Senior Project Manager

Job Title: Senior Project Manager

Department: Construction EMEA

Reporting to: Head of Construction 

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

We are Lightsource bp – and we’re on a mission to become a global leader in onshore renewables, anchored by our proven track record in solar development.

For over a decade we’ve been actively working to diversify the way our world is powered with sustainable and responsible renewable power. We work to safely deliver affordable, reliable, large-scale onshore renewable and energy storage solutions to help the world decarbonise.

Our growing business is constantly innovating and investing to help drive the energy transition. Our people and projects are focused on supporting long-term sustainable growth and energy security.

Lightsource bp was fully acquired by bp in 2024.

What You’ll do (the role)

Summary

• Reporting to the Head of Construction, you’ll be based in our Lisbon office
• Have an agile mindset and willingness to travel to project and supplier locations, in addition to regular attendance at our Lisbon Office, and occasionally other EMEA regional offices if required in the course of your duties.

Construction Phase (starting at Financial Close and until commercial operation date)

• As part of the Construction team, you will be delivering key aspects of business and department objectives throughout the project life cycle.
• Delivering key aspects of the project management and oversight of the contractor performance, PM and project team.
• Accountable for allocated projects during construction phase in the geographical(s) area of responsibility, ensuring they are delivered safely, to the LSbp quality standards, on time, and to budget.
• Support the interface with stakeholders during construction and energization phase.
• Manage all construction project management aspects of PV, BESS or Wind projects from financial close through to commissioning and completion, on allocated projects.
• Lead and co-ordinate
• Work with the construction and delivery team internally to improve procedures and specifications.
• Implementing good practice PM systems and controls.
• Ensure allocated projects comply with the requirements of the applicable permits and contracts.
• Ensure the detailed design of the PV plant, together with the internal and external engineering, is adherent to the lightsourcebp technical engineering practices including the specific country requirements.
• Support the claim management strategy during construction, providing clarity and contractual recommendations for approval to the Head of Construction, leveraging the support of the in house legal and the delivery team.
• Support finance-accounting-tax controls during construction, in close coordination with the finance team.
• support the management of the project finance contracts after financial close, in close coordination with finance and structured finance teams, ensuring all the needed documents for on-time debt drawdowns and no contractual breach, and coordinate with the LTA as needed.
• Support the regulatory processes during construction, in close coordination with regulatory and grid connection teams, to ensure smooth relations with the DNO/Utility, TSO and other public bodies that are involved in the project construction and energization.
• Support /Lead the stakeholder management and environmental programs, in close coordination with the environmental team for allocated projects.
• Support the Construction senior team in building effective relationships with the Contractors in the geographical area.

Pre-Construction Phase (before Financial close – where the person Accountable is the Head of Development)

• Develop and foster strong working relationships with the local team to support business development.
• Support and inform the department in providing the Head of Development, and Tenders and Contracts Team in the definition of optimal EPC/ICP contracts satisfactory to the lenders and to the shareholder. Therefore, work with the EPC team to select the optimum EPC and ICP contractor from RFP to contractual negotiations and final selection.
• Support Commercial Engineering team to define scope and support the selection of Technical Advisors (Owner’s Engineer and Lender’s Technical Advisor).

Post-Construction Phase (after Commercial Operation Date, where the person accountable is the Head of Asset Management)

• Support /Lead the project handover from construction to operations and Asset Management ensuring early involvement.
• Support Asset Management for the monitoring of the EPC/ICP contractor duties and responsibilities until the EPC/ICP final acceptance certificate (2 years after Provisional Acceptance Certificate issue date).

Who we’re looking for

Knowledge & experience

• Previous experience in the Renewable Energy sector is preferred or having enacted the Project Management duties on construction projects for a utility or within the energy sector in Portugal.
• Project Management experience of Grid connected PV Solar, BESS and Wind projects.

• Project Management experience of Substation projects for Distribution and/or Transmission connected projects
• Experience working for EPC or ICP Contractors, or as the Owners representative in a project management role.
• Strong understanding of HSE obligations in construction.
• Project Schedule and financial performance understanding and reporting.
• Contract management and claims resolution.

• Knowledge of Portuguese administrative process for the construction of energy projects and the steps to successful COD.

Education and Qualifications

• Construction or Project Management related formal qualifications, and degree level qualifications ideally in an engineering related discipline, or equivalent.

Why you’ll make a great member of the team          

Personal qualities

• Successful track record of working and leading team(s) in a matrix organization and building a trusted delivery focused team environment.
• Successful track record in leading projects and with a focus of HSE and Quality standards
• Successful track record in project delivery and managing and building trusted relationships with various stakeholders (internally and externally).
• Contract management skills.
• Strong relationships established with EPC’s and ICP’s.
• Knowledge of fundamental project management systems and procedures in the construction industry.
• Full driving license.
• Fluent in Portuguese and English (as a second language).

Why you’ll want to work for us

Our company is a place where you can be yourself and grow – a place where your ideas and opinions matter.

Be you

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive community, where every individual is valued and treated with respect.

Be responsible

Our culture is driven by our core values. From operating safely to ensuring our solar projects are responsible and promote biodiversity.

Be recognised

Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a variety of benefits including annual bonus, retention bank, health insurance, pension, and other local benefits.

Be inspired

Join an agile, international team working across 15 countries to power the future and positively impact people, communities, ecosystems and biodiversity across the world.

Our core values

Lightsource bp truly cares about creating a sustainable future through safe, responsible and meaningful low-carbon energy projects. Our core values of Safety, Integrity, Respect, Sustainability and Drive are the guiding principles for everything we do.  https://www.lightsourcebp.com/careers/

Why You’ll Want to Stay with us

At Lightsource bp, you’ll work within agile, cross-functional teams where diverse perspectives come together. Our culture embraces open knowledge sharing and collaboration, empowering you to learn from others and accelerate progress collectively.

Your career growth is our priority and a shared journey. We are committed to developing talent from within and prepare you for career advancement so you can shape a fulfilling and lasting journey here.

In today’s fast-changing world, a learning mindset is essential and therefore we proactively support upskilling to help you push your skill boundaries and stay ahead in your field, so you can not only keep pace with change, but confidently shape a brighter future.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company.  We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, neurodiversity/neurocognitive functioning, veteran status or disability status.   Individuals with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation related to LSbp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.).  If you would like to request an accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us to request accommodations.