Senior Project Manager (18-month FTC)

LOCATION

The role is flexible in location but will require occasional travel to and from the project site (Shetland) and the London Head Office.

ABOUT ZENOBE

Our goal is to make clean power accessible, to accelerate the shift to zero carbon power and transport.

We’re building and operating the world’s most sophisticated battery systems to enable the uptake of more renewable power and accelerating fleet electrification, de-risking the transition to zero-emission transport at scale. We’ve been consistently innovative since we were founded in 2017, achieving major industry firsts and using proprietary software and data analysis to optimise operational performance for our customers. At the end of their life, we repurpose electric vehicle batteries to provide clean power at depots, on construction sites and film sets.

Today we have 730 MW of grid scale battery storage operational and under construction and are the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, supporting over 1,000 electric vehicles worldwide. In our first five years we have raised nearly £1.8 billion in funding and have expanded into other markets such as the US. Our rapidly growing company is looking for highly talented and motivated people to join us.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are looking to recruit a commercially and technically astute Senior Project Manager with experience in the battery storage market to support the growth of the Network & Infrastructure business, delivering one of the most unique battery energy storage assets in the UK (>50MW in size). The project will be based in Shetland, providing a first of its kind, back-up power and stability asset for the island.

The candidate will bring a good understanding of procurement, proposal and project management and construction, have proven experience of working on large-scale battery projects, and have the engineering capability and credibility to manage projects through development and delivery phases. Reporting into the Head of Network Infrastructure Projects, the role integrates with team members in procurement, legal, finance, engineering and construction to build complex, highly optimized projects backed up by solid contracts. The role includes liaising with third parties and managing contractors and other external stakeholders. It will be a requirement to hit the ground running and to be comfortable operating at a rapid pace and delivering against key metrics of safety, cost and schedule performance.

A TASTE OF THE DAY TO DAY

• Leading day-to-day project management activities of large scale energy storage projects from deal closure through to handover to the Zenobe operations team. Responsible for the overall project delivery ensuring that key success criteria are defined, monitored and achieved.
• Project controls management including risk, change control, schedule, documentation and reporting.
• Delivery of large scale energy storage projects in accordance with the Zenobe project management tools, processes and standards.
• Weekly and monthly reporting to both internal and external stakeholders including financial institution reporting.
• Management of matrix structured project team built up of internal stakeholders within the business. Assigning tasks, actions and ensuring the completion of these in appropriate timescales. Leading weekly and monthly project team meetings and developing a strong team ethos.
• The candidate would have direct responsibility for managing the project budget on schemes up to £200m in CAPEX. Working closely with the corporate finance and accounting teams to ensure project finances are strictly controlled throughout the delivery phase.
• Supporting the development phase for new energy storage projects, working alongside the land, planning and procurement teams to review, negotiate and award contracts.
• Providing leadership and guidance to the entire project team including interfacing with internal engineering, procurement, legal, finance and construction teams.
• Leading the project through the lifecycle stages including stage gate assurance reviews in accordance with the Zenobe governance and assurance standard.
• Responsible for the development, review, and technical oversight of engineering and design phases of the project, working closely alongside the technical engineering team.
• Develop and/or review system designs, single lines, layouts, containerization, performance guarantees, availability guarantees, etc.
• Support the development of project CAPEX budgets and then own and control the budget following final investment decision.
• Maintain knowledge of applicable codes & standards and certifications in the energy storage industry.
• Coordination with external stakeholders such as suppliers, contractors, landowners, permit agencies, lawyers and advisors.
• Supporting preparation of high quality internal InvestCom papers.
• Develop strategic relationships with all project partners including suppliers, contractors, utilities, landowners, permitting authorities, lawyers and advisors.
• Working closely with the construction management team to ensure the projects are designed, constructed and commissioned in accordance with Zenobe and industry standard requirements for HSEQ.

Health and Safety

• Actively contribute to Zenobe's commitment to health and safety, wellbeing and sustainability by integrating these principles into daily responsibilities, ensuring a safe and supportive work environment, promoting both the physical and mental health of self and colleagues, and adopting sustainable and energy-efficient practices to minimize environmental impact.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We realise that certain groups of people are less likely to apply for a role if they don’t meet 100% of the job requirements. To be absolutely clear: if you like the look of this job and think you could do it well, we encourage you to apply with a CV that highlights your transferable skills and experience. Above all, Zenobē is looking for collaborative, flexible, empathetic people who are interested in creating and promoting practical routes to a zero carbon world.

Essential skills:

• Project and proposal management
• Project controls management including scheduling, cost control, change management etc.
• Proficient working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel) and MS Project
• Outstanding attention to detail
• Strong planning, risk management and organisational skills, team player
• Pragmatic, proactive and solution driven
• Strong commercial skills – comfortable with legal contracts and project commercials
• Excellent communication skills, capable of presenting project updates
• Experience of managing projects through the construction and commissioning phases
• Strong stakeholder and contractor management skills

Essential competencies:

• High quality education (bachelor’s degree or masters) in engineering (electrical preferred)
• A genuine passion in clean energy and our social and environmental mission
• Solid work experience (minimum 3 years) in project engineering / management / procurement / technical consultant in energy storage or renewables sectors
• Knowledge of the UK energy storage landscape
• Must have hands-on technical experience with large scale energy storage projects
• Must have a sound understanding of the technical, performance, and integration of Li-Ion batteries as part of energy storage project
• Must have experience with DNO and TO connection works and Balance of Plant equipment
• Good experience dealing with customers and suppliers
• Ability to work in the HQ in London and travel UK wide and internationally
• Desire to work in a fast moving, high pressure and entrepreneurial environment

Desirable but non-essential skills:

• Experience in renewables, and/or EV infrastructure
• Knowledge of the US and Australia markets
• Project Management Qualification (APM, Prince2 etc)

WORKING AT ZENOBE

We’re passionate about sustainability and are proud to offer Team Zenobē a pioneering and collaborative working environment. We encourage our people to take ownership of their career progression and celebrate those that can think outside the box.

If you’d like to join our community of likeminded people hit the apply button now, we’d love to hear from you!

WHAT WE OFFER

Charge your career at Zenobē and receive:

• Up to 25% annual bonus for being awesome
• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays
• Private Medical Insurance
• £1,500 training budget per year, to ensure you grow as we do
• EV Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Pension scheme, up to 8% matched contributions
• Enhanced parental leave
• Cash back health plan
• Plus more

Lots of our people work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, flexitime and hybrid working. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but please talk to us about the flexibility you need and let’s see how we can make it work.

OUR APPROACH TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Our people are our strongest asset and the key determinant of our success, and we value a range of skillsets and perspectives. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. We work to provide equal opportunities and an inclusive work environment, where everyone is fairly treated in the application process and through their career at Zenobē. If there are any adjustments that would help improve your experience with Zenobē, please let us know when you apply.