Construction Lead - Italy

Construction Lead - Italy

Department: DevCon

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Italy

Compensation: €100,000 / year

Description

A bit about Field

Field has been operating in Italy since September 2022, with an office in Rome that has grown to a team of 12 over the past two years, and is set to double in the next couple of years. It's a group of specialists with diversified backgrounds - spanning project development, grid, origination, permitting, legal, strategy, finance, and electrical and civil engineering - bringing collective experience across 3+ GW of photovoltaic, 1.5+ GW of onshore wind, and 500+ MW of OCGT plants developed and constructed in Italy, alongside the origination of 3+ GW of BESS. That mix of deep Italian renewables know-how and fresh BESS expertise has translated into a strong, diversified pipeline from North to South of Italy, with 400 MW already authorised in 2026 and more than 1 GW of additional BESS capacity in planning. We plan to put most of these into construction ourselves, starting in 2027.

In addition, our UK team has recently been awarded several long duration energy storage contracts that will make Field one of the biggest players in European flexibility and we intend to match that growth in Italy.

Role Overview

Core to Field’s mission is developing and constructing energy storage assets, and this role is right at the heart of that mission. We're seeking a dynamic individual to manage transmission-connected BESS projects through pre-construction, detailed design, construction, commissioning and handover to Operations.

You will report directly to our Direttore Tecnico (Diego) and work closely with our in-house Project Engineers, BoP Contractors, BESS Suppliers and the TSO. You will be supported internally by specialists on topics such as health and safety, grid code compliance, battery systems, planning, procurement, legal and contract management. You will also be able to lead the on-boarding of any additional resource needed to build Field’s projects.

You should have a strong project delivery background and significant experience in the delivery of grid-connected energy projects in Italy, particularly at transmission level. BESS experience would be really beneficial, but it is not essential if you have experience of delivering similar projects across other technologies.

Key Responsibilities

Main Responsibilities

• Managing the pre-construction phase of the project (following end of the planning & development phase, or following the acquisition of a RTB Asset)
  • Lead an internal project team in the run-up to Final Investment Decision (FID), with a sharp focus on programme and risks
  • Support planning conditions’ discharge activities with the development team and engagement with landowners, with the support of the origination team, to ensure land-related obligations are met
  • Work with the in-house design team to ensure any value engineering opportunities are captured
  • Supporting the procurement and legal team throughout tenders and contract negotiations
  • Ownership of Italian Employer Requirements
  • Prepare an updated pre-construction information pack and other key contractual documents.
  • Lead any early works package required in advance of main contract signatures (e.g. to start detailed contractor design for long lead-time equipment)
  • Develop and own the project risk register, project schedule and project budget (what we call the “basics” from which all activities are prioritised)
  • Ensure the full project team is aligned on actions, timescales and responsibilities
• Managing the construction phase to meet agreed time, quality and budget targets, safely
  • Lead by example and ensure our health & safety culture is adopted on all projects
  • Manage our construction contracts, including the BESS supplier, BoP/EPC contractor, TSO, grid-compliance and any other packages of work required for the project
  • Ensure Field Italia is commercially protected when there are delays and variations
  • Deliver all “Client” responsibilities noted within the employer’s requirements and interface matrix of construction contracts
  • Carefully manage internal and external stakeholders
  • Ensure key project management documents are prepared to an excellent standard in line with the business reporting calendar
  • Keep owning and sharpening the project master programme/GANTT through construction until COD
• Ensure the project seamlessly enters commercial operation & close-out contracts
  • Manage our internal engineering resource and contractors to develop and implement a commissioning and energisation plan
  • Coordinate with our commercial operations team on revenue readiness activities
  • Have a clear understanding on how our construction schedules impact on revenue streams (e.g. Capacity Market/MACSE milestone dates)
  • Support procurement and commercial operations with the on-boarding and integration of Asset Management contractors
  • Agree (and manage the close-out) of construction defects and settle final accounts with support of the contract manager
• Line Management
  • Eventually you’ll be taking on line-management responsibility for other team members
  • Separate from project responsibilities, you’ll help shape their workload and priorities
  • You’ll help them create career plans and provide regular and clearly-communicated feedback to help them develop

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

A bit about you

• You care about the craft of Project Management - your documents are clean, your registers are live and you hold the team to that standard
• You enjoy leading a range of disciplines, maybe some of them are outside your area of expertise
• You communicate openly - you keep teammates informed, ask when you need input and share what you know
• You’re very organised - you’ll be spinning a few plates at once and you’ll be the glue that holds the project together
• You’re enthusiastic, curious and knowledgeable about the energy storage industry

Essential Skills

• Engineering masters degree or similar technical qualification
• 5-8 years of experience in similar roles
• You have managed the delivery of at least 2 TSO connected renewable energy projects or BESS through to the end of construction for an IPP/EPC contractor
• You have excellent practical project leadership skills and take pride in your project documents and reports
• You are ready to line-manage and develop other project managers in the team
• Strong formal project management skills, with the use of appropriate tools
• Ability to take a pragmatic and proactive approach to health, safety and quality management
• You have strong commercial understanding and experience managing various contract types
• You have a thorough understanding of construction safety laws and regulations (D.Lgs. 81/08 e smi) and a flawless record of applying them
• You create collaborative and cooperative environments for project teams. (i.e. you can lead as well as manage)

Helpful Skills

• You have experience working on the pre-construction phase (or pre FID phase) of renewable energy or BESS projects
• You have previously worked as a professional on construction site (e.g. Direttore Lavori/RL/CSP/CSE)
• Experience of project-finance requirements (e.g. working through technical due diligence in pre-construction or liaising with lender Technical Advisors during construction)
• Project management certifications (e.g. PMP, Prince2 etc.)

Benefits

Package Details

We’re offering a basic gross salary starting from €100,000, with some flexibility depending on relevant experience.

We’re also offering participation in our growth shares/stock options scheme which rewards all employees for the growth of the business.

Other benefits include

• Up to 10% company wide bonus based on company performance
• Hybrid working (blend of home and office working to suit individual needs, plus travel to projects under construction)
• Holidays as per national contract (Metalmeccanico) + bank holidays
• Meal vouchers
• Complementary health insurance (Metasalute)
• Complementary pension scheme (Cometa fund)
• €2,000 annual learning & development budget to spend on whatever best supports your growth
• 1 month a year ‘work from anywhere in the world’ policy
• Paid dependents leave, in case you need to take time off for the most important people in your life
• Green leave - paid time off to do something good for the environment

Why join us

Genuine impact: You will actually be building and operating the renewable infrastructure we need to reach net zero. This is not a green CSR initiative, but a company that is taking a leading role in building one of the critical solutions to a generational problem.

Make things happen: We are a relatively young company, and you will have significant accountability to make things happen from day one. You will have a lot of autonomy, will learn quickly, and be given a LOT of room to grow.

Define a new industry: The energy market is in a paradigm shift right now, evolving at a breathtaking pace, and you will play a leading role in defining how that market evolves and innovates over the next few years.

Exceptional team: We are an eclectic team with varied backgrounds. We have experience scaling billion dollar tech start-ups and building energy companies, as well as deep specialisms in the energy markets. You will learn from and work with a bunch of fun, curious, and entrepreneurial people who really want to make an impact.

You will have the opportunity to lead the construction of one of the most exciting BESS portfolios in Italy, largely connected to existing Terna substations across the country, leveraging the best practices of our UK colleagues that have built BESS projects since 2022.

Our Values

• Move fast – We're finishers. Doers. Pragmatists. We take responsibility. We see things through and we always deliver on our promises. We roll up our sleeves and get things done. FAST.
• Know your stuff – We're curious and pride ourselves on always learning, adapting and improving. There are no stupid questions here. We’re self-starters. We’re all learning and growing, always. And we take accountability for our own growth.
• Do it right – We do things the right way and never cut corners. We always put safety above profit. We carefully manage the impact of our work on local communities and the broader environment. We are intentional and act with integrity at all times.
• Work for the team – We are friendly and approachable. We make time for one another, we lean on each other. We learn from one another, and we value diversity of thought and experience so we learn faster and get better.

EDI statement

Diverse teams make better teams. Field is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment which is as representative as possible of our society. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender expression, marriage/civil partnership status, pregnancy/maternity status, race, nationality, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.