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Orenda, Inc · 2 months ago

Director, Pre-Construction (Project Execution)

New York, New York, United States

Full-time

Onsite

Director/Executive

$200K/yr - $250K/yr

10+ years exp

Orenda is a dynamic NYC-based startup focused on enhancing grid efficiency through renewable energy projects. The Director of Pre-Construction will lead the commercial strategy for project execution, ensuring successful delivery from design to construction while managing a dedicated team.

EnergyEnergy StorageRenewable Energy

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and strategic oversight for all pre-construction commercial activities, ensuring alignment with corporate goals and the successful, efficient delivery of the entire project portfolio

Lead, mentor, and manage a team of direct reports, including the Procurement Manager and Pre-construction Manager. Set clear objectives, develop performance KPIs, encourage leadership and autonomy within the team, and foster a culture of accountability, precision, and high performance

Develop, implement, and refine robust commercial processes and workflows that align with the Project Execution division's goals. This will include standardizing all commercial agreements and defining clear workflows between internal departments, ensuring seamless coordination with the Director of Project Development and the Director of Construction to manage handoffs, mitigate risk, and ensure scalability to support a high-velocity project pipeline

Actively identify, vet, prequalify, and onboard strategic partners for procurement and construction, including major equipment manufacturers, General Contractors, and key field service contractors. Manage and maintain the company's comprehensive database of qualified procurement and construction partners to ensure a robust and competitive supply chain

Lead the strategic negotiation and execution of all major equipment contracts, including Master Supply Agreements (MSAs) and project-specific purchase orders. A key responsibility is to ensure all warranties and long-term service agreements are negotiated to align with the requirements of the Asset Management team

Lead the competitive bidding, negotiation, and execution of all contracts for field-based services. This includes the main General Contractor agreement, as well as any directly-procured trade contractors (ex. fire alarm, security) and third-party consultants (ex. special inspection, NETA testing)

Take ultimate responsibility for de-risking projects by ensuring all commercial agreements, including major equipment MSAs/POs, field service contracts, and consultant agreements, are fully synchronized in scope, schedule, and cost. This includes eliminating gaps, mitigating project risk, and finalizing all major costs to ensure budget certainty for the construction phase

Act as the primary commercial partner to the Project Development team. Proactively lead constructability reviews and value engineering exercises, analyzing the cost, schedule, and warranty implications of design alternatives to ensure the most cost-effective project is delivered

Inherit the landlord relationship from the Origination team at project handoff. Act as the main point of contact, proactively tracking and actioning all lease obligations and milestones, including insurance compliance, notice requirements, and milestone payments, throughout the design and pre-construction phases

Take primary ownership of developing and managing the master project schedule through the design and pre-construction phases, integrating all critical design, permitting, procurement, and construction milestones

Develop, manage, and report on all pre-construction budgets and cash flow projections. Act as the primary owner for preparing and presenting all formal documentation required for key capital expenditure approvals (e.g., authorizing equipment manufacturing, commencing construction). This responsibility includes close coordination with senior finance leadership to align project cash flow needs with the timing of capital funding vehicles

Systematically compile and deliver a comprehensive handoff package to the Construction department, ensuring all final contracts, budgets, schedules, lease obligations, and procurement documents are clearly communicated and formally transferred

In conjunction with other department leads, compile and analyze lessons learned from all pre-construction activities and departmental workflows into consolidated quarterly reports. Identify key trends and drive actionable recommendations for process improvement

Qualification

Pre-construction managementProcurement expertiseContract negotiationProject schedulingFinancial acumenStrategic communicationConstruction managementTeam leadershipProcess developmentValue engineeringVendor managementRenewable energy knowledgeMaster Service AgreementsCollaborationProblem-solving

Required

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field

A minimum of 10-15 years of progressive experience in construction, with a significant focus on pre-construction, procurement, estimating, and commercial management

At least 5 years of experience in a direct leadership role, with a proven ability to manage, mentor, and develop a high-performing commercial team

Expertise in managing all commercial facets of pre-construction, including strategic sourcing, vendor prequalification, major equipment procurement, contractor bidding and evaluation, and complex contract negotiation and execution

Proven ability to operate at a strategic level and communicate effectively with all stakeholders, from C-suite executives, financial partners, and investment committees to other department directors, direct reports, and external counterparties

Strong financial acumen and experience developing and managing multi-million dollar procurement and construction budgets

Proficiency in advanced scheduling software (e.g., Primavera P6, Microsoft Project) and construction project management platforms (e.g., Procore, Kahua)

Preferred

Direct experience in the renewable energy or power generation sectors, particularly with medium voltage power systems, grid-interconnection, or Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

Experience managing procurement, pre-construction, and construction within New York City or a similarly dense and complex urban regulatory environment

A Professional Engineer (PE) license or Project Management Professional (PMP) certification

Direct experience negotiating and managing large-scale Master Service Agreements (MSAs) or other alternative contracting models in addition to standard GC agreements

Established, active relationships with key BESS equipment manufacturers, major electrical contractors, or GCs in the NYC-area energy market

Experience in a high-growth startup environment, demonstrating a high degree of flexibility and a track record of building new processes from the ground up