Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Program Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Program Manager is responsible for end-to-end leadership of wind energy programs—overseeing site identification, resource assessment, permitting and consenting, interconnection and transmission studies, commercial contracting, procurement and supply chain, construction oversight, commissioning and handover to operations. This role coordinates internal engineering, commercial, environmental and community engagement teams with external stakeholders (landowners, regulators, utilities, EPC contractors and OEMs), drives schedule and budget performance, mitigates technical and commercial risk, and ensures compliance with environmental, safety and permitting requirements for onshore and/or offshore wind projects.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Project Engineer or Project Manager (Wind or Energy Infrastructure)
Development Manager (Wind/Renewables)
Senior Construction or Commissioning Manager (EPC background)

Advancement To:

Director of Wind Programs / Head of Wind Development
Senior Program Director / VP of Renewable Projects
Portfolio Manager — Renewables

Lateral Moves:

Offshore Program Manager / Offshore Development Lead
Asset Manager / Operations & Maintenance Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the program management and delivery of multiple wind projects from site screening and feasibility through permitting, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and commercial operations, ensuring projects meet scope, schedule, cost and quality targets.
Develop, maintain and execute comprehensive program schedules and integrated master schedules (IMS) using project controls best practices; coordinate critical path updates, baseline changes and recovery plans to maintain on-time delivery.
Own program-level budget, cost forecasting and financial tracking activities, including monthly/quarterly cost-to-complete analysis, variance explanations, capital expenditure (CapEx) forecasting and contribution to program-level P&L.
Manage cross-functional teams (development, engineering, environmental, commercial, legal, procurement, construction, community engagement, O&M) to ensure clear roles/responsibilities and timely decision-making across disciplines.
Lead permitting and consenting strategies and execution, including preparation and oversight of environmental impact assessments, NEPA/CEQA/ESA processes (as applicable), habitat and mitigation planning, cultural resources reviews and coordination with federal, state and local agencies.
Oversee wind resource and site suitability assessments (met mast and LIDAR programs), wind farm layout optimization, micro-siting and energy yield modelling to validate project economics and P50/P90 energy estimates.
Direct electrical design, grid interconnection and transmission studies, including coordination with utilities, ISOs/RTOs, interconnection queue management, transmission owner agreements and network upgrades.
Establish and execute procurement and supply chain strategies for major long-lead items (wind turbines, foundations, transformers, substations) and manage relationships with OEMs, fabricators and logistics providers to mitigate delivery and lead-time risk.
Manage commercial contracts and negotiation activities including EPC contracts, turbine supply agreements (TSA), balance-of-plant (BOP), subcontracts, site lease agreements, landowner easements and power purchase agreements (PPA) with legal and commercial teams.
Oversee construction and installation oversight—site mobilization, HSE and QA/QC implementation, progress inspections, commissioning plans, punch-list resolution, and contractor performance management.
Implement risk management processes across the program: identify, quantify and track technical, commercial, schedule and environmental risks; develop mitigation plans and report status to executive stakeholders.
Coordinate logistics and heavy-lift marine/land transportation plans for offshore and large components, including port staging, cable installation sequencing and seasonal weather window planning.
Lead interface management between owners, EPC contractors, OEMs and third-party engineering firms to resolve design, constructability and warranty issues and to preserve project performance guarantees.
Drive health, safety and environmental (HSE) culture and compliance across program activities, ensuring contractor safety plans, incident reporting, and permit conditions are adhered to and audited.
Lead community and stakeholder engagement programs: landowner negotiations, municipal outreach, local workforce development planning, public hearings and benefit-sharing programs to secure social license to operate.
Prepare and present regular executive-level program status updates, board reports and investor briefings with clear KPI dashboards (schedule, cost, safety, environmental compliance, interconnection status and energy yield outlook).
Lead commissioning strategy and commissioning/acceptance testing protocols for turbines, substations and SCADA systems; coordinate system integration, performance testing and commercial operation date (COD) readiness.
Manage warranty, performance claims and long-term service agreements for turbine OEMs and major equipment suppliers to protect project ROI and availability targets.
Ensure regulatory compliance and reporting for environmental monitoring, wildlife monitoring (avian/marine), decommissioning plans and mitigation commitments during development and operations.
Lead post-construction transition and handover to asset management/O&M teams, including documentation of as-built drawings, O&M manuals, spare parts inventories and training programs.
Support financing and due diligence activities by preparing technical reports, permitting status memos, interconnection studies, energy yield assessments and capex/opex assumptions for lenders and investors.
Develop and maintain program-level documentation and knowledge base—risk registers, lessons learned, close-out reports and continuous improvement initiatives to standardize delivery of future projects.
Champion technology evaluation and innovation: evaluate new turbine technology, digitalization (SCADA, condition monitoring), and predictive maintenance strategies to improve asset performance and reduce lifecycle costs.
Coordinate and manage claims, change orders and commercial close-outs with contractors and vendors to minimize owner exposure and protect program margins.

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.
Provide subject-matter-expert input to business development and proposal teams to translate technical capabilities into competitive bids.
Mentor and develop junior project managers and engineers; set performance objectives and run regular development reviews.
Engage with regulators, advocacy groups and industry consortia to follow emerging policy, incentive mechanisms and grid planning initiatives that affect wind project economics.
Contribute to continuous improvement by documenting lessons learned, process updates and standard operating procedures for program management in renewables.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Program and Project Management: Proven ability to lead large, multi-disciplinary wind energy programs from development through construction and commissioning; experience with integrated master schedules and project controls tools (Primavera P6, MS Project, Aconex/Procore).
Permitting & Environmental Compliance: Deep knowledge of environmental permitting regimes (NEPA, CEQA, land use, marine permits as applicable), environmental impact assessments and mitigation implementation.
Wind Resource & Energy Yield Assessment: Hands-on experience with wind resource measurement programs (met masts, LIDAR), energy modelling tools (WindPRO, WAsP, OpenWind), and P50/P90 analysis.
Grid Interconnection & Transmission: Familiarity with interconnection processes, system impact and facilities studies, transmission planning, and coordination with ISOs/RTOs and utilities.
Technical EPC Oversight: Understanding of civil, electrical and mechanical construction activities for wind farms, including foundations, turbines, substations and cable installation.
Contracting & Commercial Negotiation: Experience negotiating turbine supply agreements, EPC contracts, O&M contracts and commercial agreements (PPAs) with strong contract administration skills.
Supply Chain & Logistics Management: Experience planning procurement strategies for long-lead items, logistics coordination (ports, heavy lifts, cable lay), vendor management and risk mitigation.
Commissioning & Performance Testing: Knowledge of commissioning sequences, system integration, SCADA/telemetry, performance testing and acceptance protocols.
Financial Acumen & Reporting: Capable of developing cost estimates, cashflow forecasts, budget governance, economic modelling and supporting lender/investor due diligence.
HSE & Quality Management: Experience implementing HSE management systems, QA/QC processes, safety audits and incident management in construction environments.
Data & Digital Tools: Familiarity with project document control systems, SCADA data analysis, condition monitoring platforms and basic data analysis (Excel advanced, Python/R a plus).
Marine/Offshore Experience (if applicable): Experience with offshore foundations, geotechnical surveys, cable laying, jack-up vessels and marine coordination.

Soft Skills

Strategic Leadership: Ability to set program vision, cascade priorities and motivate cross-functional teams through complex multi-year programs.
Stakeholder Management: Strong communicator with experience managing landowners, community groups, regulators, utilities, investors and internal leadership.
Negotiation & Influencing: Persuasive negotiator who can manage commercial terms, change orders and contractor performance to protect project value.
Problem Solving & Decision Making: Comfortable making timely, data-informed decisions under uncertainty and driving contingency plans.
Communication & Presentation: Skilled at creating executive-level reports, dashboards and delivering compelling presentations to C-suite and investors.
Collaboration & Team Building: Proven collaborator who builds trust across technical, commercial and external partners to resolve conflicts and align outcomes.
Adaptability & Resilience: Able to manage shifting priorities, regulatory changes and complex stakeholder landscapes while maintaining focus on program outcomes.
Attention to Detail: Strong documentation discipline for permitting trackers, contract deliverables and compliance requirements.
Mentoring & Talent Development: Experience coaching junior staff and creating development plans to build internal program capability.
Cultural & Community Sensitivity: Ability to lead respectful community engagement, especially for onshore projects affecting local landowners and indigenous stakeholders.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical), Environmental Science, Renewable Energy, Project Management or related technical/business field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration (MBA) or Renewable Energy/Environmental Management; PMP or PgMP certification preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Civil/Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
Renewable Energy / Wind Engineering
Environmental Science / Ecology
Project Management / Business Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 7–15+ years of progressive experience in wind project development, construction or program management with demonstrated delivery of medium to large-scale projects.

Preferred:

10+ years managing wind projects (onshore and/or offshore) with at least one full project lifecycle delivered to COD.
Demonstrated track record negotiating TSAs, EPC and O&M contracts and supporting financing/due diligence for lenders or equity partners.
Experience coordinating interconnection processes with utilities/ISOs and managing permitting through federal/state/local agencies.