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Example Career: Wind Energy Development Managers

Career Description

Lead or manage the development and evaluation of potential wind energy business opportunities, including environmental studies, permitting, and proposals. May also manage construction of projects.

What Job Titles Wind Energy Development Managers Might Have

  • Business Developer
  • Business Development Manager
  • Development Manager
  • Project Manager

What Wind Energy Development Managers Do

  • Coordinate or direct development, energy assessment, engineering, or construction activities to ensure that wind project needs and objectives are met.
  • Manage wind project costs to stay within budget limits.
  • Lead or support negotiations involving tax agreements or abatements, power purchase agreements, land use, or interconnection agreements.
  • Create wind energy project plans, including project scope, goals, tasks, resources, schedules, costs, contingencies, or other project information.
  • Supervise the work of subcontractors or consultants to ensure quality and conformance to specifications or budgets.
  • Develop scope of work for wind project functions, such as design, site assessment, environmental studies, surveying, or field support services.
  • Provide verbal or written project status reports to project teams, management, subcontractors, customers, or owners.
  • Update schedules, estimates, forecasts, or budgets for wind projects.
  • Prepare or assist in the preparation of applications for environmental, building, or other required permits.
  • Review or evaluate proposals or bids to make recommendations regarding awarding of contracts.
  • Manage site assessments or environmental studies for wind fields.
  • Prepare wind project documentation, including diagrams or layouts.
  • Review civil design, engineering, or construction technical documentation to ensure compliance with applicable government or industrial codes, standards, requirements, or regulations.
  • Prepare requests for proposals (RFPs) for wind project construction or equipment acquisition.
  • Provide technical support for the design, construction, or commissioning of wind farm projects.

What Wind Energy Development Managers Should Be Good At

  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

What Wind Energy Development Managers Should Be Interested In

  • Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
  • Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
  • Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

What Wind Energy Development Managers Need to Learn

  • Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
  • Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  • Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Sun iconThis career has a bright outlook.
Median Salary: $128,620

This page includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license.