Great British Energy
Head of Onshore Development
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Join Great British Energy and be part of powering the UK’s Clean Energy Future.
At GBE, we’re not just building an energy company – we’re shaping the future of the UK’s energy landscape.
Our mission is clear:
- Drive clean energy deployment across the UK as a strategic developer, investor, and owner of renewable projects
- Deliver benefits for communities and taxpayers, ensuring the clean energy transition creates jobs, boosts local economies, and increases public ownership
- We focus on innovation, sustainability, and impact, working on projects that matter – from large-scale national renewable investments to empowering local and community energy initiatives.
Joining GBE means:
- Purpose-driven work - Be part of a national effort to accelerate the clean energy transition
- Career growth - Opportunities to develop expertise in cutting-edge energy technologies and strategic investment
- Collaboration and flexibility - Work with passionate professionals in a dynamic, forward-thinking environment
If you want to make a real difference and help power a greener, fairer future for the UK, GBE is the place for you.
We welcome applications from all backgrounds and communities. If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.
About the Role:
Great British Energy is looking for a Head of Onshore Development to join our GBE Onshore Energy Team. This role will play a key part in contributing to projects, objectives, and wider organisational goals.
The Head of Onshore Development is responsible for leading the origination, development, governance and delivery of a portfolio of Onshore renewable energy projects from site identification through planning consent and Final Investment Decision (FID).
The role is accountable for building and leading a multidisciplinary development team, the continuous improvement of development processes, overseeing project governance, and ensuring projects are technically deliverable, commercially viable, consentable and financeable.
The postholder acts as the senior owner of the project development portfolio and is responsible for ensuring projects progress safely, efficiently and in accordance with company strategy and governance requirements. This includes managing relationships with landowners, investors, regulators, local authorities, supply chain partners and community stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities:
Development Strategy & Portfolio Leadership
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- Develop and implement the organisation's onshore renewable project development strategy.
- Build and maintain a pipeline of onshore wind, solar PV and battery storage projects.
- Lead portfolio prioritisation and resource allocation.
- Identify new development opportunities through:
- Greenfield origination
- Public land partnerships
- Acquisitions
- Joint ventures
- Co-development arrangements
- Support long-term growth strategy and portfolio expansion activities.
Project Development Delivery
- Oversee projects through:
- Site identification
- Land acquisition
- Grid connection
- Environmental assessment
- Planning consent
- Procurement preparation
- Financial Investment Decision (FID)
- Ensure adherence to project stage-gate governance: Initiation, Feasibility, Development and Definition (FID/FC).
- Monitor project budgets, programmes and risk registers.
- Lead interventions on projects that become off-track.
- Ensure robust project controls and reporting mechanisms are implemented, working with the goal of continuous improvement.
Team Leadership
- Build, lead and mentor a high-performing development team, promoting the core behaviours of being Bold, Entrepreneurial, Impactful and Inclusive.
- Establish development capability, procedures and standards.
- Recruit and develop key personnel.
- Promote continuous improvement and industry best practice.
- Foster a collaborative culture across development, investment, construction and operations teams.
- Deputise for the Director of Development as required.
Commercial & Investment Management
- Lead development input into investment cases and governance approvals.
- Shape commercial structures for projects and partnerships.
- Oversee project financial models and development expenditure.
- Support acquisitions and strategic investment opportunities.
- Ensure development activities support long-term portfolio value creation.
- Drive a bold, entrepreneurial spirit within the team.
Stakeholder & Partnership Management
- Build strategic relationships with:
- Landowners
- Public sector partners
- Network operators
- Planning authorities
- Investors
- Government stakeholders
- Lead community engagement strategy.
- Represent the organisation at industry and public sector forums.
- Act as senior escalation point for key stakeholders.
Governance, Risk & Assurance
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- Ensure compliance with development governance frameworks.
- Maintain portfolio risk management processes.
- Lead portfolio reporting to Executive, Investment Committee and Board.
- Ensure compliance with:
- CDM 2015
- Planning legislation
- Environmental regulations
- Grid connection requirements
- Corporate governance requirements, including the Project Governance Framework
- Develop and maintain portfolio-level KPIs and performance metrics.
Development-to-Delivery Integration
- Coordinate handover of projects into construction.
- Work with the Delivery team to ensure construction readiness prior to FID.
- Align development activities with delivery and asset management requirements.
- Promote Safe by Design principles throughout development.
Qualifications and Experience:
Essential:
Experience:
- Extensive experience in renewable energy project development.
- Demonstrable experience developing UK:
- Onshore wind
- Solar PV
- Battery energy storage projects
- Successful track record delivering projects through planning consent and FID.
- Experience leading multidisciplinary development teams.
- Experience managing complex stakeholder environments.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen.
- Experience presenting to boards, investment committees and senior executives.
Desirable Skills
- Demonstrable knowledge of UK planning for all UK countries.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) methodologies.
- Grid connection processes.
- Land acquisition and option agreements.
- Renewable energy commercial structures, e.g. CfD, PPA.
- Project governance frameworks.
- Public procurement awareness.
- CDM 2015 requirements.
Qualifications
- Degree in Engineering, Planning, Environmental Science, Geography, Property, Energy or related discipline.
- Project Management qualification (APM, PRINCE2 or equivalent) strongly desirable.
Professional / Chartered status desirable:
- MRTPI
- MRICS
- CEnv
- CEng
- MAPM
Personal Qualities:
- Takes ownership, shows confidence in decision-making, and is willing to challenge constructively
- Focuses on delivering meaningful outcomes and making a positive, lasting impact
- Works collaboratively, valuing different perspectives and building inclusive relationships
- Proactive and adaptable, with a curiosity to explore new ideas and improve ways of working
- Resilient and resourceful in a fast-paced environment
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