This is a summary of all the roles I have placed over the last year and an introduction into the way I work. Client and candidate identities are withheld as standard practice for confidentiality purposes, and roles are described by sector, seniority and market instead. Happy to answer any other questions you may have on a call.
- Grid Connection Manager, utility-scale BESS and PV
- Commissioning Engineer / Manager, utility-scale BESS and PV
- Senior Electrical Engineer, EPLAN, primary and secondary engineering for substations and transformer stations
- Electrical Engineer, HV substations and medium voltage transformer stations
- DSO Project Manager, medium voltage transformer stations
- High Voltage Installation Technician
- High Voltage Site and Construction Manager
- Medium Voltage Product Engineer, transformer stations
- Mechanical Engineer, switchgear enclosures
- Sales Manager, Transmission and Distribution products
Across solar, onshore wind and offshore wind, working with major offshore wind companies and developers, solar developers and one recycling company.
- C-Suite
- Site Managers and Electrical Installation Supervisors
- Project Managers
- Project Developers and Land Acquisition
- Project Coordinators
- Legal Counsel, Finance and Accounting, Office Administration
- Directional Drilling Engineers and Drilling Managers
- Well Services Engineers and Technicians
- Geologists and Geotechnical Engineers
- Subsea and Xmas Tree Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, HSE
Building long-term relationships in this market takes time, especially as a new brand. The roles below are live conversations rather than closed deals, and I expect them to come to market over the next two to three months based on relationships I have been building in the industry.
- Sales Engineer, BESS, UK and European BESS company
- Sales Engineer, BESS consultancy, USA
- BESS Design Engineer, utility-scale BESS, Germany
- Protection and Controls Engineers, microgrid and BESS, USA
I run The Renewable Energy Leadership Podcast as a way of building relationships in the sector, with the majority of guests involved in BESS. It is where I have been developing my own knowledge of the market, and where I share what I have learned about leadership and building high performing teams that stay long-term, the culture challenges behind that, and how to attract the best candidates in the market.
- Saurabh Chatterjee, Head of Renewables, WSP, formerly Zelestra
- Mark Duxbury, Country Director, iwell UK
- Malaquías Encarnación, Owner, Carina Energy, formerly AES and Fluence
- Christian Sanchez, Head of Power Systems Engineering, Transformative American Resources, formerly BESS Director at Zelestra
- Weronika Nowak, CEO, Greenvolt Power Poland and Country Manager USA
- Julija Kaladžinskaitė, CEO, BESS Solutions
- Farshid Arman, President, FlexEnergi
- Mitch Berglund, VP, Texas Solar and iTrust Power
Scaling an EPC Contractor Through Growth
Exclusive retained / GermanyThe company was only eighteen months in the market and competing for talent against far more established brands. The location was also less desirable, and they had a strong preference for candidates who were locally based. The core difficulty was persuading candidates to leave secure positions at larger companies, and/or relocate, for a higher-risk start-up environment, in exchange for growth and development opportunity.
I ran a full market map of candidates at competitor companies and a systematic approach across LinkedIn, Xing, email and phone. I worked with the hiring managers to understand the real non-negotiables and where there was flexibility, so we were selling the right thing to the right people. I helped them articulate what made the role stand out from the more established competitors, and why people should consider joining them. I built branded presentations to send to interested candidates and on brand advertising to support it.
Throughout the search I reported market intelligence back to the hiring managers: competitor salary benchmarks, why people were interested, and why they were not. That allowed them to adapt roles where they could and make informed decisions about who was available in the market.
I worked with them on the interview process itself, arranging interviews and streamlining stages where possible, to cut time to hire and give candidates a better experience. In a market this competitive, a slow or disjointed process loses people who were interested.
I managed candidates through offer acceptance and counter offers, and supported them into onboarding, including relocation and help finding housing.
Commissioning Engineer / Manager
Major European Utility / GermanyThe internal recruiter had been unable to find suitable candidates for over two months. Utility-scale BESS commissioning is one of the thinnest talent pools in the German market, and the people who can do it are almost never sitting in application flow.
Rather than work inbound activity, I mapped the full population of suitable commissioning engineers in Germany and approached them directly. That produced two candidates who were both suitable and interested, and both came out of a competitor EPC where neither was actively looking.
Sales Manager, Transmission and Distribution
Major OEM / NetherlandsThe role had been open internally for six months. The client had also paid another recruiter a retainer over that period without a hire to show for it.
I mapped the full population of senior transmission and distribution sales people in the region and approached them directly. People at that level are not applying to adverts. They are employed, performing and being looked after, so the only route to them is direct approach with something specific and credible to say about the opportunity.
Within ten days of taking the role I delivered four candidates, all a strong match against the brief rather than a longlist to filter down. The client interviewed all four and identified one candidate from a major competitor as the strongest, then took them through further interview rounds to a successful hire.
No single channel fills a specialist role.
Hiring the right person comes from running every channel together rather than relying on any one of them. That said, most of these placements came from market mapping and direct approach, and in many cases the person was not looking when I first contacted them. Here are more details about my approach and what makes a successful hire.
A properly scoped brief and a hiring process that is clear and optimised before the search starts. This is the single biggest determinant of success on any role.
The best candidates in the market are often not looking, not actively applying to roles, and need direct headhunting and outreach to reach them. Advertising on the website and LinkedIn builds presence and credibility in the market and produces stronger results on generalist roles. Handled well, the ATS becomes a talent pool rather than a backlog: applicants who were not right for one role are often right for the next, provided the data is clean and the screening is consistent. On specialist roles it is direct approach that usually fills the seat. A strong pipeline comes from running all of it together: advertising, multichannel outreach across LinkedIn, Xing, email and phone, referrals, and conferences. I use AI where it makes the work more efficient, but the relationship building with candidates stays human first.
A full market map tells you how many people actually fit the role, how many are open to work and how many are passive. From there I approach everyone who fits the requisition systematically, then report back who is interested, who is not, why, and how the position is perceived in the market. That gives hiring managers data behind their decisions rather than just opinion, and means they are choosing from the best people available rather than the best who happened to apply.
Real understanding of the employer value proposition, so I can understand why that would be attractive to potential candidates in our outreach. Helping companies understand more about what their EVP is and what they bring that is unique in the market. Working closely alongside hiring managers, HR and marketing so that every outreach we make is an extension of the brand and builds a positive reputation in the market.
Salary benchmarks and market intelligence fed back throughout, so roles can be adjusted while the search is live, keeping hiring campaigns correctly targeted.
Keeping the process efficient, managing stakeholders, and coordinating interviews, with clear feedback to both candidates and hiring managers throughout, and obtaining references. That creates a highly positive candidate experience, increases acceptance rate, reduces time to hire, and keeps the interview process itself running at its best.
Presenting offers and coaching candidates through acceptance as a trusted advisor: counter offer, notice period, onboarding and relocation to ensure successful integration into the team.
Before working with Michael, my experience of recruiters had been slow and frustrating. With Michael it was completely different. Within a month I knew exactly where I stood, what the next step was, and whether the company wanted me. What really stood out was when I had doubts about leaving my current role. My employer offered me a pay rise to stay and I was torn. Michael took the time to talk it through with me properly, without any pressure, and that conversation gave me the clarity to make the right decision for my career. He also stayed in touch after I signed, checking in on how the move was going. That level of care goes well beyond what you would normally expect.
He supported me throughout the entire process, from finding the opportunity, through the interviews, to negotiating my contract and salary, and even after I started in my new role. What stood out was his honesty, his responsiveness, and his ability to understand what I needed and match me to the right position. I would recommend him without hesitation to anyone looking for their next role in renewable energy.