” 50MW+ in size
- Strong understanding of energy markets and renewable energy development in North America
- Demonstrated experience in land development, entitlement, permitting and interconnection
- Strong project skills including creating and managing project budgets and schedules
- Ability to manage and support multiple projects simultaneously, with varying complexities and urgencies presented day to day
- Ability to communicate effectively with audiences that include but are not limited to management, coworkers, clients, vendors, contractors, and other stakeholders
- Superior preparation, presentation, time management & interpersonal skills
- Represent the company with the utmost professionalism with internal and external communications
- Bias toward action in decision making
- A valid driving license.
- Ability and willingness to travel within the United States as much as 40% of the time, or as required by project needs
Mission offers highly competitive compensation. Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, and health insurance; 401(k) plan with company match; professional development assistance; and self-managed flexible work schedules and time-off policies.
Compensation: $150,000 – $200,000 annual salary + bonus, depending on qualifications and relevant experience (expected experience range 5-9 years).
We seek a diverse candidate pool in this and every search. Mission Clean Energy is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
To apply for this position, please send your resume to careers@missioncleanenergy.com. No phone calls please. US based applicants only. No recruiters, please.
