Associate, Commercial Finance & Economics

Invenergy•Chicago, IL

9d•$95,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

As an Associate on the Commercial Finance & Economics (CFE) team, you will play a central role in shaping the financial understanding, valuation, and strategic direction of utility-scale energy projects across renewables, thermal, and transmission technologies. You will lead the creation, validation, and management of complex financial and economic models; develop project-level business cases; quantify the impact of market, regulatory, and commercial risks; and coordinate deeply with cross-functional teams including origination, development, engineering, construction, procurement, finance, and legal. This role is based in Invenergy’s Chicago headquarters and offers broad exposure to all stages of project development—from early commercial scoping to NTP/FC. It requires the ability to interrogate assumptions, synthesize insights for senior leadership, and manage processes that drive economic optimization across multiple simultaneous projects in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Engineering, Accounting, Finance, or related field (Master’s preferred).
2+ years of experience in commercial, financial, or analytical roles in energy, infrastructure, utilities, banking, consulting, or real estate development.
Demonstrated ability to build, manage, audit, and interpret complex financial and economic models.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills with the ability to communicate trade-offs and risk/reward balances.
Experience managing multiple projects and coordinating across cross-functional teams in fast-paced settings.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially in presenting financial topics to senior audiences.
Knowledge of budgeting, cost forecasting, project development processes, and financial oversight.
Advanced Excel skills (VBA, pivot tables, lookups, conditional logic, macros, scenario modeling) and strong Word/PowerPoint proficiency.

Nice To Haves

Experience with project finance, infrastructure valuation, or utility-scale renewable, thermal, storage, or transmission development.
Demonstrated expertise in advanced financial modeling, including Monte Carlo simulations, debt sculpting, risk-weighted returns, power market modeling, and multi-technology valuation.
Proficiency with MATLAB and/or Python for simulations, optimization, scenario automation, data processing, and integration with Excel modeling frameworks.
Experience building standardized modeling templates, assumption libraries, or automated analysis tools.
Ability to synthesize complex economic impacts into clear summaries for leadership.
Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage numerous concurrent projects.
Self-starter with strong judgment and the ability to operate with minimal direction.
Strong interpersonal skills and confidence engaging senior managers, engineers, advisors, and multi-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

Financial Modeling & Analysis Lead the development, ownership, and enhancement of complex financial and valuation models to analyze economic merits, risks, pricing strategies, and returns for renewable, thermal, and transmission projects.
Assess the integrity of financial and economic models and communicate key assumptions, price drivers, sensitivities, and commercial risks to origination, development, engineering, and senior leadership.
Run extensive sensitivity, scenario, and risk analyses to quantify the effect of market variables, design choices, and structural risks on pricing and returns.
Partner with engineering teams to optimize project designs, integrating insights into CAPEX, OPEX, performance, system losses, availability, and revenue structures.
Cross-Functional Coordination & Project Support Support and coordinate with origination, development, engineering, procurement, structured finance, accounting, legal, and construction teams to build full project business cases.
Ensure alignment and documentation of key commercial assumptions across budgeting, DEVEX, CAPEX, OPEX, tax, land & property, bonding, decommissioning, revenue mechanisms, settlement structures, and local content.
Maintain financial models for all projects within a development region, incorporating updated inputs, commercial changes, risk factors, and market dynamics.
Identify inconsistencies or misalignments across project models and lead corrective standardization efforts.
Market, Policy, & Risk Analysis Monitor market conditions, policy developments, regulatory structures, cost trends, and competitive dynamics, integrating insights into project modeling and commercial strategy.
Identify commercial, economic, and structural risks and propose mitigation strategies to improve competitiveness and bankability.
Collaborate with advisors, consultants, trade groups, and legal counsel to refine assumptions, enhance models, and improve development strategies.
Communication, Leadership & Organizational Impact Mentor and support junior CFE team members through expectation-setting, work review, feedback, and coaching.
Prepare clear, concise presentations and memos summarizing key findings, model insights, risks, and recommendations for senior leadership.
Deliver training to upskill internal teams on financial modeling, revenue structures, market dynamics, and project economics.
Lead or contribute to process improvement initiatives that strengthen modeling consistency, speed, and accuracy across the organization.