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  • For more information, please contact:
  • Barnaby Redwood
  • Tel: 0117 973 8507
  • Mobile: 07736 807 865
  • Email: Barnaby Redwood
  • Portfolio Asset Manager- Onshore Wind

  • Location:

    Swindon, Port Talbot, Harpenden, Barnard Castle or

  • Salary:

    up to £55,000

  • Reference:

    AssetBR

  • Posted:

    30th Nov 2011

  • Job Type:

    Temporary

  • The company operates over 440MW of wind capacity within the Onshore wind business in the UK. The portfolio is spread across the whole of the UK, utilising different suppliers, contractors and technologies and managing the operational delivery for a mixture of internal and external owners, investors and stakeholders. The portfolio is set to grow rapidly over the next few years. The Operations and Asset Management team is responsible for operating, maintaining and maximising the value of these assets. This role has key responsibilities both for the existing portfolio AND for the planning and realisation of the growth plan


     


    Specifically, the Portfolio Asset Manager has responsibility and accountability for the following functions;


     


    1. Investor and Lender Services Agreements and relationships, across a complex blend of ownership and funding structures and operating at Board level in developing and delivering contracted services and reporting. For Beaufort Wind Ltd (BWL), this also extends to the offshore windfarm of North Hoyle, which is included in the BWL portfolio, at an additional 60MW capacity. For Green Gecco (GG) this extends to the onshore windfarm of An Suidhe (19.3MW).


     


    2. Portfolio Commercial Management, leading on the development, design and delivery on all non-operational external contracts and services to support the operational activities of the windfarms. 


     


    3. Leading the Operations and Asset Management Business Planning, to support the annual business planning processes of NRL and investors, and ensuring robust delivery, review and improvement plans are in place and realised. 


     


    4. Leading for O&AM on the Development Planning Interface. The Onshore portfolio is forecast to grow by a factor of 200% so O&AM needs to be actively involved in optimising the long term value of the portfolio and ensuring robust and timely plans are in place to ensure successful implementation and operation. 


     


    • Pipeline planning, converting development plans into operational site plans


    • Portfolio optimisation - co-ordination of O&AM interface inputs into development planning, for example geographical / technology preferences  


     


    5. Centralised performance tracking and reporting to stakeholders, against both portfolio business plan targets and Value Improvement Programme (VIP) project targets.


     


     


    Principal Accountabilities:


     


    What is done? Why?


    1. There is a diverse and complex set of ownership and funding structures in place across the portfolio. Some of the windfarms are owned outright by the company, whilst others (still in 2011 the majority) are a mixture of their and external equity ownership. The Beaufort Wind Portfolio of 17 windfarms and Green Gecco single site also has debt funding structures to service. Under all arrangements, NRL O&AM provide management and operational services to maximise the performance of the windfarms. These are under formal contracts for external/blended ownership and this role is the primary owner of the development, management, delivery and reporting of these agreements and services. The management and performance reporting needs to be harmonised across the different ownership sub-portfolios, to create one consistent set of reports.


     


     


    2. The growing portfolio requires a range of contracts and services to support the operational activities. This role will lead on development, design and delivery of contracts and services to support ;


    • Investor relations, extending beyond BWL/Lenders to Green Gecco, NRL and potential others


    • Insurance policy and premiums


    • Electricity


    • Business Rates


    • Volume forecasting and interface to technical services for wind forecasting


    • PPA and pricing lead interface with commercial and PPA counterparties


     


    3. Whilst Business Planning is co-ordinated by NRL Finance, O&AM need to fully engage, inform and support this process. Ensuring timely completion of the annual business plan and investors, and ensuring structured reviews of plan assumptions and dependencies for re-forecasting purposes. This role will lead on this and will also ensure that the O&AM function develops an implementation plan to ensure delivery of the financial business plan. That this implementation plan includes continuous improvements and the co-ordination and benefits tracking of the Value Improvement Programme to deliver the principles of Project Excelencia, and target benefits of £4m per annum. This role will lead on;


     


    • Interface and co-ordination with Finance on Business Planning process and completion


    • Interface planning, with Development for pipeline planning for portfolio growth


    • Establishing and leading on quarterly review process, to test and refresh business plan


    • Operational planning co-ordination, including the overall O&AM Manpower plan 


    • Opportunity and event planning, including prioritisation processes (for example value based, end of WOM planning etc)


    • Co-ordination of portfolio wide operational performance reporting


    • Completion and resolution tracking of portfolio risks and issues, via a structured risk and issue management matrix 


     


    4.    The Onshore portfolio will triple in size over the next 8 years under Business Plan forecasts. O&AM needs to be fully engaged in this process, supporting and inputting into development planning, ensuring full engagement and support to projects and ensuring O&AM have robust and timely plans in place to support implementation and operational management, including 


     


    • Pipeline planning, converting development plans into operational site plans


    • Portfolio optimisation - co-ordination of O&AM interface inputs into development planning, for example geographical / technology preferences  


     


     Each of the asset owners requires development and delivery of services agreements to maximise the returns and protect the value of the assets. These requirements will vary by owner and will need to be understood and converted into service delivery contracts and reporting structures, including for this post holder the requirement to operate and influence at Board level.


     


     


    C40% of the direct cost opex of the portfolio is non-operational expenditure. The successful operation and compliance of the growing portfolio requires a set of non-operational services. The expansion of the portfolio offers the opportunity to gain efficiencies of scale and value, and the role needs to proactively develop options for Board level sign off and then ensure successful implementation and delivery


     


    This post will take a much more active role in engaging and supporting the process and ensuring that O&AM are both influencing and informing the wider planning process, and being fully prepared to implement Business Plans and maximise value. The role will also co-ordinate the overall implementation of continuous improvement, the Value Improvement Programme to ensure the realisation of the principles of Project Excelencia and the assurance of benefits.


     


    In achieving this, the role will co-ordinate the risks and opportunities review and management and facilitate the processes of prioritisation and planning.


     


    Again, historically O&AM have been passive and reactive in development planning. For Onshore windfarms O&AM are the ‘customer’ of the Development team and need to ensure active influence in development planning and choices, to optimise the full life value. Also O&AM have to plan and deliver against supporting the project processes and lifecycle and to turn the development plan into a realisable and achievable, fully costed and fully understood O&AM implementation and operational plan to manage the assets as they are commissioned.


     


     


    Knowledge and Skills:


     


    • Commercial and Technical knowledge of the UK Renewables Industry


    • Commercial skills to establish services contracts with windfarm owners and manage delivery and reporting


    • Business Planning skills, to shape and influence as well as deliver and realise


    • Design, development and implementation skills to develop, lead and realise benefits of complex, interdependent change and development projects


    • Ability to motivate staff and influence senior management, including at Board level


    • Excellent Relationship Management skills, including Negotiating and Influence and Impact


    • Communication and reporting skills


    • Commercial awareness of procurement processes and legal framework for contracts – typically through hands on experience with contracts


    • The ability to assimilate engineering concepts and technical jargon and to communicate clearly and in non-technical terms to investors, non-engineers and third parties


    • An appreciation of renewables technology and the constraints this places on site design, operations and maintenance procedures


    • The ability to understand and support the roles of other renewables teams, such as development, finance, projects and Health & Safety


    • An appreciation of the wider business strategy and the longer term targets, particularly in the context of the UK / European energy market


    • The ability to develop and maintain contacts outside of the team, both within the Group and the wider industry


     
  • For more information, please contact:
  • Barnaby Redwood
  • Tel: 0117 973 8507
  • Mobile: 07736 807 865
  • Email: Barnaby Redwood