Project M&A Utility Scale Director

RWE•Chicago, IL

4d•$190,000 - $240,000

About The Position

The Project M&A team at RWE Americas supports the company’s growth strategy by leading both the acquisition and monetization of utility-scale onshore wind, solar, and storage assets and portfolios across the U.S. and Canada. The team is responsible for sourcing and executing M&A transactions, as well as structuring and leading cash-equity partnerships, divestments, and other strategic capital-recycling initiatives for the company’s development, in-construction, and operating portfolio. The ideal candidate has experience modeling renewable energy project financials, a creative problem-solving mindset, and the ability to efficiently manage multiple priorities, all while keeping the "big picture" of RWE's best interests in mind. The Project M&A Utility Scale Director reports directly to the Head of Project M&A Utility Scale, North America for RWE Americas.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree (required) with background in business, finance, accounting, tax or an analytical/quantitative field strongly preferred
Minimum 11 years of experience overall, with at least 5 years of direct experience managing or leading M&A and/or financing transactions for power generation projects required
Minimum 5 years of relevant M&A or finance experience in the US renewable energy industry required
Proven track record of structuring, negotiating, and closing asset acquisitions and JV partnerships
Knowledge of renewable energy project economics and various valuation approaches relevant for M&A required
Strong negotiation skills
Proficient communicator able to foster cross-functional collaboration. Strong written and presentation skills, including the ability to tailor messages for different types of stakeholders
Strong financial skills coupled with conceptual, strategic and analytical thinking skills. Ability to extrapolate past knowledge to solve new problems
Adept at grasping big picture risk v reward in complex scenarios and developing creative and innovative solutions informed by deep experience in “conventional solutions”
Proven commercial judgement and structuring skills. Uses them to anticipate and mitigate issues, guide transactions, and apply conceptual lessons learned to new tranasctions
Team player with the capability to steer “deal work” and “team work” simultaneously
Affinity and high motivation to work in an international business environment. Interpersonal skills, acting comfortably in various cultural environments with a sense for diversity and inclusion

Nice To Haves

MBA, CFA or similar postgraduate degree preferred
Previous transaction experience with financial, utility or IPP investors strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Actively lead the identification and origination of potential project acquisition opportunities across wind, solar and storage by establishing and maintaining relationships with early-stage developers to source new growth opportunities
Represent the company externally at conferences and industry events. Use industry relationships to source opportunities, corroborate market intel, and gather perspectives
Rely on experience as well as collaboration with expert functions across RWE to develop quantitative and qualitative analyses of prospective acquisition or divestment opportunities, highlighting the inherent risks and opportunities of the opportunity and the transaction structure
Lead the negotiation, approval, execution, and closing of select M&A opportunities, managing transaction documentation, financial valuation, and internal approval processes, while being accountable for transaction timeline and budgets.
Lead the divestment activities for development-stage, in-construction, or operating assets to cash equity investors, including management of competitive M&A processes, evaluation of offers, management of investor due diligence, and preparation and negotiation of transaction documentation
Coordinate with both internal and external stakeholders and external advisors to effectively structure and negotiate JV partnership agreements with cash equity investors
Formulate recommendations and craft narratives for executives that articulate the strategic rationale and describe a transaction structure in detail
Ensure consistency and quality of team processes and also identify, encourage, and steer process improvements by team
Coach and develop of junior team members: supervise & mentor, provide real-time feedback, sharpen structuring and negotiation skills, and improve their overall transaction manggement skills
Serve as expert resource, drawing on broad deal experience to ask probing questions, draw conclusions, and steer negotiations to appropriate risk v reward outcomes