Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Farm Assistant

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Farm Assistant provides operational and administrative support to ensure safe, efficient and compliant performance of wind farm assets. Typical duties include daily SCADA and site monitoring, supporting turbine inspections and preventive maintenance, coordinating contractors and logistics, maintaining inventory and records, and assisting with health, safety and environmental compliance. This role is ideal for candidates with mechanical/electrical aptitude, basic field experience, strong communication skills and a desire to grow into wind operations, maintenance coordination or asset management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Wind Turbine Technician Apprentice or Trainee
Field Service Technician (HVAC, electrical or mechanical)
Site Operations Assistant or Technician from oil & gas/heavy industry

Advancement To:

Operations Coordinator / Site Coordinator
Wind Site Supervisor / Shift Lead
Field Service Technician / Wind Turbine Technician
Asset or Reliability Analyst

Lateral Moves:

Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Officer
SCADA Analyst / Remote Monitoring Technician
Environmental Compliance or Community Liaison Officer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Monitor SCADA, turbine telematics and alarm dashboards continuously; triage and escalate alarms to the operations team, logging incidents and follow-up actions in the CMMS while communicating status updates to supervisors and remote engineers.
Conduct daily site rounds and visual inspections of turbine external components, substation equipment and access roads; document defects, safety hazards or security concerns with photos and detailed reports for corrective action.
Assist wind turbine technicians during preventive and corrective maintenance by preparing work packs, gathering required tools and spares, managing permit-to-work paperwork, and providing on-site logistics support during outages.
Coordinate and schedule contractor activities (crane movements, blade repairs, HV switching) including pre-job briefings, verifying certifications, and ensuring contractors comply with site-specific safety and environmental requirements.
Support execution of lockout/tagout and HV isolation procedures under supervision; ensure all tasks are performed in accordance with electrical safe work practices and company permit systems.
Maintain and reconcile spare parts inventory and storeroom operations: receive shipments, barcode and store critical components, perform stock counts, and raise re-order requests to minimize turbine downtime.
Execute routine environmental and wildlife monitoring tasks such as turbine shutdown logs for avian protection, noise checks, and maintaining required compliance documentation for regulators.
Assist with crane set-up, rigging and logistic planning for heavy component lifts by coordinating laydown areas, traffic management, and ensuring exclusion zones and public notifications are in place.
Support daily weather and site condition monitoring (wind speed, icing, temperature) and provide real-time recommendations on safe work windows to supervisors and technicians.
Operate drones or coordinate drone inspections for blade and tower condition assessments where certified; collect photo/video evidence, upload to asset management systems and annotate defects for engineering review.
Maintain and update detailed site records, daily logbooks, maintenance history and service reports in the CMMS or asset database to support reliability analysis and audit readiness.
Perform basic electrical and mechanical troubleshooting under direction, including continuity checks, hydraulic pressure verification, lubrication points, and simple replacement of non-critical components.
Implement and support preventative maintenance tasks such as greasing bearings, changing filters, inspecting lightning protection and verifying torque settings following manufacturer procedures.
Support testing and commissioning activities for new turbines or retrofits by preparing test equipment, assisting engineers during performance runs and documenting acceptance test results.
Participate in emergency response and rescue drills as part of the site team; act as an on-site first responder or radio liaison during incidents and ensure incident logs and notifications are completed.
Assist with access control and site security duties, including gate checks, visitor management, and coordination of CCTV or remote monitoring systems to maintain asset protection.
Help prepare and compile technical submittals, contractor invoices, permits, and HSE documentation required for regulatory compliance and internal audits.
Support data collection and initial analysis for availability and performance metrics; prepare daily and weekly operational summaries for the site manager and operations center.
Conduct routine minor civil and landscaping support such as maintaining access tracks, signage, and drainage points to ensure safe site access and minimize environmental impact.
Verify and maintain calibration records and basic operation of site meters, portable test gear and safety equipment (PPE, gas detectors, rescue gear), escalating calibration needs as required.
Facilitate stakeholder and community communications for low-level enquiries, scheduled outages and planned works; ensure notifications and local liaison tasks are completed professionally.
Support cost-control activities by accurately coding timesheets, logging material usage and assisting with basic procurement tasks to ensure budget visibility for the operations team.
Participate in continuous improvement initiatives by identifying recurring failures, documenting root-cause observations and supporting reliability projects to reduce mean time to repair (MTTR) and increase availability.
Assist with seasonal preparations such as winterization procedures, anti-icing measures and turbine warm-up protocols to minimize weather-related downtime and safety risks.

Secondary Functions

Support remote monitoring center requests and provide on-site validation for telemetry anomalies and SCADA-data discrepancies.
Contribute to periodic site audits and readiness inspections for ISO, OHSAS or local regulatory compliance.
Help coordinate training logistics and maintain training records for wind-specific certifications (GWO, First Aid, Working at Heights).
Support ad-hoc data extraction and entry tasks to assist engineers and analysts with condition monitoring and performance reporting.
Facilitate materials and logistics coordination for multi-site projects, including tracking shipments and ensuring local storage compliance.
Participate in weekly operational planning meetings and contribute to the development of safe work method statements (SWMS) and job hazard analyses.
Assist the reliability team with basic vibration/thermography data collection runs and escalate any abnormal readings to subject matter experts.
Conduct minor site repairs to fencing, signage, and access infrastructure under supervision to maintain operational integrity.
Provide administrative support for contract renewals, invoicing reviews and coordination of warranty claims with OEMs.
Support the organization's sustainability and community engagement activities, including participation in local stakeholder meetings and environmental monitoring programs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proficient with SCADA systems and remote monitoring dashboards for wind turbines; able to interpret alarms, status messages and basic operational parameters.
Experience with a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) such as SAP, Maximo, Infor or Oracle for work order creation, scheduling and record-keeping.
Mechanical aptitude with hands-on experience in basic mechanical and hydraulic systems, bearing lubrication, torque checks and component handling.
Basic electrical knowledge including safe isolation practices, low-voltage troubleshooting, continuity testing and HV awareness.
Familiarity with permit-to-work systems, lockout/tagout procedures and electrical isolation regimes used on industrial sites.
Experience with crane coordination, lifting plans and rigging awareness; knowledge of crane exclusion zones and lift supervision protocols.
Competence in using handheld diagnostic tools and portable test equipment: multimeter, insulation tester, vibration meter, thermal camera, and torque wrenches.
Strong IT literacy—MS Office (Excel for basic reporting), email, mobile communications, and ability to upload/download inspection media and telemetry files.
Experience with drone operation for inspections (preferred) or proven ability to coordinate and document aerial inspection outputs.
Knowledge of health, safety, environmental (HSE) standards and experience applying them in the field (GWO, OSHA, local HSE regulations).
Basic GIS or mapping skills for site layout, access planning and turbine location referencing (preferred).
Familiarity with inventory management and basic procurement processes for spare parts and consumables.

Soft Skills

Strong verbal and written communication skills: concise reporting, clear radio and face-to-face handovers, and professional stakeholder interaction.
High attention to detail with strong record-keeping discipline to support audits, warranty claims and reliability analysis.
Problem-solving mindset and the ability to follow technical instructions while adapting to changing operational priorities.
Team player who can collaborate with technicians, engineers, contractors and site management under field conditions.
Ability to work outdoors in all weather conditions, manage fatigue and maintain situational awareness to ensure personal and team safety.
Time management and organizational skills to prioritize multiple tasks, coordinate schedules and meet operational deadlines.
Customer service orientation for community liaison and contractor relationship management.
Resilience and calm under pressure during incidents, outages, or when coordinating emergency responses.
Continuous learning attitude with a willingness to pursue industry certifications and on-the-job technical training.
Ethical integrity and a proactive approach to raising safety or environmental concerns without delay.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent; vocational certificate in electrical, mechanical, or industrial trade preferred.

Preferred Education:

Associate degree or diploma in Renewable Energy Technology, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering Technology, or similar technical field.
Certifications: GWO Basic Safety Training (working at heights, manual handling, first aid, fire awareness), confined space, and site-specific safety courses where applicable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Renewable Energy Technology
Mechanical or Electrical Trades / Engineering Technology
Industrial Maintenance / Mechatronics
Occupational Health & Safety

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

1–3 years of field experience in wind farm operations, electrical/mechanical maintenance, or heavy-industry site support.

Preferred:

2–5 years of experience working on wind farms or in utility/industrial environments supporting rotating machinery, SCADA monitoring, or maintenance logistics.
Demonstrated experience coordinating contractors, using CMMS systems and performing basic troubleshooting and site inspections.