ABOUT AVANTUS

Avantus develops, owns and operates utility-scale clean energy projects across California and the Desert Southwest. Our development pipeline of solar with integrated storage will generate enough dispatchable power to serve more than 10 million Americans, day and night. Backed by strategic investment from KKR and EIG, and building on more than a decade of industry leadership, Avantus is growing its position as an independent power producer, delivering affordable, reliable clean energy solutions to meet America’s growing energy demand.

ABOUT THE POSITION

We are seeking a highly motivated and organized candidate for a Sr. Director, Project Finance position. The Sr. Director, Project Finance leads transaction execution across M&A, projecting financings, and corporate level financings for Avantus. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound industry knowledge, superior communications, and detail-oriented organizational skills.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead transaction execution for various types of financing, including M&A, project financings, and corporate level financings
Primary point of contact to negotiate financing documentation
Coordinate with analysts, associates, and project team members to manage closing processes, including coordinating reviews and approvals across multi-functional teams, to bring the transaction to financial close under tight timeframes
Identify and maintain relationships with potential project investors within the equity fund and banking communities and develop strategies to build up our utility-scale solar power generation project pipeline in North America; propose, facilitate, and close project finance solutions
Maintain and develop external relationships with financing counterparties
Stay current on market financing terms and obtain intel on financings within the sector
Maintain and be responsible (internally and externally) for complex project finance models for internal and external parties to evaluate renewable energy projects during various stages of development, construction, and operation on an individual and portfolio basis Manage and audit finance models created by junior team members
Analyze and draw conclusions from project models which evaluate various financing terms and constraints for construction loans, tax equity bridge loans, and sponsor equity with back-leverage loans in time and yield-based partnership flip tax equity structures
Obtain and negotiate financing term sheets and agreements
Review and negotiate project documentation and third-party reports, including PPAs, financing term sheets and agreements, IE reports, etc., and accurately integrate assumptions into financial models
Voice of the project team to assess financeability issues related to PPAs, EPC and Procurement Agreements, and other major contracts or development topics
Independently develop and run sensitivities in models and quantify resulting impact on sponsor IRRs, margins, and other key metrics
Drive creation and completion of marketing materials for fundraising, including teasers, CIMs, and management of data rooms
Manage closing process, including coordinating reviews and approvals across multi-functional teams, to bring the transaction to financial close under tight timeframes
Contribute to updates to underwriting standards to ensure proper market and internal assumptions are accurately captured in the financial models
Perform other duties and special projects, as assigned
Manage project financings to meet closing timeframes
Analyze or evaluate complex financing topics. Lead discussions with external parties and internal SMEs to drive at conclusions or issue resolutions
Mentor Project Finance Associates and Managers
Prepare and present materials to Senior and Executive teams and to the Board, as necessary
Engage with counterparties to stay current on financing/tax issues affecting the industry

REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Typically, 8-10+ years of project finance, corporate finance, or investment banking experience in renewable energy or similar industry