Operations Controlling Associate

Rückbauanlage Gundremmingen•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Operations Controlling Associate serves as a financial partner and advisor to RWE Americas Operations leadership, supporting financial targets and reporting and forecasting for a 13 GW portfolio of operating onshore wind, solar, and energy storage assets. The role analyzes asset performance and cost drivers to explain results and identify opportunities to improve financial and operational outcomes, and contributes to scalable process improvements that support company growth. The associate supports monthly and quarterly financial reporting and quarterly and annual forecasting and planning. The role maintains asset-level cost trackers and budget support files, performs variance analysis, prepares KPI and presentation materials, and collaborates with Site Operations, Asset Management, and other stakeholders. Work is performed with management direction and guidance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or business, or equivalent professional experience.
Minimum of 1 year of relevant experience.
Basic knowledge of core accounting concepts and principles.
Strong written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to collaborate across functions and explain findings to internal stakeholders.
Structured analytical and problem-solving abilities, with initiative and the ability to identify key insights in financial data.
Proficiency in forecasting, variance analysis, asset performance metrics, and systems or reporting tools.
Strong technical skills, including advanced proficiency in Excel, SAP, SAC, Power BI, and/or Tableau as listed in the posting.
Detail-oriented, with strong business acumen and an analytical mindset.
Ability to build relationships and communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
Strong organization and coordination skills, including the ability to manage multiple tasks and deliverables.
Ability to identify issues and modify processes and methods as needed.
Motivation to learn about the company and renewable energy sector.
Ability to respond to direction, accept challenge and development, and work in a coachable manner.
Ability to lead assigned tasks with management direction and guidance.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States; the company is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas.

Nice To Haves

CPA certification.
Experience in an FP&A role and/or in the renewable energy sector.
Advanced knowledge of core accounting concepts and principles.

Responsibilities

Assist with monthly and quarterly financial reporting for operating assets and internal support teams, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of actuals, commentary, and KPIs, particularly for OpEx, Ops CapEx, and inventory.
Support quarterly and annual forecasting and planning by gathering business input, validating source files, and entering assumptions into models and systems.
Maintain asset-level cost trackers, data logs, and budget support files for operating wind, solar, and storage projects.
Perform variance analyses to identify drivers of deviations from forecasted performance and escalate findings to senior staff.
Collaborate with team members to prepare presentation materials for senior management performance review meetings.
Participate in stakeholder meetings, align on action items, and follow up as appropriate.
Assist with data extraction, report formatting, and consolidation of KPIs such as cost/MWh and EBIT.
Contribute to ad hoc work, including cost reclassification and asset benchmarking.
Partner with Site Operations and Asset Management leads to translate operational plans into KPIs.