Senior Plant Manager- NorthStar Clean Energy

Consumers Energy; New Bern (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a pioneering company in the renewable energy sector, where you can lead and manage operations at a biomass power plant. As the Sr. Plant Manager, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the plant's reliability and efficiency while fostering a culture of safety and compliance. This position offers the opportunity to work with a dedicated team committed to sustainability and innovation. With a focus on community relationships and operational excellence, you will contribute to a cleaner, greener future while enjoying competitive compensation and benefits. Take the next step in your career with us!

Benefits

Competitive compensation packages

Medical, Dental and Vision

401k with company match

Paid parental leave

Up to 13 paid Holidays

Paid time off

Educational Assistance Program

Qualifications

• 7+ years' experience leading operations in a power plant environment.
• Strong knowledge of safety, environmental, and NERC regulations.

Responsibilities

• Directs operations and maintenance activities of the power plant.
• Ensures compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
• Manages plant staff and oversees budget and quality control.

Skills

Thermal power plant operations

Safety procedures and protocols

Communication skills

Problem solving

Supervisory experience

Budget management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Operations Management, Business, Engineering

Associate Degree in related discipline

High School Diploma with applicable experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Materials management systems

Job description

NorthStar Clean Energy decarbonizes the economy by providing clean energy and carbon management solutions to utility, municipal, commercial, and industrial customers enabling them to meet their sustainability and business goals. Additionally, we own and operate natural gas assets throughout the United States. To learn more about NorthStar Clean Energy, please visit www.northstarcleanenergy.com.

This position is with NorthStar Clean Energy, a CMS Energy company, and is not a position of employment with Consumers Energy.

Craven County Wood Energy is a 52 MW biomass-fueled renewable energy power plant that produces electricity. The fuel consists primarily of clean wood chips, plywood trimmings, particle board, bark, waste sludge, clean cellulose, as well as brooder house or grow out poultry litter. All fuels are waste fuels from other industries.

The power produced supports the health of the forests, mitigates greenhouse gases (is "carbon neutral"), conserves landfill space and supports the electric grid in eastern North Carolina. The electric output is sold pursuant to a long-term power purchase agreement with Duke Energy. This facility can produce enough electricity to power approximately 52,000 homes. Commercial operation began in 1990.

This position reports to the Director, Biomass Operations.

The Sr. Plant Manager Directs all operations and maintenance activities of the power plant. Possess thorough knowledge and understanding of power plant operations and maintenance processes. Proactively monitor and enhance plant production and equipment performance and efficiency and maintain plant reliability. Responsible for reliability, production, safety, compliance, employee development, quality and lean management, and financial performance. Holds management responsibility to ensure a safe production environment that operates within all applicable regulatory compliance requirements, including environmental operating permits, NERC reliability standards, Sarbanes-Oxley processes, and company policies.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leads and directs the work of plant staff and coordinates with the business unit support group personnel as needed. Oversees staff to provide operations support functions, such as engineering and technical support, maintenance, work planning and execution, regulatory compliance, and administrative support. Ensure that the morale and motivation of plant personnel is maintained at a high level. Ensure that the certification and qualification status of affected personnel is maintained.


• Develops and executes long term and outage planning activities, including large capital expenditure improvements.


• Track and control budget, schedules and quality to meet allotted budgets and critical milestones. Responsible for managing costs through effective staffing and approval of expenditures. Oversee monthly variance reporting. Ability to understand, interpret and articulate profit and loss projections and targets.


• Administer the plant's safety, operations, maintenance, chemistry, environmental, compliance, procurement and quality programs to assure the safe, efficient and reliable operation of the plant. Possess strong knowledge of safety, environmental and NERC regulations.


• Sets organizational priorities and allocates resources to meet plant and business objectives. Adapts plans and adjusts priorities as needed to meet the service and operational challenges of the plant. Identifies and resolves complex technical, operational and organizational problems.


• Interact with customers and co-owners associated with the facility and respond to requests for information. Maintain and expand community relationships. Make frequent contacts with contractors, suppliers and corporate staff. Cooperate and work in concert with the assigned asset manager to optimize business relationships, financial planning, modeling and business growth. Effective communication skills to interact with personnel at all levels of organization. Work effectively with front line supervisors and senior level management.


• Direct and manage fuel activities and objectives that meet the plant's production and financial needs and operating requirements. Understand, interpret and articulate power plant contracts and agreements. Ensures an adequate supply of personnel, tools, equipment and spare parts to provide for safe and reliable operations of the plant.


• Frequently monitors operations for safety and efficiency; maintains regular field presence ensure normal and safe operating conditions. Identify abnormalities with power production equipment or processes. Ability to manage multiple priorities--effective prioritization of competing issues, recognizing relevant constraints and opportunities.


• Sets organizational priorities and allocates resources to meet plant and business objectives. Adapts plans and adjusts priorities as needed to meet the service and operational challenges of the plant. Identifies and resolves complex technical, operational and organizational problems. Manages operations and maintenance employees in the production of power and ensures they are properly trained.


• Monitors the operating status of plant by establishing and reporting relevant key business and operational performance indicators and taking or assigning action to close performance gaps. Implement and monitor key performance metrics and quality and lean programs.


• Perform other duties and leadership and support of fleet and corporate programs as assigned by the executive director of operations.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Ability to accurately prepare and maintain records, files, and reports.


• Proficient in Microsoft Office and materials management systems.


• Ability to understand safety procedures and protocols


• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal


• Thermal power plant operations and maintenance skills and experience


• Supervisory experience


• Coach and develop operators, technicians, and supervisors


• Ability and willingness to lead by example. High ethics and standards of conduct


• Problem solving and quality and lean management


• Ability to exercise judgment in making critical decisions

Position Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Operations Management, Business, Engineering, or related discipline with a minimum of seven (7) years' of applicable experience


• [OR] Associate degree in Operations Management, Business, Engineering, or related discipline with a minimum of nine (9) years of applicable experience


• [OR] High School Diploma with a minimum of eleven (11) years of applicable experience


• 7+ year's experience leading and influencing people in a power plant environment required


• Experience in biomass or coal power plant processes, planning and operations and maintenance preferred

Working Conditions:

• Indoor and outdoor work including in hazardous power plant environments and computer work


• Onsite in a power plant. Able to work hours necessary to support the operating plant requirements including overtime when needed


• Occasional local and out of town travel for business and partnership meetings and other plant and fleet objectives

Why should you join our team?

At NorthStar Clean Energy, we offer more than just a place to work. We foster a culture that supports career development, growth, and stability, and we take pride in offering our co-workers excellent benefits and compensation packages. We are deliberately creating an inclusive culture that makes our diverse team of co-workers feel valued, supported, and empowered every day. We're a company made up of thousands of people, all with different stories to share and work to do, but we stand united in our company purpose: world class performance delivering hometown service.

What we offer:

• Competitive compensation packages


• Medical, Dental and Vision


• 401k with company match


• Paid parental leave


• Up to 13 paid Holidays


• Paid time off


• Educational Assistance Program

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

We, at NorthStar Clean Energy, value Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. It is part of our DNA. We treat our employees with respect, we treat each other fairly and we value the opinions of others. We are passionate about building and nurturing an environment where everyone feels included. We don't discriminate. We seek to learn about each other and better understand our unique differences. Our uniqueness makes us authentic. We create safe spaces where everyone can be who they truly are. We invite difficult conversations and uncomfortable topics. We value diverse perspectives; this is what makes us great together. We harbor an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Our Employee Resource Groups, Women's Advisory Panel (WAP), Women's in Energy (WE), Minority Advisory Panel (MAP), Pride Alliance of Consumers Energy (PACE), GENERGY, capable, Interfaith and Veterans Advisory Panel (VAP) are key enablers to living the values of our company culture: Caring, Empowered, Deliberate, Agility, and Ownership.

All qualified applicants will not be discriminated against and will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected veteran status, disability, race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.