Senior Program Manager - Offshore Wind

Position Type: Full-time

Pay: $94,000 - $104,000 per year, dependent on experience and education

Benefits: 457b plan, and matching; Medical coverage and 100% deductible coverage through HRA; Dental coverage; Vision coverage; Life insurance; Paid time off; Parental leave; Tuition Reimbursement; Monthly Remote Work Stipend; Supplemental Retirement plan, and more.

Work Location: Hybrid; Home and Boston Office

Job Overview

MassCEC seeks an experienced, motivated, and organized candidate to join the team as a Senior Program Manager. The Senior Program Manager will support MassCEC in accelerating the advancement of key decarbonization technologies and actions, furthering economic development in the Massachusetts clean energy industry, and helping to meet the Commonwealth's climate goals.

For more than a decade MassCEC has supported initiatives in ocean renewable energy, with a strong emphasis on the development of the offshore wind sector. Offshore wind is one of MassCEC's four core focus areas, along with clean transportation, high-performance buildings, and net-zero grid. MassCEC's offshore energy team works to advance the Commonwealth's goal to responsibly develop cost-effective offshore wind and reduce project risk, increase market confidence, and maximize the associated climate, workforce, and economic benefits of this new industry.

The offshore energy team leads a wide portfolio of initiatives in close collaboration with industry, government agencies, academia, and many other stakeholders. These initiatives are grouped in three (3) primary areas:

• Sector Development - Generate and grow local manufacturing, suppliers, service providers, and infrastructure and develop a well-trained, highly-skilled, safe, and diverse workforce.
• Planning, Analysis, and Engagement - Address identified gaps and needs through the support of technical studies, planning processes, projects, and stakeholder engagement on fisheries, wildlife, wind/ocean conditions, and transmission.
• Research and Innovation - Support and collaborate to foster technology innovations, advance commercialization, learn from early deployments, and expand offshore energy research.

The Senior Program Manager will support efforts to advance the Commonwealth's goals for offshore wind. The Senior Program Manager will manage several elements within the offshore energy program's portfolio of initiatives with particular emphasis on wildlife and fisheries, research and innovation, and stakeholder engagement related to offshore wind development in Massachusetts and the region. The Senior Program Manager will also coordinate and collaborate with other offshore energy program initiatives including port infrastructure, workforce development, business development, and supply chain initiatives.

The Senior Program Manager's job responsibilities consist of a range of activities including leading the development of new funding solicitations; leading contracting processes and ongoing management of awards; supporting industry and stakeholder engagement; and supporting analysis and assessment of offshore energy program activities. The Senior Program Manager will supervise one or more Program Administrators/Coordinators and/or fellows to support these responsibilities. MassCEC expects the responsibilities of this position to evolve as MassCEC pursues future endeavors. The Senior Program Manager will report to the Deputy Managing Director. The position may also provide support to other MassCEC focus areas (such as Net Zero Grid, Transportation, Buildings) depending on the needs of the organization.

As the Senior Program Manager will serve as primary point of contact for multiple activities, the successful candidate must demonstrate excellent procurement, contracting, project management, and communication skills and a proven ability to manage complex, ongoing, multi-party projects.

The Senior Program Manager will help lead MassCEC's role as a convener in the Commonwealth's renewable energy community and should have a working knowledge of and established connections to the energy sector, academic/research partners and associated industries.

Job Duties

The successful Senior Program Manager works collaboratively across and within organizations and partners. Internally, the Senior Program Manager will work with the Program Managers, Deputy Managing Director, Managing Director, and other parts of the organization as needed (including Finance, Legal, other team members and senior management) and parties as applicable.

Specific duties for the Senior Program Manager include:

• Cultivate expertise in opportunities and challenges with respect to offshore wind and wildlife and fisheries, including:
  • Establish and nurture productive working relationships with relevant organizations, stakeholders, and state and federal agencies; and
  • Represent MassCEC in regional and state-level stakeholder engagement with respect to wildlife and fisheries; and
  • Provide guidance and input to marine surveys and studies related to offshore wind development in Massachusetts.
• Foster and grow a deep knowledge of the Massachusetts ecosystem for science and research related to offshore wind, other ocean renewable energies, and related state and national opportunities for funding science and research, including:
  • Proactively advance knowledge of key technical, environmental, logistical, and socioeconomic challenges faced by offshore wind;
  • Maintain productive working relationships with key local science and research institutions, and regional and national research organizations; and
  • Grow partnerships and collaborations with science and research institutions to expand the Massachusetts innovation network.
• Support MassCEC grants and initiatives to invest, expand, and redevelop port assets in Massachusetts for roles in offshore wind.
• Support program activities designed to enable and inform offshore wind deployment; to inform the identification of new offshore wind lease areas, to collect metocean (meteorological and ocean) data, and other MassCEC special projects and initiatives on offshore wind, as directed.
• Provide support to coordinate the day-to-day activities of MassCEC programs, including:
  • Review applications and proposals for compliance with program requirements;
  • Provide timely responses to inquiries from applicants, potential applicants, awardees, state agencies, local partners, and other program stakeholders;
  • Draft programmatic requirements for grantee and consultant contracts;
  • Alert team members to potential problems and work cooperatively with the program team and relevant stakeholders to ensure prompt resolutions; and
  • Maintain databases and supporting files on specific programs, including tracking files and key business documents, including project and program metrics, and ensure proper processing and archiving.
• Record and maintain awards, deliverables and invoices in the organization-wide award management system, assist project teams to monitor their contracts and awards, ensure project/contract integrity, and track results.
• Assist in budget development and monitoring the budgets of programs, awards, and projects.
• Conduct analysis to determine the effectiveness of programs and awards, and report key findings to Managing Directors, Program Directors, Chief Program Officer, Executive Team, MassCEC Board of Directors, and stakeholders.
• Provide presentations and briefings and represent MassCEC at public meetings and conferences, as necessary.
• Engage with MassCEC communications and marketing teams to promote successful projects, solicitation deadlines, and partner organizations' opportunities relevant to MassCEC's audience.
• Delegate tasks to and assist in the supervision of Program Administrators/Coordinators, temporary staff, and/or interns/fellows.

Position Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in energy or environmental policy, business management, environmental science/studies, economics, other related field, or equivalent experience.

Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in project management and administration
• Demonstrated program management experience, particularly around effective team communication, prioritization, and management.
• 5+ years of experience using Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook in a work setting.
• Experience in the public sector or renewable energy industry.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Familiarity with at least one of the following: offshore wind or other renewable energy technologies; energy market structure and economics of energy projects; energy policy and regulation;
• Analytical mindset with rigorous attention to detail;
• Excellent organizational, collaboration, written and oral communication, and presentation skills;
• Strong quantitative research and analytical skills;
• Keen understanding of prioritization and an ability to work on multiple projects under tight deadlines effectively;
• Demonstrated ability to get up-to-speed quickly and work independently;
• Excellent problem-resolution skills, and demonstrated ability to make informed decisions;
• Team-first attitude and the capacity to be flexible in a dynamic work environment;
• Demonstrated ability to work with internal and external stakeholders, and cultivate appropriate relationships;
• Working knowledge of basic accounting and payment processing (budgets, invoices, etc.) preferred;
• Ability to read and absorb complex proposals, contracts, polices, rules, etc. and extract the information needed to ensure compliance with each;
• Excellent PC skills and ability to use related business applications (e.g. Microsoft Office suite);
• Experience with databases / large data sets.
• Strong mastery of Excel with an ability to explain graphic information effectively;
• Excellent interpersonal, diplomatic, and verbal/written communication skills; and
• Experience with making cross-functional decisions impacting business processes and results.

About the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is a state economic development agency dedicated to accelerating the growth of the clean energy sector across the Commonwealth to spur job creation, deliver statewide environmental benefits and to secure long-term economic growth for the people of Massachusetts. MassCEC works to increase the adoption of clean energy while driving down costs and delivering financial, environmental, and economic development benefits to energy users and utility customers across the state.

MassCEC is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization where everyone is welcomed, supported, respected, and valued. We are committed to incorporating principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice in all aspects of our work in order to promote the equitable distribution of the health and economic benefits of clean energy and support a diverse and inclusive clean energy industry. MassCEC strives to lead and innovate in equitable clean energy and climate solutions.

To Apply:

Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter through our Online Career Center.

Applicants with diverse backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives are encouraged to apply.