Grid Connections Manager - Battery Energy Storage Solutions

Job Description

Zenobē is a specialist in electric vehicle fleets and grid-connected battery storage, headquartered in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 2017 and now employs over 300 people with diverse expertise in electrical engineering, software development, computer science, and finance.

Zenobē is the leading owner and operator of grid-connected battery storage in the UK transmission network and has 2.5 GWh of contracted battery storage projects. The company is currently expanding into North America and Germany. In the UK, Zenobē has an operational capacity of 731 MW, with a further 568 MW currently under construction.

Zenobē holds a market share of around 25% in the UK electric bus market and supports more than 3,400 electric vehicles across 120 depots worldwide. The company is the largest owner and operator of electric buses in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Opportunity

We are looking to recruit an experienced professional to act as Zenobe's lead person on all matters related to connection applications, connection agreements, connection process, and relationship management with network companies and operators.

The candidate will have an in-depth knowledge and all stages of the Germany transmission connection process including application, contract and milestone management, and Grid Code compliance and an excellent understanding of the main stakeholders within the Germany electricity transmission industry (e.g. TSOs and BNetzA) and how these organisations interact with one another specifically with respect to facilitating customer connections.

The candidate will act as Zenobe's main point of contact with these organisations and will seek to build strategic relationships at working and senior levels ensures Zenobe can work effectively with our network partners to deliver our portfolio of transmission connection projects.

The candidate will bring proven experience and understanding of the Germany transmission system User connections processes, including the ability to prepare and review applications, assess connection offers, communicate technical requirements to our Engineering teams and delivery partners, manage administrative elements of connection agreements (e.g. BKZ, grid fees and milestones), and work with relevant TSOs to demonstrate all requirements of our connection agreements and the compliance process are met.

The candidate will lead Zenobe's engagement with industry policy development (e.g. connections reform, grid fee reform) to understand how proposed changes these will affect Zenobe and influence outcomes to our benefit.

It will be a requirement to hit the ground running and to be comfortable operating at a rapid pace at times with levels of ambiguity and the pressure of deadlines.

A Taste of the Day to Day

• Lead all aspects of the grid connection process including applications, review of offers, management of collaterals, management of milestones, and ensure an effective process is put in place to complete compliance activities to allow signed grid connection agreement.
• Lead engagement with TSO customer account managers to effectively escalate and resolve any issues encountered by Zenobe project teams.
• Work with Zenobe's Business Development and Project Development teams to assess future connection options or M&A opportunities.
• Identify all technical requirements included in Zenobe connection agreements and ensure these are adequately captured in our Employer's Requirements and suppliers' designs.
• Lead engagement with the relevant TSO to coordinate the Grid Code compliance process

Health and Safety

• Actively contribute to Zenobe's commitment to health and safety, wellbeing and sustainability by; integrating these principles into daily responsibilities, ensuring a safe and supportive work environment, promoting both the physical and mental health of self and colleagues, and adopting sustainable and energy-efficient practices to minimize environmental impact. By doing so, each employee at Zenobe plays a vital role in fostering a culture that prioritises overall safety, holistic wellbeing, environmental sustainability in our business operations.

A Bit About You

A job with Zenobē Energy means a job with the market leader in one of the UK's most dynamic and fastest growing sectors, gaining exposure to diverse roles and highly experienced partners.

Essential Technical Competencies

• Proven experience in transmission system connection process.
• Excellent understanding of connection agreements, German Grid Code, TAR/TABC, and VDE standards.
• Excellent understanding of regulatory and policy issues in the Germany electricity transmission connections sector.
• Fluent in Microsoft office applications including PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.

Essential Competencies

• Germany speaking and fluent in English
• High quality education (bachelor's or master's degree), preferably electrical engineering or similar but other disciplines accepted.
• A genuine passion in clean energy and our social and environmental mission
• Proven ability to build strategic relationships with external stakeholders and to influence processes and decision making to secure desired outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of presenting technical results and implications
• Strong organisation skills, team player and good attention to detail
• Experience working at one of the TSOs
• Results oriented who is not scared of taking accountability
• Previous working experience with BESS systems greater than 50MW
• Experience working on transmission connected assets / projects at voltage levels of 110kV and above

Working at Zenobe

We're passionate about sustainability and are proud to offer Team Zenobē a pioneering and collaborative working environment. We encourage our people to take ownership of their career progression and celebrate those that can think outside the box.

If you'd like to join our community of likeminded people hit the apply button now, we'd love to hear from you!

What We Offer

Charge your career at Zenobē and receive

• Up to 33% annual bonus for being awesome
• 30 days holiday, plus bank holidays
• €1,500 training budget per year, to ensure you grow as we do
• Plus more