Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Turbine Program Assistant

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Turbine Program Assistant provides day-to-day administrative, operational, and technical support for wind farm construction, commissioning, and operations & maintenance (O&M) programs. This role coordinates documentation and permits, supports project controls and procurement activities, liaises with vendors and site crews, monitors health & safety and environmental compliance, and prepares reports and schedules to keep multi-disciplinary teams aligned and projects on time and within budget. The ideal candidate combines strong organizational and communication skills with basic technical fluency in wind industry systems (SCADA, document control, GIS) and proven experience supporting field operations and project delivery.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Wind Turbine Technician / Field Technician
Project Coordinator or Administrative Assistant in construction/energy
Procurement or Document Control Clerk with exposure to industrial projects

Advancement To:

Project Coordinator / Project Controls Specialist (Wind)
O&M Supervisor or Site Lead
Program Manager (Wind Projects)

Lateral Moves:

Permitting & Environmental Compliance Specialist
Document Control / Records Manager
Vendor / Contract Administrator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Provide comprehensive administrative and program support for wind turbine projects, including tracking action items, organizing project documentation, creating and maintaining project trackers, and ensuring version control across teams and external partners.
Act as the primary document control coordinator: prepare, upload, tag, distribute, and archive engineering drawings, scope documents, inspection reports, test records, and commissioning packages using systems such as SharePoint, Aconex, or Documentum.
Manage permit and regulatory compliance workflows by tracking application status, coordinating submittals to authorities, maintaining permit logs, and ensuring timely renewals and permit close-outs for construction and O&M activities.
Coordinate daily and weekly project scheduling activities: maintain the master project schedule, update milestone progress, prepare schedule change requests, and liaise with planners using MS Project or Primavera inputs provided by project planners.
Support budget tracking and basic cost control tasks: prepare cost reports, enter purchase orders and invoices into ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics), track expenditures against forecasts, and reconcile vendor invoices with procurement records.
Assist procurement and supply chain operations by preparing RFIs/RFQs, collecting vendor quotations, compiling bid comparison matrices, tracking lead times, and coordinating logistics for critical components such as blades, gearboxes, and transformers.
Facilitate vendor and subcontractor management by maintaining contact lists, tracking certificates of insurance and safety documentation, coordinating vendor access to sites, and supporting contract administration and change order processing.
Support site mobilization and logistics planning: coordinate accommodation and transport for crews, manage tool and parts inventory logs, track material deliveries, and liaise with site managers to ensure readiness for construction/maintenance activities.
Maintain and update SCADA/operational data handover materials and basic performance logs for O&M teams; assist in pulling operational KPIs, availability reports, and simple analytics to support asset performance reviews.
Coordinate quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) documentation: compile inspection and test plans (ITPs), track non-conformances (NCRs), follow up on corrective actions, and prepare QA/QC summaries for management reviews.
Provide HSE administrative support: manage safety documentation, track toolbox talk attendance, organize incident/near-miss records, support permit-to-work systems, and help ensure compliance with site-specific safety plans and OSHA/EHS requirements.
Support commissioning and testing activities by preparing commissioning checklists, tracking completion of pre-commissioning tasks, scheduling witness tests, and assisting engineers to assemble start-up and handover packages.
Produce clear, timely reports and presentations for internal stakeholders and clients: weekly progress summaries, milestone dashboards, risk registers, and distribution lists optimized for executive and field audiences.
Assist with environmental monitoring and compliance documentation: track environmental mitigation measures, coordinate sampling schedules, compile wildlife/avian observation logs, and support environmental audits and reporting.
Manage meeting logistics and communications: prepare agendas, take and distribute action-oriented minutes, follow up on outstanding items, and ensure cross-functional alignment across engineering, construction, and operations teams.
Support warranty and post-installation claim processes by compiling failure reports, coordinating vendor responses, tracking timelines and documentation required to validate warranty claims or supplier corrective actions.
Maintain asset and parts databases by entering serial numbers, warranty information, maintenance intervals, and replacement history to support effective spare-parts management and minimize turbine downtime.
Conduct field coordination and basic site inspections on behalf of project managers: verify documentation completeness, photograph site conditions, liaise with site supervisors, and prepare concise field reports.
Assist in risk management and compliance tracking: update the project risk register, maintain mitigation action logs, support audits, and escalate unresolved risks to the program manager in a timely manner.
Coordinate training logistics and documentation for site personnel and contractors: schedule training sessions, manage attendance records, and ensure competency records are up to date for key roles (safety, lifting, confined space, electrical).
Support continuous improvement initiatives by documenting lessons learned, compiling close-out reports, and suggesting process improvements for administrative workflows and document management.
Provide occasional technical support to engineering teams: assist with basic CAD file management, GIS data updates, and coordinate with third-party consultants to obtain necessary technical deliverables.
Support customer engagement and stakeholder communications by preparing standardized status updates, responding to routine information requests, and facilitating on-site client visits or inspections.
Participate in cross-functional project meetings and contribute to planning, scheduling, and resourcing discussions to ensure administrative and logistical constraints are visible to the leadership team.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests, compile datasets for performance analysis, and assist stakeholders with report extraction from project databases.
Contribute to continuous improvement of project administration processes, document templates, and digital filing standards to improve searchability and reduce duplication.
Collaborate with engineering and operations teams to translate field information into accurate administrative records and to close documentation gaps prior to project handover.
Participate in project reviews, lessons-learned workshops, and assist in implementing feedback into standard operating procedures.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, v-lookups/XLOOKUP, conditional formatting) for financial, schedule, and KPI reporting.
Proficiency with document management systems (SharePoint, Aconex, Documentum) and strong version-control practices for engineering deliverables.
Familiarity with project scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project or Primavera P6 and the ability to update and maintain task-level schedules.
Basic ERP/finance system experience (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) for purchase order/invoice tracking and cost reconciliation.
Practical knowledge of SCADA concepts and the ability to extract or request operational data for asset performance reports (availability, fault logs).
Understanding of construction/commissioning documentation (ITPs, punch lists, FATs, SATs, commissioning packages) and the ability to assemble handover packs.
Experience managing permits, regulatory submissions, and environmental compliance documentation relevant to wind energy projects.
Basic GIS and CAD literacy for handling site mapping files, turbine coordinates, and drawing revisions (ArcGIS, QGIS, AutoCAD view).
Familiarity with vendor management and procurement workflows, including RFQ processes, bid evaluation and vendor qualification checks.
Competence in HSE administrative practices, incident tracking, and permit-to-work systems; knowledge of OSHA or local safety regulations.
Strong document formatting and report preparation skills; ability to craft executive-ready status reports and dashboards.
Experience with digital collaboration tools (Teams, Zoom, Slack) and task management platforms (JIRA, Asana, Smartsheet).

Soft Skills

Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail—able to manage multiple project trackers, deadlines, and documentation streams simultaneously.
Strong written and verbal communication skills tailored to cross-disciplinary audiences (engineers, site crews, vendors, regulators).
Proactive problem-solving mindset with the ability to escalate issues appropriately and follow through to resolution.
High level of accountability and reliability working in hybrid office/field environments, often supporting remote or dispersed teams.
Good interpersonal skills and diplomacy for stakeholder coordination and vendor interactions.
Time management and prioritization capabilities to support urgent site needs while maintaining routine administrative tasks.
Adaptability and resilience in a fast-moving operational environment with changing project priorities.
Team-player attitude with ability to support senior project managers and lead by example in administrative excellence.
Initiative to identify process improvements and propose practical, scalable solutions to increase team efficiency.
Cultural sensitivity and professionalism when interacting with local communities, regulators, and multi-national vendors.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent with 1-2 years relevant experience in construction, renewables, or industrial project support.

Preferred Education:

Associate degree or Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology, Project Management, Renewable Energy, Construction Management, Business Administration, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Mechanical or Electrical Engineering Technology
Renewable Energy or Environmental Science
Construction/Project Management
Business Administration with Operations focus

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–5 years supporting construction, commissioning or O&M projects; 2+ years preferred in wind or energy sector.

Preferred:

2–4 years working directly with wind farm projects, turbine vendors, or O&M teams.
Demonstrable experience with document control systems, permit management, and working with ERP or scheduling tools.
Prior site support or field coordination experience, including exposure to HSE processes, commissioning activities, and vendor logistics.