Senior Vice President, Capital Markets, Investments & Project Finance - DG Solar Company

Senior Vice President, Capital Markets, Investments & Project Finance - DG Solar Company

New York, United States

Our client is a fast-growing developer, owner and operator of community solar, distributed generation and energy storage assets in the US. They are hiring a Senior Vice President to lead capital formation, structured finance, investment underwriting, capital allocation and financial planning.

Reporting to the CFO, you will build and execute the financing strategies that fund the company's next stage of growth.

Key responsibilities

Capital markets and capital formation

• Develop and execute the capital markets strategy with the CFO, CEO and executive leadership team.
• Lead capital raising across project, portfolio, asset and corporate financing structures.
• Evaluate and execute financing options, including:
  • Construction debt
  • Term debt and back-leverage facilities
  • Tax equity and tax credit transfers
  • Preferred equity and growth equity
  • Corporate debt and revolving credit facilities
  • Joint ventures and portfolio financings
  • Structured capital solutions and asset-level refinancing
  • Other strategic financing arrangements
• Build financing strategies that balance cost of capital, liquidity, execution certainty, covenants, risk allocation and long-term enterprise value.
• Lead negotiations with commercial banks, institutional investors, infrastructure funds, tax equity providers, private credit providers, investment banks, rating agencies and other capital partners.
• Run financing processes end to end: market engagement, term sheets, diligence, documentation, closing and post-closing compliance.
• Maintain relationships with existing capital providers and open up new sources of institutional capital.
• Track capital markets conditions, interest rates, lender requirements, tax equity availability, investor appetite and renewable energy financing trends.
• Recommend when to finance, refinance, hold, sell, aggregate or otherwise monetise individual assets and portfolios.

Project and portfolio capitalisation strategy

• Set up a disciplined process for deciding which projects and portfolios to prioritise for capitalisation.
• Assess projects on development maturity, interconnection status, permitting, site control, subscriber readiness, offtake, revenue certainty, construction needs, tax credit eligibility, financing availability and projected returns.
• Work with Development, Project Finance, EPC, Asset Management, Subscriber Management, Legal, Tax, Accounting and Operations to judge project readiness and financing risk.
• Build and maintain a prioritised capitalisation roadmap for the development pipeline and operating portfolio.
• Recommend the best timing, structure and grouping of projects for financing.
• Decide whether projects are financed individually, aggregated into portfolios, placed in warehouse facilities, contributed to joint ventures or funded with corporate capital.
• Weigh how to deploy limited capital across community solar, commercial and industrial solar, standalone storage and hybrid solar-plus-storage.
• Identify capital constraints, concentration risks, funding gaps and dependencies that could affect construction schedules or commercial operation dates.
• Recommend corrective actions or alternative structures when projects fall short of capitalisation requirements.
• Monitor capitalised projects against underwriting assumptions, financing milestones, budgets and expected returns.

Project underwriting and investment analysis

• Lead financial underwriting for community solar, distributed generation, energy storage and related investments.
• Set consistent underwriting standards, investment criteria, risk classifications and minimum return thresholds.
• Evaluate project and portfolio economics, including:
  • Development, construction, interconnection and operating costs
  • Generation and production assumptions
  • Subscriber acquisition and management costs
  • PPA terms and community solar credit values
  • Renewable energy incentives, Investment Tax Credits and adders
  • Debt sizing and tax equity economics
  • Merchant versus contracted revenue exposure
  • Residual and terminal value
• Assess risks across development, interconnection, permitting, construction, supply chain, revenue, customer concentration, regulation, financing conditions and operating performance.
• Make sure investment recommendations combine quantitative analysis with a grounded view of execution risk.
• Own underwriting templates, approval thresholds, risk methodologies and investment review procedures.
• Compare actual project and portfolio performance with original underwriting, explain variances and recommend corrective action.
• Feed lessons from operating assets and completed financings back into underwriting standards.

Financial modelling and sensitivity analysis

• Provide executive oversight of project, portfolio, financing and enterprise financial models.
• Personally review, modify and challenge complex models, rather than relying on outputs alone.
• Use models to test alternative capital structures, financing terms, project groupings, development schedules and operating assumptions.
• Run sensitivity, scenario and downside analysis on capital costs, interest rates, debt capacity, tax equity terms, tax credit eligibility, construction costs, production, subscriber performance, revenue rates, operating expenses, delays, refinancing and exit values.
• Evaluate IRR, NPV, ROIC, cash yield, debt-service coverage, leverage and payback.
• Keep models accurate, transparent, auditable and aligned with approved corporate assumptions.
• Set model governance: version control, review standards, ownership and approval protocols.
• Turn complex analysis into concise conclusions and clear recommendations for senior decision-makers.
• Lead development of an integrated enterprise model linking the pipeline, operating assets, financing obligations, liquidity and the long-range plan.

Investment Committee leadership

• Lead the financial preparation and presentation of capitalisation and investment recommendations to the Investment Committee.
• Prepare and oversee IC memos, underwriting summaries, financing comparisons, risk assessments and approval materials.
• Set out clearly the opportunity, strategic rationale, proposed capital structure, expected returns, key assumptions, principal risks, sensitivity and downside cases, capital requirements and recommended approval conditions.
• Present complex financing and investment matters in a concise, decision-focused format.
• Answer questions and challenges credibly from the Investment Committee, investors, lenders, executives and the Board.
• Separate model outputs, management assumptions, market information and areas of judgement.
• Make sure every recommendation states the decision requested, alternatives considered, principal risks and management's preferred course.
• Keep accurate records of IC decisions, conditions, follow-ups and approved changes to underwriting assumptions.
• Track approved investments and financings against IC commitments and report material variances.

Financial planning and analysis

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction to the FP&A function.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, liquidity forecasting, management reporting and performance analysis.
• Bring project financing, development spend, construction activity, operating performance and corporate costs into one consolidated financial outlook.
• Work with the Senior Director of FP&A on planning calendars, reporting standards, assumptions and accountabilities.
• Build multi-year capital deployment plans that support strategic and growth objectives.
• Assess the financial impact of organic development, project and portfolio acquisitions, platform investments, storage deployment, asset sales and refinancing.
• Give the CFO and leadership team timely analysis of liquidity, capital needs, forecast risks, financing dependencies and plan performance.
• Improve forecast accuracy by tying plans to project milestones, financing assumptions, development probabilities and operating performance.
• Build reporting that links operational outcomes to financial performance and capital requirements.
• Spot emerging financial risks and recommend action to protect liquidity, manage leverage and keep access to capital.

Structured finance and transaction execution

• Design and evaluate financing structures for community solar, distributed generation and energy storage assets.
• Assess how debt, tax equity, preferred equity, corporate equity, tax credit transfers and other capital interact within a project or portfolio.
• Test structures for cost, flexibility, cash-flow impact, covenant risk, collateral, recourse, tax consequences and execution complexity.
• Coordinate internal and external diligence on financing transactions.
• Work with Legal and Tax to review and negotiate term sheets, commitment letters, credit agreements, guarantees, security documents, tax equity agreements and related documents.
• Work with Accounting on the financial reporting implications of proposed structures.
• Make sure structures can be supported operationally after closing.
• Build financing playbooks, diligence checklists, approval requirements and transaction management processes.
• Oversee compliance with material financing obligations alongside Accounting, Legal and Asset Management.

Cross-functional and executive partnership

• Act as strategic finance adviser to the CFO, CEO, leadership team and Investment Committee.
• Work closely with Development on pipeline maturity, capital requirements and investment priorities.
• Partner with Project Finance and external advisers on debt, tax equity, structured finance and refinancing.
• Partner with Corporate Development on underwriting and financing project, portfolio, platform and corporate acquisitions.
• Work with Asset Management and Operations to build actual performance into financing assumptions and investment decisions.
• Coordinate with Legal, Tax and Accounting so transactions are properly structured, documented and reported.
• Provide objective financial challenge when projects, investments or capital structures miss risk-adjusted return or strategic requirements.
• Build alignment between stakeholders with different operational, commercial and financial priorities.

Team leadership and function development

• Lead, mentor and develop the FP&A and investments team.
• Set clear roles, decision rights, performance expectations and development plans for direct reports.
• Build a collaborative, analytical, commercially disciplined and high-accountability finance culture.
• Strengthen team skills in modelling, underwriting, capital markets, investment analysis, forecasting, executive communication and transaction execution.
• Make sure the team can run financing, planning, underwriting and IC workstreams at the same time.
• Put scalable processes, documentation standards and quality controls in place.
• Define the capabilities and resources the function will need as the company grows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, Engineering or a related field.
• MBA, CFA, CPA or another relevant advanced degree or credential preferred.
• At least 15 years of progressive experience in capital markets, project finance, structured finance, infrastructure investing, investment banking, renewable energy finance, private equity, corporate finance or a related field.
• Significant experience in renewable energy, power, infrastructure or distributed generation strongly preferred.
• A track record of raising and structuring capital for solar, community solar, energy storage, independent power or comparable infrastructure assets.
• Direct experience with several forms of capital, such as project debt, corporate debt, tax equity, preferred equity, private credit, joint ventures, growth equity or structured capital.
• Proven ability to judge project and portfolio readiness for financing.
• Advanced experience underwriting projects and evaluating risk-adjusted returns.
• Expert understanding of project, portfolio and enterprise financial models, with the ability to modify them and run sensitivity, scenario and downside analysis.
• Experience presenting investment or financing recommendations to an Investment Committee, Board, executive team, lenders or institutional investors.
• Strong understanding of renewable energy tax incentives, project revenue structures, financing documentation and capital-provider requirements.
• Proven ability to lead and develop FP&A, investment, financial analysis or transaction teams.
• Experience in a growth-stage, entrepreneurial or private-capital-backed business preferred.