SA - Development Associate

Summary of Role:

The Development Associate will be responsible for assisting the Development Team with completing the project development lifecycle from project inception to the start of construction. The successful candidate will be involved in wind and solar photovoltaic projects. Activities will cover all aspects of development including environmental studies, management of met mast and solar station installations, permitting, consents and authorisations applications, engineering, landowner and other stakeholder engagement, site selection and visits, interaction with relevant stakeholders and a number of private sector permissions. The Development Associate will also be part of Mainstream’s bidding efforts in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and other Private Opportunities; and will assist in bringing Preferred Bidder projects to Financial Close, as well as supporting other Mainstream teams/ departments as and when required.

What will you do:

• Manage specific aspects of a project independently, with oversight from senior development executives.
• Independently apply technical solutions to development challenges.
• Liaise with external stakeholders on specific aspects of the project
• Develop budgets for smaller projects or project components, support senior development executives in larger financial planning.
• Manage junior team members, assign tasks and ensure quality of work within their project scope.
• Ensure smaller project components meet milestones on time and within budget.
• Independently identify project risks and propose mitigation strategies for smaller projects.
• Propose process improvement based on project learnings and suggest ways to increase efficiency or reduce costs.
• Independently manage smaller contracts, review terms and ensure compliance with contracts, reviews terms and ensure compliance with contract requirements for midscale projects.
• Other tasks include but not limited to:

Project Management

• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team with the management of various projects and project related activities.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team in preparing projects for government and private project bidding efforts, ensuring accurate documentation, filing of documents etc.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team with drafting proposals for specialised services, appointment and management of specialists.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team in documenting and administering all project related information, as required.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team in preparing required documentation to engage Eskom (for example, Cost Estimate Letters) in securing grid access.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team with internal and external Stakeholder engagements and management.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team with general database and SharePoint management and updates.

Health & Safety (H&S)

• Follow all Mainstream health and safety (H&S) procedures, including the development and maintenance of          Development Projects H&S Plans.

Site Selection & Visits

• Assist the Development Team with site selection using new opportunities. These can include both greenfield and brownfield sites
• Undertake site visits for greenfields/brownfields opportunities and existing pipeline projects as and when may be required.

Environmental Assessment

• Independently manage and assist with the management of specialists and the Environmental Impact Assessment process.
• Review and analyse specialist reports, environmental impact assessments, management plans etc. and legislation interpretation.

Engineering

• Independently liaise with the Engineering Team, participate in workshops and review indicative engineering layouts.
• Review of preliminary engineering, geotechnical, traffic, transportation and hydrogeology studies amongst others that may be required.

Layout Design

• Provide input to the Energy Analysts, Engineering and, Geographic Information System (GIS), teams with layout design considering environmental and other permitting constraints.

Permitting

• Manage and provide assistance with the preparation, submission of various permitting, consent and authorisation applications and follow-up on the status of the applications.

Reporting

• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team with due diligence, site visits, asset reviews, project sheet reporting and project status updates.

Logistics

• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team with travel logistics, safety equipment and accommodation planning and management.

Communication

• Interdepartmental liaison and liaison with various competent authorities
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team in arranging landowner meetings; design and issue landowner newsletters; gain familiarity with the full land agreement processes and all involved parties, including land agents, landowners, Mainstream employees, local recording offices, etc.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development and Energy Analysis Group (EAG) Team with the management of met mast and solar station installations including external service providers.

Budgets

• Manage and provide assistance with the development and management of project budgets; invoice management and purchase order/request creation and management).
• Assist the Development Team to ensure projects remain within budget.

Document Control & Management

• Manage and provide assistance with general document labelling in line with document naming convention
• Manage and provide assistance with the management and upload of Development Team project documents onto SharePoint
• Provide inputs regarding suggestions for system improvements.

General

• Carrying out other related tasks as and when required.
• Manage and provide assistance to the Development Team in EIA public participation processes as well as community engagements
• Participation in Mainstream public and community outreach programmes.
• Be involved in relevant industry bodies’ committees and initiatives.

What we require:

• Educational background in Science, Environmental, Planning Related Disciplines, Engineering (note however that the role does not include detailed engineering design work), or Renewable Energy.
• Minimum of 3 to 5 years experience in project identification, development and management is required. Wind and solar PV experience preferred.
• Relevant knowledge of and experience in the renewable industry (specifically wind and solar photovoltaic) will be an advantage.
• Driver’s license

Candidates should:

• Have excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills and be comfortable presenting to management at all levels.
• Be able to liaise with all project stakeholders, many of whom are Afrikaans speaking.
• Conversational Afrikaans is required
• Ability to use Microsoft software packages such as Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint is essential and ability to use specialist software packages e.g., GIS, MS Project, SharePoint is an advantage.
• Well-organized, self-motivated, punctual, detail-oriented, enthusiastic, respectful, have high integrity and confident.
• Ability and willingness to work effectively in a team environment and also independently.
• Ability and willingness to travel.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritise, and meet reporting deadlines.
• A "can-do" attitude that demonstrates hands-on accountability for their work and good team player.
• Able to think conceptually, strategically, critically and creatively.
• Able to anticipate problems, effectively seek out pertinent information which identifies the cause(s) of a problem and select the correct solution.
• Able to maintain the respect and confidence of team members and have a courteous and helpful manner.

What we offer:

We offer you the opportunity to work in a dynamic and entrepreneurial organisation, to be part of a diverse workplace with regards to gender, age and cultural background in the most exciting industry in the world today. You will receive a very competitive total benefits package including an excellent base salary, bonus scheme and share options.

Career development

• Excellent training (an average 54 hours a year)
• Career progression
• Self-paced online learning portal for micro courses across a range of functional and inter personal skills

Shared financial success

• A competitive, industry benchmarked and cost-of-living linked salary, reviewed annually
• Performance bonus
• Salary contribution to your pension fund and private medical cover

Work/life balance

• WFH in a hybrid working arrangement

SDG Impact