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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Farm Supervisor

💰 $ - $

OperationsRenewable EnergyWind

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Farm Supervisor is the frontline operations and maintenance leader accountable for safe, reliable and cost‑effective delivery of energy from a wind farm or portfolio of assets. This role supervises turbine technicians and contractors, drives preventative and corrective maintenance programs, ensures regulatory and environmental compliance, optimizes availability and production through SCADA and condition monitoring, and leads HSE culture and incident response. The Wind Farm Supervisor acts as primary site point‑of‑contact for internal stakeholders, OEMs and grid/utility partners.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Wind Turbine Technician with multi‑MW experience
  • Site or Maintenance Team Lead (wind/renewables)
  • Commissioning Engineer (wind assets)

Advancement To:

  • Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Manager / Fleet Manager
  • Asset Manager / Performance Manager
  • Regional Operations Manager / Plant Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Project Commissioning Supervisor (wind)
  • HSE Manager (renewables)
  • Technical Services or Reliability Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead, mentor and directly supervise on‑site turbine technicians and subcontractors to deliver safe, compliant and timely corrective and preventative maintenance activities across the wind farm; set daily work priorities, verify competency, and provide on‑the‑job coaching.
  • Own site HSE accountability: enforce company HSE standards and procedures, lead toolbox talks, ensure proper permit to work practices (LOTO, confined space, working at heights), conduct site risk assessments, and chair incident investigations with clear root cause analysis and corrective actions.
  • Manage day‑to‑day operations of the wind farm SCADA environment and use SCADA/EMS data to monitor turbine performance, detect faults, dispatch crews, and identify production loss events; escalate to OEM or remote experts as required.
  • Plan, schedule and execute preventive maintenance programs using the CMMS (e.g., SAP, Infor, Maximo) to maximize machine availability and extend asset life; ensure accurate work order closure and parts consumption reporting.
  • Coordinate and supervise major mechanical and electrical interventions including blade repairs, gearbox and generator overhauls, yaw and pitch system work, transformer maintenance, and MV/HV switching with certified electricians and third‑party contractors.
  • Manage emergency and outage response: lead site emergency drills, coordinate crane and heavy‑lift operations, manage isolation and reconfiguration to restore production safely and quickly while minimizing downtime.
  • Oversee spare parts inventory and supply chain logistics: forecast critical spares, validate parts orders, manage storage conditions and parts lifecycle to reduce AOG (Aircraft on Ground)‑type delays to turbine repairs.
  • Ensure regulatory and environmental compliance across permits, landowner agreements and local utility / grid code obligations; prepare and submit required reporting to regulators and stakeholders.
  • Author and maintain accurate operational documentation: site procedures, SOPs, lockout/tagout protocols, lifting plans, commissioning dossiers and maintenance records to meet audit readiness.
  • Drive continuous improvement and reliability projects by analyzing failure trends, leading root cause workshops, implementing corrective maintenance strategies and partnering with reliability engineers to reduce mean time between failures (MTBF).
  • Act as primary liaison with OEM technical support and warranty teams: coordinate warranty claims, negotiate service levels, and ensure quality of subcontractor and OEM works.
  • Manage site budgets and cost control: produce monthly O&M cost reports, monitor subcontractor invoices, approve purchase requisitions within delegated authority and seek efficiency gains.
  • Oversee daily access and traffic management across the site, including coordination of site gates, hoisting plans, crane studies and third‑party access to turbine locations to maintain safety and regulatory compliance.
  • Supervise commissioning, acceptance testing and performance verification for newly installed turbines, substation equipment and auxiliary systems; validate test reports, sign off punch lists and handover documentation.
  • Implement and maintain condition monitoring programs (vibration analysis, thermography, oil analysis) and interpret condition data to prioritize interventions and reduce unplanned outages.
  • Lead community and stakeholder engagement on operational matters where required: communicate planned outages, noise or visual mitigation actions, and respond to local queries in a professional manner.
  • Ensure continuity of personnel coverage via shift planning, absence management and overtime allocation while balancing operational requirements and health & wellbeing of the team.
  • Enforce quality assurance and control during repairs and installations: verify torque, alignment, electrical connections and commissioning checks to OEM and engineering specifications.
  • Prepare and present regular KPI and performance reports (availability, production vs. forecast, event logs, safety metrics) to asset managers and senior leadership, proposing corrective actions for underperformance.
  • Supervise all aspects of site security and environmental protection measures (spill response, erosion control, protected species compliance) and ensure all staff and contractors follow environmental management plans.
  • Conduct periodic site inspections of access roads, fencing, foundations, electrical compounds and meteorological masts; prioritize civil and infrastructure repairs to prevent safety hazards and access issues.
  • Coordinate interface activities with grid operators and utilities for planned outages, fault investigations, and commissioning of grid equipment; ensure synchronization and compliance with grid codes.
  • Manage vendor and contractor performance by issuing scopes of work, reviewing method statements, conducting pre‑work briefings and performing quality checks on completed work.
  • Maintain and develop technical competency matrices and training plans (GWO, rescue, electrical safety), authorize personnel for specific tasks and ensure qualifications are up to date.

Secondary Functions

  • Support long‑term asset strategy by feeding site‑level insights into lifecycle planning, capital expenditure proposals and reliability growth programs.
  • Assist in onboarding and training new technicians and contractors; develop competency checklists and mentorship plans to accelerate skill development.
  • Participate in cross‑functional projects such as digitalization initiatives, predictive analytics pilots and condition monitoring rollouts to improve remote diagnostic capability.
  • Support emergency response coordination with local authorities and utilities for severe weather events, grid disturbances or major equipment failures.
  • Provide technical input during procurement of new turbines, spare parts and service contracts to ensure operability and maintainability at the site level.
  • Contribute to corporate reporting and audit responses by preparing site evidence packages, compliance records and incident closure documentation.
  • Support commercial teams by providing site availability and performance data for PPA reconciliation, production forecasting and contract negotiations.
  • Facilitate periodic tabletop exercises for crisis preparedness and continuity planning, ensuring escalation paths and communication plans are tested and robust.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proven hands‑on experience with multi‑MW wind turbine electrical and mechanical systems (nacelle, gearbox, generator, pitch/yaw systems) and OEM maintenance standards.
  • Strong SCADA / remote monitoring skills: ability to interpret turbine alarms, fault codes, performance curves and dispatch technicians accordingly.
  • Experience with CMMS platforms (SAP, Maximo, Infor) for work order management, inventory control and maintenance planning.
  • High Voltage (HV) and Medium Voltage (MV) electrical safety knowledge including HV switching, earthing, transformer maintenance and protection relay basics.
  • Competency in condition monitoring technologies: vibration analysis, thermography, oil analysis, FFT data interpretation and trending.
  • Proven ability to plan and supervise lift and crane operations, including understanding crane charts, rigging, lift plans and third‑party lift supervision.
  • Familiarity with commissioning and acceptance testing procedures, FAT/SAT processes and validation of performance guarantees.
  • Strong troubleshooting and diagnostics skills for mechanical, hydraulic and electrical faults in a distributed asset environment.
  • Knowledge of grid codes, interconnection requirements and coordination with grid operators for outages and fault investigations.
  • Experience managing spare parts inventories, procurement workflows and vendor relationships to support rapid repairs.
  • Competence in permit to work systems, LOTO procedures, confined space entry and working at heights protocols.
  • Proficient with Microsoft Excel, Power BI or other reporting tools for KPI dashboards and performance analytics.
  • Understanding of contract management and service level agreements (SLAs) with OEMs and subcontractors.

Soft Skills

  • Clear, confident leadership and the ability to motivate multidisciplinary teams under pressure.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for interaction with regulators, communities, contractors and senior management.
  • Strong problem‑solving and analytical capability with a data‑driven approach to fault resolution and performance optimization.
  • Effective stakeholder management and negotiation skills — balancing safety, cost and production priorities.
  • High attention to detail and organizational skills for documentation, audit readiness and compliance.
  • Ability to prioritize competing tasks in dynamic field environments and make timely operational decisions.
  • Coaching and mentoring mindset to develop technician competency and build a resilient site team.
  • Resilience and stress management for emergency response, severe weather and outage situations.
  • Continuous improvement orientation to implement reliability projects and reduce lifecycle costs.
  • Cultural sensitivity and community engagement skills for managing local relations and public concerns.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent with technical/trade qualifications (electrical/mechanical).

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Renewable Energy, Industrial Technology or a related technical discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering / Power Systems
  • Renewable Energy / Wind Energy Technology
  • Industrial or Maintenance Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 5–10+ years in wind farm O&M or heavy industrial maintenance, with at least 2–4 years in a supervisory or team lead capacity.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years supervising multi‑MW onshore wind turbine operations, demonstrated experience with OEM interfaces, HV electrical switching and emergency/crane operations.
  • Proven track record of delivering high availability, reducing downtime and managing HSE performance in a field environment.

Certifications (desirable): GWO Basic Safety Training, First Aid, Nacelle Rescue, Working at Heights, Confined Space, Forklift/crane rigging, Electrical switching authorizations, HSE/NEBOSH or equivalent.

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