Solar Divisional Manager

SOLAR DIVISIONAL MANAGER

Brda Electric | Fenton, MO | Greater St. Louis Area

$105,000–$130,000/year DOE + Quarterly Performance Bonus

DON'T JUST MANAGE SOLAR PROJECTS. LEAD THE DIVISION.

There are plenty of solar management jobs where your primary responsibility is keeping schedules updated, putting out fires, and reporting what happened last month. This isn't one of them. Brda Electric is looking for an experienced Solar Divisional Manager to take ownership of the operational, financial, technical, and leadership performance of an established Solar Division, and help build what comes next.

Founded in 1989, Brda Electric has grown from a small electrical contractor into an established St. Louis-area electrical company with operations spanning residential, commercial, solar, battery storage, EV infrastructure, and emerging energy technologies. Our Solar Division doesn't just put panels on roofs. Our teams execute sophisticated, turnkey energy projects involving solar PV, Tesla Powerwall, Enphase systems, battery storage, smart electrical panels, service upgrades, utility coordination, permitting, commissioning, and customer handoff.

This is not simply a project management position. The Solar Divisional Manager owns the performance of the division: the people, the projects, the capacity, the customer experience . . . and the numbers. You will lead the complete lifecycle of solar operations, from planning and design through installation, commissioning, closeout, and final payment, while driving disciplined performance in gross margin, labor efficiency, production capacity, execution quality, and team development.

We're looking for someone who combines strong operational leadership with financial discipline, technical understanding, strategic thinking, and the ability to develop a high-performing team.

Reports to: Director of Operations

Direct Reports include:

• Solar Operations Manager
• Solar Field Superintendent
• Solar Project Coordinator
• Solar Technicians (8+)

OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP

• Exercise delegated decision rights within the Solar Division, applying sound judgment and escalating decisions only when defined thresholds, risks, or circumstances require higher-level review.
• Practice servant leadership by removing obstacles, establishing clear expectations, providing necessary resources, developing and empowering team members, and holding individuals accountable for commitments, performance, and results.
• Own the complete solar project lifecycle from design and preconstruction through installation, commissioning, closeout, and final payment, even though much of the work itself will be delegated.
• Utilize backward-design methodologies to establish required outcomes, dependencies, ownership, and execution standards.
• Ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and in compliance with applicable safety requirements, electrical codes, program requirements, and regulations.
• Ensure engineers, electricians, installers, subcontractors, vendors, and administrative personnel are appropriately utilized.
• Oversee permitting, utility coordination, inspections, approvals, and project closeout.
• Identify operational risks early and implement corrective action to protect margin, schedule, quality, and customer experience.
• Maintain consistent execution standards across multiple concurrent projects.
• Oversee timely invoicing, collection, and receipt of customer payments.

TEAM LEADERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT

• Lead Solar Division direct reports and field technicians.
• Establish clear ownership, accountability, performance expectations, and measurable outcomes throughout the division.
• Conduct performance reviews, coaching, development, and ongoing mentorship.
• Lead hiring, onboarding, training, workforce planning, scheduling, performance management, and termination decisions.
• Build a high-performance, accountability-driven culture in which commitments and results matter.
• Align labor capacity with production forecasts, backlog, and anticipated sales demand.
• Improve crew productivity while reducing rework, callbacks, delays, and wasted labor.
• Develop future leaders and strengthen management capability within the division.
• Serve as a positive, company-focused, collaborative member of Brda Electric's leadership team.

FINANCIAL OWNERSHIP

• Own Gross Margin (GM%) performance across Solar Division projects.
• Own Gross Margin per Hour Worked (GMHW) performance across applicable solar projects.
• Maintain disciplined pricing, estimating, project selection, and change-management practices.
• Improve job-costing accuracy and visibility.
• Optimize labor utilization, material efficiency, purchasing, and project execution.
• Manage project and divisional budgets against established profitability targets.
• Identify margin erosion before the project is over and implement corrective action.
• Drive continuous improvement in cost control, productivity, and field execution.
• Build a financially sustainable operation capable of supporting Brda Electric's long-term growth objectives.

STRATEGIC PLANNING & FORECASTING

• Develop and manage quarterly production and revenue forecasts.
• Build and maintain reliable forward projections for revenue, production, labor requirements, and operational capacity.
• Align staffing and labor capacity with backlog and sales pipeline demand.
• Work with sales leadership to improve pipeline visibility and forecasting accuracy.
• Identify and resolve bottlenecks involving scheduling, labor capacity, procurement, permitting, inspections, and execution flow.
• Maintain divisional compliance with Illinois Shines, installer certifications, manufacturer requirements, and other applicable solar program requirements.
• Translate company strategy into measurable divisional priorities, operating plans, and results.

Pipeline → Backlog → Capacity → Production → Revenue → Margin

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

• Ensure clear and consistent customer communication throughout the project lifecycle.
• Establish accountability for resolving installation and post-installation issues promptly.
• Maintain a customer experience that supports referrals, repeat business, and Brda Electric's reputation.
• Monitor customer satisfaction and implement corrective action when expectations aren't met.

Brda Electric has served the St. Louis area since 1989 because relationships, reputation, integrity, and workmanship matter.

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

• Support the Solar Field Superintendent and field leadership in technical matters as needed.
• Maintain sufficient technical knowledge to effectively lead solar operations and evaluate execution risks.
• Stay current with relevant solar technologies, battery storage systems, installation practices, manufacturer requirements, codes, and industry developments.

YOUR SCOREBOARD

Gross Margin (GM%) • Gross Margin per Hour Worked (GMHW) • Net Profit Performance • Revenue & Production Performance • Project Completion Timelines • Labor Utilization & Productivity • Rework & Callbacks • Customer Satisfaction • Safety & Compliance • Team Performance & Retention • Pipeline/Backlog Forecast Accuracy

COMPENSATION

Base Salary: $105,000–$130,000/year DOE + Quarterly Performance Bonus

Benefits:

• 100% company-paid employee health insurance
• Dental and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid holidays
• Paid time off
• Company-provided training and professional development
• Additional company benefits as applicable

THIS POSITION PROBABLY ISN'T FOR EVERYONE.

• If you need senior leadership to make every difficult decision...
• If you believe management means personally controlling every detail...
• If you avoid accountability because difficult conversations make you uncomfortable...
• If KPIs are numbers you review rather than evidence you interpret…
• If your first instinct when performance misses expectations is to explain why or assign blame, rather than ask what conditions allowed the result to occur in the first place…

This probably isn't your position.

But . . .

• If you think in systems...
• If you develop people instead of creating dependency...
• If you understand that authority and accountability belong together...
• If you can move comfortably from a technical conversation to KPI analysis...
• If you want the authority to make decisions and the accountability that comes with them...

If your reaction to all of this is: “Give me the responsibility. I'll own the result”? We should talk!

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Combination office and field-based leadership role.
• Active and regular jobsite presence required.
• Fast-paced environment involving multiple concurrent projects and priorities.
• High accountability for financial, operational, customer, and personnel outcomes.
• Frequent coordination with employees, customers, vendors, subcontractors, utilities, authorities having jurisdiction, and company leadership.
• Leadership behavior, communication, accountability, and team culture directly impact operational success.

Brda Electric

Family-owned. St. Louis grown. Building since 1989. We believe in Customer Centricity, Integrity, Continuous Improvement, accountability, and doing what we say we're going to do. We're building something bigger. We're looking for the leader who wants to help build it.