Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Farm Operations Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Farm Operations Manager leads day‑to‑day operations and maintenance (O&M) of wind farm assets to maximize availability, extend asset life, control operating costs, and ensure compliance with health, safety and environmental (HSE) and grid regulations. This role directs internal teams and contractor partners, owns OPEX and performance targets, implements preventive and predictive maintenance programs, manages incident response and root cause investigations, and delivers regular performance reporting to asset owners and stakeholders.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Wind Turbine Technician (senior level) with supervisory experience
O&M Shift Supervisor or Site Supervisor at multi-turbine sites
Asset Performance or Reliability Engineer with field coordination experience

Advancement To:

Regional Operations Manager / O&M Director
Head of Asset Management or Asset Portfolio Manager
Plant General Manager for multi‑site renewable portfolios

Lateral Moves:

Asset Performance/Condition Monitoring Manager
Project Commissioning Manager
HSE Manager for renewable energy portfolios

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead, plan and execute all aspects of wind farm operations and maintenance (O&M) to achieve contractual availability, performance and revenue targets for the asset portfolio, including day‑to‑day supervision of technicians and contractors.
Own the operational budget (OPEX) and drive cost control measures, forecasting, variance analysis and continuous cost optimisation while ensuring service quality and safety.
Develop, implement and continuously improve preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance strategies (CMMS/ERP driven) to extend asset life and reduce unscheduled downtime.
Manage all contractor relationships and service agreements (maintenance contractors, rope access, crane and electrical contractors), including tendering, KPI definition, SLA enforcement and invoice validation.
Oversee SCADA monitoring and alarm management processes to promptly detect, diagnose and respond to turbine faults, curtailment events, grid issues and site incidents.
Implement condition monitoring and diagnostic programs (vibration analysis, gearbox/drive train monitoring, blade inspection data) and translate findings into prioritized maintenance actions and CAPEX planning.
Lead incident response, root cause analysis and RCA reporting for major failures, safety incidents and environmental events; ensure corrective actions, lessons learned and preventative controls are applied.
Ensure compliance with all HSE policies, GWO standards, local regulatory requirements and grid codes — act as site HSE champion and execute regular audits, toolbox talks and emergency drills.
Own regulatory, permitting and grid liaison activities including outage coordination with TSOs/DSOs, curtailment negotiations and reporting obligations.
Coordinate outage planning, major component replacements and logistics (heavy-lift crane planning, transport permits, staging) to minimize production loss and manage stakeholder communications.
Drive initiatives to increase operational efficiency and energy yield: wake optimisation, yaw control tuning, curtailment reduction, and participation in power quality and grid support programs.
Oversee inventory, spare parts management and long‑lead procurement decisions to ensure availability of critical spares while minimizing carrying costs.
Develop and deliver accurate, timely operational performance reporting (availability, production, incident logs, KPI dashboards) for internal leadership, investors and regulatory authorities.
Manage cross-functional teams and site supervisors, define roles and responsibilities, conduct performance reviews and implement training and competence programs for technicians and operations staff.
Coordinate warranty claims, manufacturer technical escalation and technical liaison for component failures or warranty-covered repairs to recover costs and technical remedies.
Lead technology adoption and digitalisation efforts (advanced analytics, predictive maintenance tools, digital twin, remote diagnostics) to improve decision making and operational responsiveness.
Maintain and enhance site security, access control, environmental protection measures and community relations to safeguard assets and reputation.
Integrate meteorological (met mast/LIDAR) and wake model data into operational plans to support production forecasting and curtailment planning.
Ensure effective spare parts and CAPEX forecasting for mid/long-term asset management plans, contributing to five-year O&M and life-extension strategies.
Manage grid connection equipment and site HV systems, approve switching procedures, and coordinate HV contractors for planned works and emergency responses.
Lead contract closeout and handback processes for construction-to-operations transitions, ensuring punch-list completion and documentation handover.
Drive continuous improvement programs (lean, reliability-centered maintenance) including KPI target setting, root cause elimination and process standardisation across sites.
Ensure thorough documentation and record keeping (maintenance logs, inspection reports, HSE records, technical dossiers) to support regulatory audits and investor due diligence.
Coordinate with commercial teams on power purchase agreements (PPAs), curtailment claims, imbalance settlements and revenue reconciliation activities affecting O&M decisions.

Secondary Functions

Support stakeholder reporting and investor communications with monthly/quarterly operational summaries, production forecasts and risk updates.
Contribute to strategy and business cases for repowering, life‑extension upgrades and major component replacement programs.
Assist in cross-portfolio benchmarking, sharing best practices and standard operating procedures across sister sites and regions.
Participate in community engagement and local stakeholder relations to mitigate social impact and support corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Provide input to procurement and supply-chain strategies to shorten lead times and establish local service partners.
Support emergency response coordination with local authorities and on-site first response teams during extreme weather or security incidents.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

SCADA systems management: monitoring, alarm prioritisation, remote diagnostics and vendor integration (e.g., SCADA historian, PI).
Condition monitoring systems and analytics: vibration analysis, oil analysis, gearbox and bearing diagnostics, CMMS tools.
Wind turbine technology knowledge: electrical systems, drive train, pitch/yaw systems, hydraulic and control systems for major OEMs (Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, GE/LM, Nordex).
High voltage (HV) electrical safety and switching procedures, grid connection equipment familiarity and MV/HV interface management.
O&M contract and vendor management: drafting/negotiating SLAs, KPIs, change orders and performance enforcement.
HSE management and compliance: GWO standards, permit-to-work, emergency response planning, incident investigation and safety culture leadership.
Asset management and performance optimisation: KPI development, availability tuning, energy yield improvement and revenue protection.
Predictive and preventive maintenance planning with CMMS/ERP tools (Maximo, SAP, Infor, IFS or equivalent).
Root cause analysis methodologies: 5-Why, Fishbone, FMEA and structured problem-solving for repeat failures.
Budget ownership and financial acumen: OPEX forecasting, cost-benefit analysis, CAPEX justification and cost control.
Crane and heavy lift logistics planning, transport permit coordination and site civil interface for component replacements.
Meteorological data interpretation and production forecasting tools; basic knowledge of wake losses and micrositing impacts.
Knowledge of local grid codes, renewable integration standards, curtailment protocols and imbalance settlement processes.
Data literacy: ability to consume and action data from performance dashboards, telemetry, and condition-monitoring platforms.
Familiarity with environmental permitting and wildlife mitigation measures relevant to wind projects.

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people management to motivate cross-functional teams and contractors across shifts.
Excellent verbal and written communication for clear reporting to investors, authorities, OEMs and internal stakeholders.
Strategic thinking and prioritisation to balance safety, availability, cost and long‑term asset health.
Problem-solving mindset with resilience and decisiveness under operational pressure.
Stakeholder management and negotiation skills to drive outcomes with vendors, regulators and grid operators.
Coaching and mentoring to upskill technicians and develop high‑performing operations teams.
Attention to detail and highly organised approach to manage complex schedules, documentation and compliance.
Adaptability and continuous learning to integrate new technologies and changing regulatory environments.
Time management and project coordination skills for outage planning, replacements and CAPEX projects.
Cultural sensitivity and community engagement skills for local stakeholder relations and workforce diversity management.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Renewable Energy, Power Systems, or related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree or postgraduate qualification in Renewable Energy, Engineering Management, Business Administration (MBA) or Asset Management certification.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Renewable Energy / Wind Energy Technology
Power Systems / Energy Systems
Industrial Engineering / Asset Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–12 years in wind farm O&M, power plant operations or heavy industrial maintenance, with at least 3–5 years in a supervisory or management role.

Preferred: 7+ years managing onshore or offshore wind farm operations, demonstrable experience owning OPEX budgets, contractor management, SCADA & condition monitoring programs, and leading HSE and reliability initiatives. Experience with multi‑MW portfolios, major component replacements and interfacing with TSOs/DSOs is highly desirable.