Position: Project Manager – Solar Project Execution
Department: Projects / Project Management Office
Experience: 10–15 Years
Industry: Renewable Energy / Solar EPC
Reporting To: Head – Projects / Project Director
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced Project Manager – Solar Project Execution for our Head Office to provide centralized project management and execution oversight for multiple utility-scale solar projects.
The role will be responsible for monitoring project performance across various sites, ensuring adherence to approved schedules, budgets, contractual commitments, quality and HSE requirements, and providing timely support to site teams for issue resolution.
The position will act as a key interface between Head Office functions, project sites, clients, consultants, contractors, vendors, and senior management, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and in line with business objectives.
Key Responsibilities
1. Centralized Project Monitoring & Governance
- Monitor multiple solar projects from Head Office across different project locations.
- Establish project governance mechanisms, reporting formats, review processes, and performance-monitoring systems.
- Review project progress against approved baseline schedules, budgets, milestones, and contractual commitments.
- Conduct periodic project review meetings with site/project teams and functional departments.
- Identify critical issues, bottlenecks, and deviations and drive timely corrective actions.
- Escalate major project risks and deviations to senior management with clear recommendations.
- Ensure consistency in project execution practices, reporting, and controls across all projects.
2. Project Planning & Controls
- Review and monitor L2/L3 project schedules prepared in Primavera P6 / MS Project.
- Track planned vs. actual progress and identify schedule slippages.
- Review critical path activities and monitor recovery/action plans.
- Ensure timely forecasting of project completion dates and key milestones.
- Monitor engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover schedules.
- Coordinate with project planners to ensure accurate and timely schedule updates.
- Analyze schedule trends and provide early-warning alerts to management.
3. Project Performance & MIS
- Prepare consolidated project MIS, dashboards, management reports, and executive summaries.
- Track project-wise progress, cost, revenue, margins, cash flow, procurement, and major risks.
- Present project performance to Business Head / Project Director / Senior Management.
- Develop periodic performance reports covering schedule, cost, quality, HSE, commercial, and contractual status.
- Analyze project data to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and areas requiring management intervention.
- Standardize project reporting and performance-monitoring systems across the portfolio.
4. Cost & Commercial Monitoring
- Monitor project budgets, accepted cost estimates, actual costs, forecast costs, revenue, and margins.
- Review project financial performance with Finance and Commercial teams.
- Monitor cost overruns and identify opportunities for cost optimization.
- Track project cash flow, invoicing, collections, and major financial commitments.
- Review commercial implications of project delays, scope changes, and variations.
- Support management in taking corrective actions to protect project profitability.
5. Contract & Claims Management
- Monitor EPC, subcontractor, vendor, and consultant contracts from Head Office.
- Review contractual obligations, milestones, deliverables, and commercial risks.
- Support project teams in managing contractual deviations, claims, variation orders, and Extension of Time (EOT).
- Coordinate with Commercial, Legal, Procurement, and Project teams for resolution of contractual matters.
- Review and support preparation of contractual notices and claim documentation.
- Monitor closure of contractual issues and outstanding obligations.
6. Coordination with Project Sites
- Act as the key Head Office interface with project/site teams.
- Provide management support for critical execution issues and interdepartmental dependencies.
- Coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain, Finance, Commercial, Quality, HSE, and Construction teams.
- Facilitate timely decisions and resolution of issues requiring Head Office intervention.
- Conduct periodic site visits to review project progress and execution challenges.
- Ensure action items arising from site reviews are tracked through closure.
7. Risk & Opportunity Management
- Establish and maintain project-wise risk and opportunity registers.
- Identify schedule, cost, technical, commercial, contractual, procurement, and execution risks.
- Monitor mitigation plans and ensure timely action by responsible stakeholders.
- Identify potential opportunities for cost savings, schedule improvement, and margin enhancement.
- Provide early-warning reports to senior management on critical project risks.
- Coordinate with Supply Chain/Procurement teams for project-critical procurement requirements.
- Review procurement schedules against project execution requirements.
- Support technical evaluation of contractors and service providers where required.
- Monitor vendor/subcontractor performance and identify potential delays.
- Ensure critical procurement and material-delivery risks are highlighted in project reviews.
9. Client & Stakeholder Management
- Support Project Directors/Business Heads in client and consultant reviews.
- Monitor compliance with customer contractual requirements.
- Participate in discussions related to project progress, delays, variations, claims, and EOT.
- Maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Ensure timely resolution and closure of client-related project issues.
- Monitor project commissioning, performance testing, punch-point closure, and handover activities.
- Ensure timely HOTO (Handing Over / Taking Over) and closure of project documentation.
- Monitor closure of commercial, contractual, and technical obligations.
- Ensure lessons learned are documented and incorporated into future projects.
Key KPIs
- Portfolio/project completion as per approved schedule
- Schedule adherence and reduction in project delays
- Project cost and margin performance
- Accuracy and timeliness of project forecasting
- Timely identification and mitigation of project risks
- Closure of claims, variations, and EOT matters
- Revenue, billing, and cash-flow performance
- Quality and HSE performance
- Successful commissioning and HOTO
- Timely and accurate management MIS
Qualification
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical / Civil Engineering or related discipline.
- Postgraduate qualification in Project Management / Project Engineering & Management is preferred.
- PMP or equivalent certification will be an added advantage.
Experience
- 10–15 years of experience in Solar / Renewable Energy project management.
- Strong experience in utility-scale solar projects, preferably 100 MW+ projects.
- Experience in managing multiple projects from a Head Office / PMO / Corporate Project Management environment.
- Strong exposure to project planning, project controls, cost management, contracts, commercial management, and execution monitoring.
- Experience coordinating with multiple project sites and cross-functional corporate teams.