North Carolina Advanced Energy Corporation (Advanced Energy) is a nonprofit energy consulting firm headquartered in Raleigh, NC. We strive to ensure that energy is clean, affordable, reliable, efficient, and safe for all people. We work with electric utilities; state, federal and local governments; manufacturers and a variety of public and private partners in four markets: residential, commercial and industrial, renewables, and electric transportation.

At Advanced Energy, we know that our organization thrives only when our employees are valued and supported. You will be aided in your career goals and be put in a position to excel. You’ll work on teams that promote idea sharing and challenge you to learn and expand your expertise. You’ll also be encouraged to seek work-life balance, with flexible hybrid schedules and an array of leave options so you can spend time with family and pursue personal interests.

We are also committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of community and belonging. Our staff is the most valuable resource we have, and we appreciate that our employees come from varied backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. By providing a supportive and respectful environment that promotes creativity and collaboration, Advanced Energy makes a lasting, positive difference in all of the work we do.

Benefits – Visit our website for more information and a full list of employee benefits – www.advancedenergy.org/careers.  

Position Overview

The Senior Project Manager, Power Systems Distribution will lead complex projects focused on flexible load and demand response; distributed energy resources (DER), grid integration, and interoperability; testing, commissioning, and performance verification; and emerging technology evaluation and implementation.

The role combines strong project management with technical expertise and serves as a bridge among clients, technical and cross-functional teams, and project delivery. The Senior Project Manager will bring structure and clear execution plans to complex projects and initiatives, support the design, launch, and management of programs, and collaborate with Research and Development and technical teams to move promising research, technologies, and pilot concepts into implementation by developing repeatable approaches to delivery. 

Essential Functions

Project Management

• Develop and refine scope of work, considering the client’s needs, budget, and other resources. 
• Translate ambiguous requirements into defined project objectives, scopes, work plans, milestones, dependencies, risks, budgets, and deliverables. 
• Develop, implement, and actively manage project plans, including strategies, milestones, tasks, timelines, budgets, and deliverables. 
• Bridge technical staff, project stakeholders, and utility clients to translate technical requirements and findings into project decisions and deliverables. 
• Design and facilitate project meetings and record minutes and action plans. 
• Coordinate project logistics including meetings, conference calls, presentations, workshops, client visits, travel, and events associated with assigned projects. 
• Work with internal team and customer to define and update AE’s role on projects. 
• Utilize applicable software applications to perform project management and scheduling tasks and research issues with team members to resolve problems. 
• Prepare project budgets, analyze variances, and develop forecasts. 
• Identify and manage project risks, issues, and dependencies including mitigation and escalation as needed. 
• Develop technical tools and processes to more effectively complete tasks. 
• Provide timely reports to funding sources, team, management, and others internally or externally. 
• Assemble and manage the necessary workforce to complete assigned activities. 
• Manage and coordinate contracts and scopes of work for subcontractors and other external contacts. 
• Analyze and create budget summaries and financial scenarios to improve project tracking and performance. 
• Prepare customer invoices in the ERP system for Accounting to process and email to customers. 
• Continuously search and strive for process improvement strategies. 
• Coordinate and lead collaborative stakeholder initiatives, including development of work plans, effectively engaging volunteer stakeholders, meeting facilitation, and coordinating meetings and events. 

Technical Expertise

• Hold demonstrated technical expertise sufficient to interpret technical information, identify project implications, communicate credibly with technical staff and clients. 
• Create knowledge through research. Target topics that support team’s goals and strategy. 
• Lead the development of project reports by interpreting technical information and data, synthesizing input from technical staff, and clearly communicating project methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.  
• Present and explain reports and findings to clients and other external stakeholders. 
• Maintain own technical and professional knowledge by attending workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, and participating in professional societies. 
• Develop abstracts, articles, blogs, conference papers, presentations, and other content to share project findings and technical insights with external audiences. 
• Provide technical and project management mentoring for junior staff. 
• Serve as technical lead, as appropriate based on subject matter expertise and project needs. 

External Contacts

• Develop and maintain credible client and stakeholder relationship through strong project delivery and technical understanding. 
• Coordinate with project partners to define roles and responsibilities. 
• Assist assigned team with identifying and securing additional projects.

Proposal Development

• Work closely with business development on proposals and strategies to gain new work. 
• Create and deliver proposals/contract agreements including scopes of work, budgets, and timelines. 
• Document lessons learned from previous projects in order to inform business development for future projects.

• Bachelor’s degree in business management or relevant technical field and 5+ years of previous experience in project management is required. An equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience may be considered. 
• Experience in the electric utility industry is required  along with demonstrated knowledge in one or more of the following areas: electric distribution, distributed energy resources (DER), flexible load/demand response, DER interconnection, utility customer programs, customer-sited generation, electric transportation, battery energy storage, or related technologies. 
• PMP Certification is desired; the ability to become certified is required. 
• Proficient skills in Microsoft Office Products are required. 
• Demonstrated experience using structured project-management tools and software to actively manage project plans, schedules, dependencies, risks, resources, budgets, and deliverables is required. 
• Demonstrated client-facing experience communicating complex project and technical information to diverse audiences. 
• Project planning, time management, communication, writing and research skills are required.  
• Ability to problem solve, analyze and interpret data.  
• Ability to work in teams as well as independently.  
• Detail oriented and organized. 
• Strong project budgeting and financial management skills. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Commitment to providing exceptional customer service, both internally and externally. 

Physical Demands/Work Conditions

This job requires the individual to work indoors in a normal office environment. The duties and responsibilities of this position may include the ability to remain in a stationary position for most of the time. The individual will operate the computer, printer and other office equipment to perform the job and may need to occasionally move about inside the office to access files and other office machinery. The individual will spend an extended number of hours in front of a computer screen and will frequently interact and communicate with internal and external customers. Must be able to exchange accurate information and express oneself in an appropriate manner. The job may require occasional lifting or moving of boxes or objects weighing up to 25 lbs. In this role, the person will hold a valid driver’s license and may travel to interface with customers. The individual may frequently create documents or other organizational collateral and serve as the liaison between the organization and its customers/clients.  

Employment Type

This is a hybrid, exempt full-time position. There may be occasions where the hours of work may vary, be irregular, and be reasonably required to meet the goals of the organization. This job description is not meant to be all-inclusive and is subject to change. It is not an implied contract of employment. 

To apply click HERE [insert link] or copy and paste address into browser - [insert address here]. Cover letter and resume preferred.

North Carolina Advanced Energy Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. We are committed to providing fair and equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants. All employment decisions are based on job-related requirements. You can find information about equal opportunity employment here: https://www.eeoc.gov/poster.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website, you may request a reasonable accommodation to express interest in a specific opening. You can request reasonable accommodation by sending an email to recruiting@advancedenergy.org.