Back to jobs
New

Senior Director of Construction and Operations, IPP

Lowell, Massachusetts, 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’s Power Plants division is our internal Independent Power Producer (IPP) arm, owning and operating a rapidly growing portfolio of solar PV, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and community wind projects developed by our core Development Company. 

The Senior Director of Construction and Operations provides end-to-end operational leadership and executive oversight for the project portfolio. This critical role bridges active field execution with long-term asset optimization, taking total accountability for assets from the start of construction execution through commercial operation (COD) and throughout their multi-year operational lifecycle. 

On the construction side, this individual takes over full ownership of managing EPC construction within scope, schedule, and budget, mitigating execution risk through commissioning. On the operations side, the role focuses on a lean management approach in overseeing, auditing, and holding accountable third-party vendors who handle physical plant operations, technical maintenance, and financial services. 

Key Responsibilities 

  1. Construction Execution & EPC Management 
  • Construction Execution Oversight: Provide leadership-level oversight of active construction execution across all active projects within the portfolio. 
  • Portfolio Delivery Governance: Own portfolio-level cost, schedule, and contingency management from construction kickoff through commercial operation date (COD) to ensure projects are delivered predictably and in alignment with capital plans. 
  • Contracting: Partner with Sr. Director of Pre-Construction to ensure EPC construction contracts are structured, negotiated, and administered to preserve project value and baseline constructability assumptions. 
  • Project Delivery Management: From EPC agreement execution, lead project delivery teams and direct project managers responsible for executing day-to-day site construction activities, scheduling, and commissioning milestones. 
  • Safety Leadership: Set clear expectations for safety leadership across all active EPCs and subcontractors, empowering project managers and field teams to strictly enforce safety protocols. 
  1. Operating Power Plant Management 
  • Turnkey Operator Oversight: Act as the primary commercial and operational point of contact for external turnkey operators and asset management providers, establishing and monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). 
  • Technical Plant Operations: Oversee external partners executing routine preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance
  • Warranty & Spare Parts Strategy: Direct third-party technical teams navigating complex equipment warranty claims with equipment manufacturers and battery integrators to minimize plant downtime and long-term maintenance costs. 
  1. Asset Management
  • Operational Strategy: Analyze long-term asset performance data, localized degradation, and plant availability trends to formulate the annual operational master plan. 
  • Budget Ownership: Co-lead the development of annual project-level operating budgets (OpEx) alongside senior leadership; analyze and defend monthly and year-end actual-vs-budget variance reporting for both construction and operational phases. 
  1. Investor, Tax & Regulatory Compliance Governance 
  • Reporting & Compliance Oversight: Manage external financial asset managers to deliver accurate reporting for capital partners and maintain programmatic oversight over all FERC, NERC, and regional ISO/RTO regulatory compliance deadlines.
  • Tax, Risk & Security Management: Coordinate project-level tax preparation and ITC recordkeeping while managing portfolio insurance renewals, bonding requirements, and auditing asset cloud security and disaster recovery protocols.

Candidate Profile & Qualifications 

  • Professional Experience: 10+ years of progressive renewable energy experience, combining hands-on construction project delivery or EPC management with clean energy asset operations leadership at an owner/developer level. 
  • Portfolio Leadership: Demonstrated success managing multi-project portfolios, EPC procurement strategies, RFP evaluations, contractor selections, and cross-functional project teams. 
  • Financial & Technical Literacy: Deep understanding of project finance structures, lender requirements, tax equity frameworks, independent engineer (IE) processes, operational debt covenants, and financial statements. 
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, Business Administration, or an equivalent technical field. Advanced business degrees (MBA) or specialized asset management certifications are highly valued.

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.

Under our compensation framework, the likely base salary range for this position in the Lowell Office is $212,320 - $245,995. The on-target annual cash bonus associated with this position is an additional 30% percent of base salary. Your actual salary may be above, in, or below this range, depending on your location and experience. Our office locations in Lowell, Boston, Oakland, and Chicago all carry geography-based upward adjustments to the base pay range.

We value transparency and can share more during 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.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in New Leaf Energy, Inc.’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.