Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Program Assistant

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Program Assistant supports the planning, permitting, stakeholder engagement, data management, and administrative needs of wind energy programs (onshore and offshore). This role provides program coordination, documentation control, field data collection support, and communications assistance to project managers, environmental specialists, and engineering teams. Ideal candidates are detail-oriented, familiar with renewable energy terminology (turbines, met masts, array layout), and comfortable working across technical, regulatory, and community-facing tasks to keep wind projects on schedule and compliant.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Environmental Technician or Field Technician supporting energy projects
Administrative Assistant or Program Coordinator in utilities or construction
GIS Technician, Data Analyst, or Outreach Specialist in renewable energy

Advancement To:

Wind Program Coordinator or Project Coordinator (renewables)
Environmental Compliance Specialist / Permitting Lead
Senior Grants & Contracts Coordinator or Project Manager (wind projects)

Lateral Moves:

Community Outreach / Stakeholder Engagement Specialist
GIS Analyst or Meteorological Data Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Coordinate and maintain project schedules for multiple wind program workstreams, track deliverables, prepare timeline updates, and escalate risks to the project manager to ensure milestones (permitting, procurement, construction) are met.
Prepare, edit, and manage technical and regulatory documents including permit applications, environmental assessments, mitigation plans, and regulatory submittals; ensure formatting, version control, and timely distribution to stakeholders.
Support permitting workflows by compiling data for federal, state, and local permit packages (e.g., FAA, USACE, state coastal management, wetlands, endangered species) and coordinate reviews with regulatory agencies and consultants.
Manage project correspondence and document control systems (SharePoint, Box, or similar), set up folder structures, maintain metadata, and ensure secure version history and audit trails for compliance reporting.
Lead coordination of stakeholder and community outreach logistics: schedule public meetings, prepare presentation materials, coordinate vendor booths, and summarize public comments for the outreach team and permitting staff.
Assist in grant and funding administration by preparing grant applications, compiling supporting documentation, tracking grant deliverables, and managing reimbursement requests and reporting deadlines.
Support environmental field work by coordinating site access, arranging logistics for ecological and archaeological surveys, collecting field notes, and ensuring health and safety protocols are communicated to field teams.
Compile, clean, and maintain meteorological and operational datasets (met-mast data, LiDAR, SCADA summaries) and support basic time-series analysis and visualization to inform site suitability and performance monitoring.
Maintain and update GIS layers and maps for project siting, setback analysis, habitat mapping, and construction planning; produce exportable map products for reports and stakeholder materials.
Track equipment and materials procurement support: prepare purchase requests, coordinate with procurement teams, manage vendor communications and delivery schedules to support site mobilization.
Assist contract and subrecipient administration by preparing scopes of work, tracking deliverables, supporting invoice reviews, and maintaining contract files.
Produce monthly and quarterly program reports, including progress summaries, risk registers, budget variance notes, and action item tracking for internal leadership and external funders.
Organize and document project meetings: prepare agendas, record minutes, maintain action item lists, and follow up on outstanding tasks to ensure accountability and timely resolution.
Facilitate coordination between engineering, environmental, and construction teams by compiling technical queries, routing RFIs to the appropriate SME, and tracking response timelines.
Support baseline environmental and socioeconomic data collection, including coordination of surveys (avian, bat, marine mammals), compiling results, and preparing summary tables for permitting and stakeholder engagement.
Monitor regulatory changes and policy updates affecting wind development (e.g., leasing, environmental regulations, grid interconnection policies) and summarize impacts for the program team.
Assist in preparing health, safety, and environmental (HSE) documentation for field activities and construction phases, including safety plans, toolbox talks, and incident reporting procedures.
Coordinate third-party vendor scopes and scheduling (survey crews, acoustic consultants, geotechnical teams) and verify deliverables against contracts and project requirements.
Support communications and marketing efforts by drafting project updates, website content, social media posts, and FAQs tailored for community audiences and decision-makers.
Maintain budget tracking spreadsheets and support financial administration tasks such as expense coding, invoice routing, and basic reconciliation to keep program finances aligned with project plans.
Support monitoring and compliance tasks during construction and early operations by tracking mitigation measures, ensuring proper documentation for regulatory compliance, and compiling operational monitoring reports.
Assist in data QA/QC processes, ensuring data completeness, accuracy, and metadata standards for environmental, geotechnical, and operational datasets used by analysts and regulators.
Provide logistical support for offshore operations as needed, including crew transfer scheduling, coordination with marine support vessels, permitting coordination for marine works, and documentation for safety briefings.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Permit preparation and regulatory support — experience compiling permit applications, attachments, and regulatory responses for federal, state, or local environmental permits.
GIS and mapping — proficiency with ArcGIS, QGIS, or web mapping tools to produce siting maps, buffer analyses, and exportable figure products.
Data management and QA/QC — basic data cleaning, metadata management, and familiarity with CSV, Excel, and database workflows for environmental and met data.
Meteorological and SCADA data familiarity — basic understanding of met mast, LiDAR, and SCADA datasets, formats, and typical performance metrics used in wind projects.
Document control platforms — experience using SharePoint, Box, Aconex, or similar systems for version control and document distribution.
Project scheduling and tracking — familiarity with MS Project, Smartsheet, or similar tools for maintaining program timelines and milestone tracking.
Grant and contract administration — knowledge of grant reporting cycles, invoice processing, and contract deliverable tracking.
Environmental monitoring support — experience coordinating ecological or marine surveys, recording field data, and summarizing results for permit documentation.
Microsoft Office suite — advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP), PowerPoint for stakeholder presentations, and Word for technical documents.
Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) documentation — ability to assist with safety plans, field safety briefings, and incident reporting.
Basic GIS scripting or automation (desirable) — familiarity with Python, ArcPy, or ModelBuilder to automate repetitive mapping tasks.
Remote sensing and imagery interpretation (desirable) — basic skills interpreting aerial imagery or LiDAR for site constraints and habitat mapping.
Budget tracking and financial reconciliation — ability to maintain budgets, track expenditures, and prepare variance summaries.
CRM and outreach tools — experience with email campaign tools, public comment tracking databases, and stakeholder contact management.

Soft Skills

Strong written and verbal communication — able to draft clear permit narratives, concise meeting minutes, and community-facing content.
Attention to detail — meticulous in document control, data entry, and regulatory compliance requirements.
Project coordination and multitasking — proven ability to manage competing priorities, follow-up on action items, and keep multiple workstreams aligned.
Stakeholder engagement aptitude — comfortable coordinating meetings, capturing feedback, and summarizing public concerns for leadership.
Problem-solving and initiative — proactive in identifying issues, proposing solutions, and escalating when required.
Teamwork and cross-functional collaboration — works effectively with engineers, environmental scientists, contractors, and regulatory agencies.
Time management — organizes workload to meet tight regulatory and funding deadlines.
Adaptability — able to work in dynamic field and office environments and respond to shifting project needs.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate's degree in environmental science, renewable energy technology, engineering technology, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Renewable Energy, Civil/Environmental Engineering, Geography (GIS), Meteorology, Public Policy, or related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Renewable Energy / Wind Energy Technology
Environmental Science / Biology / Ecology
Civil or Environmental Engineering
Geography / GIS / Remote Sensing
Meteorology / Atmospheric Science
Public Policy / Energy Policy
Project Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–4 years supporting renewable energy projects, environmental permitting, or program administration.

Preferred: 2–5+ years of direct experience in wind energy programs, environmental permitting for infrastructure projects, GIS support for project siting, or grant/contract administration for public-sector energy programs.