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Associate Project Developer, Midwest

Chicago, Illinois, United States

New Leaf Energy is an experienced clean energy developer that partners with landowners, policymakers, and other stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a world powered by renewable energy. We identify high-value sites, work with landowners and local communities to develop them, and partner with long-term asset owners to bring the most impactful clean energy projects to life.

New Leaf Energy is seeking an Associate Project Developer to support our growing Midwest region. This position will be filled out of our Chicago, IL office. We value in-person collaboration and offer a hybrid work environment. Hybrid employees work in the office at least two out of every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and are free to work from the office or home on other days. 

Position Summary 

The Associate Project Developer (APD) contributes directly to the success of the company by effectively and efficiently identifying leads and screening project opportunities. The APD is a key support position to the project developers and is vital to New Leaf Energy’s go-to-market strategy in the regions they are assigned. Our most accomplished APDs bring an enthusiasm for renewable development and have strong writing, analytical, and organizational skills, and a hunger for success.

Position responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: 

Lead Prospecting

You will use, or manage, a GIS-based effort to target land parcels that have high potential hosting capacity for solar and storage use. You will then identify and research leads through targeted land campaign work, including mailers, phone calls, and other outreach. Using our Salesforce CRM system, you will document all opportunities and take point on calling landowners and then creating due diligence packages for project developers to review. Once landowner interest has been established, you will schedule initial meetings with landowners and transition qualified opportunities to the project developers on your team.

Project Due Diligence/Entitlement Management

New Leaf Energy utilizes a Value Stream Mapping (VSM) process that takes a lean approach in managing opportunities from initial discovery to closing. Project due diligence tasks you will be responsible for include desktop reviews including topography, soil conditions, access, and the likelihood of wetlands and environmental restrictions on potential project sites. Your management will extend into requesting quotes and releasing additional on-site work such as surveying, wetlands flagging, and site walks. Using our Salesforce system, you will update project budgets and create project spend requests. In addition, you will be responsible for monitoring and managing the completion of site discovery items that are prepared by subcontractors.

Additional duties include:

  • Initiate and send initial LOIs and leases;
  • Follow up with Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) administrators for timely delivery of decision documents;
  • Complete cash flow models to assess the impact of changing cost or incentive conditions on projects;
  • Review RFPs and complete RFP questionnaires to allow project developers to assess bid viability;
  • Support the company’s efforts towards continuous improvement and standard process development.

Project Closing

As part of the project close-out phase, you will record all required documents at local and county record offices. In addition, you will coordinate the execution of any needed contract amendments, which may include getting documents notarized. You will prepare project data rooms to support the marketing of the projects, and support project teams during sale due diligence by gathering additional information as needed. You may be asked to complete other duties as required.

Market diligence

Due to the dynamic nature of our industry, ideal projects often evolve over time as new technology is introduced and policy adapts to meet the demands of the regional energy markets. The APD often plays a key role in spotting these trends and forming a hypothesis on what the future opportunities offer. Strong analytical thinking and experience building sensitivity models in Excel or Google Sheets is a highly desirable quality.

Desired Qualifications 

While no one individual will possess them all, the successful candidate will bring many of the following experiences, skills, and attributes. If you’re unsure of whether you meet enough of the qualifications below but believe that your experience and skill set is a good match for this position, we invite you to apply!

  • Bachelor’s Degree;
  • 2 to 5 years’ experience preferred;
  • Solar sales or development experience preferred;
  • IT skills – proficiency in GIS tools, Microsoft Excel, Salesforce experience a plus.

Compensation

New Leaf Energy compensates all employees in three ways: market-competitive base salary, plus above-market variable compensation, plus an equity-like program such that all employees experience the benefits of ownership.  We use a data-driven and transparent methodology to calibrate compensation that is externally competitive and internally equitable, guided by the New Leaf Energy compensation manual, which is available to all employees.

The base salary for this position in Chicago is $77,330. Compensation for this position includes an incentive plan, about which we can go into detail in the interview process.

Benefits and Culture

New Leaf Energy’s success is driven by our collaborative, long-term relationships based on trust and transparency. We offer a flexible work environment that places significant responsibility in independent teams and creates opportunities for innovation and personal growth. New Leaf Energy’s benefits are designed to appropriately recognize our employees’ contributions and enable a reasonable work/life balance. Our benefits include:

  • Competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental and vision;
  • A 401k plan with immediate vesting and a company match (100% of the first three percent of your pay; 50% for the next two percent you contribute);
  • An open and self-managed paid time-off policy;
  • A hybrid work location policy that supports working from home for part of the week;
  • A parental leave policy for both birthing and non-birthing parents, available immediately upon hire;
  • Professional development and education assistance.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

New Leaf Energy values the diverse perspectives, skills, experiences, and contributions of all employees. We want all our employees to feel like they belong and are empowered to be their most authentic selves at work. We’re actively committed to fostering diversity and creating an inclusive environment not only within our own organization but also within the clean energy industry.

We seek a diverse candidate pool in this–and every–search. New Leaf Energy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetics, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state, federal and local laws. In addition to federal law requirements, New Leaf Energy complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. EEO M/F/D/V.

A Note to Third-Party Recruiters

New Leaf Energy’s People + Culture team coordinates all recruiting and hiring at our company. New Leaf Energy does not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters, staffing firms, or related agencies. Resumes are only accepted from third-party recruiters, staffing firms, or related agencies if a signed agreement is in place AND if external recruiting assistance is authorized by the People + Culture team for a specific position. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of New Leaf Energy. New Leaf Energy is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

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