Project Manager
Chicago, IL - USA
Department:
Job Summary
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Project Manager supports Pivot Energys owner-side project delivery function from formal handoff out of preconstruction and contract readiness through engineering procurement permitting construction commissioning testing turnover and final closeout. This role is accountable for leading project execution with discipline across scope budget schedule quality safety compliance documentation and stakeholder alignment
The Project Manager acts as the primary project-level operator on behalf of Pivot translating negotiated commercial terms preconstruction assumptions budgets schedules and risk positions into executable plans and controlled outcomes. The role protects Pivots business interests while coordinating internal stakeholders and external partners including EPCs suppliers engineers utilities AHJs owners engineers independent engineers asset management revenue operations legal project finance procurement accounting compliance and operations.
This role materially supports Pivots eight focus areas throughout execution: Stakeholder Management Contract Management Quality Management Financial Management Schedule Management Compliance Management Risk Management and Document Management.
This role sits primarily within the execution phase of the project lifecycle and is responsible for maintaining continuity control and accountability across the following stages:
- Preconstruction handoff and execution readiness
- EPC and subcontract execution alignment
- Engineering phase
- Procurement phase
- Permitting phase
- Construction through Mechanical Completion
- Mechanical Completion through Substantial Completion including commissioning performance testing and capacity testing
- Substantial Completion through Final Completion
- Turnover to O&M Asset Management Revenue Operations and Finance
- Internal project closeout and record completion
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Stakeholder Management
- Serve as the primary project-level coordination lead across internal teams and external delivery partners.
- Maintain alignment among Preconstruction Engineering Construction Management Procurement Accounting Legal Compliance Project Finance Asset Management Revenue Operations O&M EPC contractors utilities AHJs OE and IE.
- Lead regular project working sessions health reviews lookaheads milestone coordination meetings and issue-resolution meetings.
- Ensure stakeholders understand current project status forecast dates financial exposure required decisions and open risks.
- Escalate aged decisions unresolved cross-functional conflicts and issues that threaten cost schedule quality or commercial outcomes.
- Preserve continuity from preconstruction assumptions and negotiated contract positions into live project execution.
- Coordinate APMs coordinators consultants and external partners to support clean execution and timely issue closure.
2. Contract Management
- Administer Prime EPC agreements sub-EPC agreements purchase orders exhibits notice provisions milestone obligations and change management requirements.
- Understand how contract terms scope exhibits specifications schedule commitments owner obligations payment mechanics and relief provisions interact in execution.
- Issue track and preserve formal notices in accordance with contractual requirements and Delegation of Authority.
- Manage change events change orders claims support and commercial issue resolution with appropriate internal review and escalation.
- Coordinate with Legal and leadership on disputed scope entitlement positions contractor nonperformance schedule relief requests and material deviations from negotiated terms.
- Maintain disciplined contract logs issue logs deviation trackers and records needed to support enforceable project administration.
- Ensure preconstruction handoff items scope clarifications negotiated assumptions and unresolved commercial risks are actively managed in execution.
3. Quality Management
- Ensure project quality expectations are translated from contract and design documents into execution controls.
- Coordinate with Construction Management Quality Engineering EPCs and vendors to manage submittals inspections testing punch NCRs and closeout requirements.
- Support constructability awareness throughout execution and identify quality risks before they turn into rework delay or warranty exposure.
- Ensure major material warranties turnover packages commissioning records test reports and required as-built and acceptance documentation are complete and traceable.
- Support disciplined preparation for Mechanical Completion Substantial Completion Final Completion and performance and capacity testing milestones.
- Reinforce the expectation that quality is a control mechanism not a cleanup activity at the end of the job.
- Own project-level financial control within approved authority including budget management commitment alignment change-event forecasting contingency usage and cost-to-complete forecasting.
- Maintain clear visibility into project budget cost exposure projected final cost and pending commercial decisions.
- Manage Estimate-to-Complete Cost-to-Complete Estimate at Completion cash flow awareness and forecast updates in accordance with company standards.
- Work across Procore Sage Intacct Salesforce Power BI and related reporting tools to maintain the single source of truth for project financial data.
- Review invoices pay applications lien-waiver alignment milestone backup and commercial support for payment processing.
- Ensure budget changes change events and contingency draws are documented with clear issue cause impact options resolution and timing logic.
- Protect continuity from approved contract value to live execution budget to final project closeout.
- Understand job costing methodologies cost codes cost types budget alignment and the relationship between project controls and portfolio reporting.
5. Schedule Management
- Develop maintain review and manage baselined CPM or logic-based schedules for assigned projects.
- Ensure schedule logic reflects execution reality procurement durations engineering dependencies utility constraints permitting timing access constraints commissioning sequencing and contractual milestone obligations.
- Lead 3-week lookaheads and near-term coordination reviews to drive predictable field and stakeholder execution.
- Identify critical path risk out-of-sequence work milestone slippage and secondary impacts early enough to influence outcomes.
- Coordinate schedule recovery planning where required and evaluate the schedule implications of design changes delays procurement constraints and contractor performance issues.
- Preserve the distinction between contract dates internal forecast dates and risk-adjusted operational dates.
- Ensure schedule assumptions remain traceable from preconstruction handoff through project completion and closeout.
6. Compliance Management
- Ensure execution activities support documented compliance obligations including safety environmental requirements PWA Domestic Content FEOC QA/QC and funding-related documentation.
- Coordinate with Compliance Legal Project Finance Accounting Construction Management and contractors to surface and address compliance gaps early.
- Ensure compliance requirements are translated into execution behaviors documentation requests milestone readiness and payment support.
- Track project documentation required for audits lender or investor review closeout and long-term asset support.
- Adapt project controls and execution expectations when policy funding or compliance requirements change.
- Support clean turnover of compliance-related records to downstream stakeholders.
7. Risk Management
- Maintain a proactive quantified project risk register with clear mitigations owners timing and escalation thresholds.
- Distinguish facts assumptions interpretations active issues unresolved risks and probable exposures.
- Identify and escalate scope schedule budget procurement utility permitting compliance quality and contractor-performance risks early.
- Use change events and issue logs as control mechanisms to forecast known cost and schedule movement before formal change orders are complete.
- Evaluate second-order impacts including effects on financing turnover timing revenue start counterparties and stakeholder confidence.
- Support disciplined decision-making under incomplete information.
- Protect the business without losing sight of long-term partner relationships and execution practicality.
8. Document Management
- Maintain disciplined project records across contracts schedules budgets commitments submittals notices change events change orders turnover files compliance documentation and closeout packages.
- Ensure Procore and approved systems are accurate current and usable as the operative record.
- Protect version control naming conventions dashboard accuracy and traceability of decisions and approvals.
- Ensure project records preserve continuity from contract execution through turnover and internal closeout.
- Support reliable portfolio reporting by maintaining clean timely and complete project data.
- Ensure project documentation supports financing audit warranty asset management and internal governance needs.
9. Behavioral / Judgment Standards
- Cultivate and Protect relationships while protecting Pivots business interests.
- Operate effectively when facts are incomplete and timing still matters.
- Distinguish facts from assumptions interpretations and noise.
- Use process documentation and system discipline as control mechanisms.
- Escalate risk early rather than late.
- Preserve continuity from preconstruction handoff to final closeout.
- Make commercially and operationally sound recommendations rather than only reporting activity.
- Maintain composure and clarity under deadline pressure and stakeholder friction.
- Influence outcomes without needing formal authority over every participant.
- Recognize when collaboration escalation or firmness is required.
- Hold a high bar for data hygiene documentation quality and follow-through.
- Support predictable consistent and reliable delivery outcomes
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES
- Strong understanding of owner-side IPP project delivery across PV PV plus BESS DG C&I or similar infrastructure execution environments.
- Ability to manage project execution from handoff through turnover using structured control mechanisms rather than informal follow-up.
- Ability to create interpret and manage CPM or logic-based schedules with sufficient rigor to identify critical path risk sequence exposure and recovery options.
- Ability to manage project financial controls including budget ownership forecast discipline contingency management budget changes cost forecasting and EAC reporting.
- Strong contract administration capability including notice provisions commercial entitlements milestone requirements relief analysis and change order processing.
- Working knowledge of how engineering procurement construction commissioning testing and turnover activities interrelate commercially and operationally.
- Ability to operate effectively in Procore Sage Intacct Salesforce Power BI and related project-controls systems.
- Ability to coordinate submittals turnover documentation QA/QC records testing readiness warranties and closeout requirements.
- Ability to integrate safety quality and compliance obligations into live project execution rather than treating them as separate workstreams.
- Ability to understand cost code structure job costing methodologies and the relationship between project budget setup and downstream execution controls.
- Ability to influence outcomes without dictating contractor means and methods.
- Ability to support predictable repeatable project outcomes through disciplined use of process documentation meetings and escalation.
- Bachelors degree in Engineering Construction Management Business or related field or equivalent practical experience.
- Demonstrated experience in project management construction management project controls or equivalent execution roles within renewable energy infrastructure or comparable project-based environments.
- Ability to manage multiple internal and external stakeholders through active project execution.
- Working knowledge of contract administration change management job costing forecasting and risk control.
- Experience using project controls or ERP systems such as Procore Sage Intacct Salesforce Power BI or similar tools.
- Ability to read and work from drawings specifications commercial exhibits schedules and execution plans.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to maintain control of detail across multiple active issues and deadlines.
- Ability to operate independently while knowing when escalation is required.
- Understanding of construction financing tax equity and typical project financing requirements.
PREFERRED COMPETENCIES
- Experience in solar BESS community solar DG or owner-side IPP execution.
- Experience with design-build EPC integrated delivery or multi-party renewable contracting structures.
- Experience with utility coordination AHJ permitting commissioning turnover and closeout of renewable energy projects.
- Familiarity with PWA Domestic Content FEOC environmental and safety documentation and other project compliance obligations.
- Experience with owners engineer or independent engineer coordination.
- Experience leading Assistant Project Managers Coordinators or cross-functional project teams.
- Familiarity with structured dashboard reporting portfolio reviews and executive-level project communication.
CORE CAPABILITIES
- Organized and detail-driven
- Strong ownership mentality
- Commercially aware
- Process disciplined
- Calm under pressure
- Clear communicator
- Strong at follow-through
- Able to manage ambiguity without losing control
- Good judgment on escalation
- Comfortable leading through influence
- Committed to consistency predictability and reliability
SUCCESS MEASURES
- Projects move from handoff into execution with preserved commercial schedule and scope continuity.
- Contract obligations are administered cleanly and enforceably.
- Budgets forecasts contingencies and cost exposures are visible timely and credible.
- Schedule performance is actively managed rather than passively reported.
- Risks are surfaced early enough to influence outcomes.
- Change events and change orders are captured before they become unmanageable.
- Data in Procore and linked reporting environments is accurate current and decision-useful.
- Milestone readiness for NTP MC SC FC commissioning performance testing capacity testing and turnover is organized documented and predictable.
- Stakeholders trust the Project Managers communication records and judgment.
- Handoffs to O&M Asset Management Revenue Operations Accounting and leadership are complete and reliable.
KPI FRAMEWORK
Core Quantitative KPIs
- On-Time Delivery: at least 90% on-time completion for Permit Submission Mechanical Completion Substantial Completion and Final Completion.
- Forecast Accuracy: maintain cost and schedule forecasts within 20%.
- Data Hygiene: 100% weekly dashboard refresh compliance and logging of change events within 2 business days.
- Risk Management: maintain a proactive risk register with at least 90% sterility and quantified mitigation actions.
Additional Operating KPIs
- Monthly forecast submission completed on time and supported by current schedule logic.
- All formal notices issued within contractual timing requirements.
- Change-event log current and aged items actively managed.
- NCRs punch testing deficiencies and turnover deficiencies tracked to closure.
- SC and FC documentation packages materially complete at time of milestone submission.
- Internal stakeholder confidence in PM reporting handoff quality and issue management.
- No unresolved system-data mismatches that impair project or portfolio reporting.
- Commissioning performance testing and capacity testing readiness achieved on time and with complete supporting records.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
The estimated base salary range for this position is $110000$150000 depending on relevant experience along with eligibility for the companys substantial bonus plan with the target bonus based on role.
Pivot Energy is dedicated to providing a great work experience for all employees placing an emphasis on company culture and a focus on our people. To that end Pivot offers an outstanding benefits package that includes:
- Excellent health/dental/vision insurance benefits with up to 100% of premiums covered by the company
- Four weeks of vacation plus employment milestone bonus vacations
- Company paid life insurance and short- & long-term disability coverage
- Generous parental leave
- 401(k) matching (after vesting period)
- Work from home stipend for new employees
- Public transit reimbursement
- PTO for volunteering in the community
- Charitable donation matching up to $500/year
- Professional development and educational reimbursements
A complete list of all the benefits Pivot offers may be provided upon request.
Required Experience:
IC