Contractual Client Implementation Jobs in Chicago, IL

Evergreen Posting:  Walker-Miller Energy Services is experiencing tremendous growth, and we're always looking to connect with exceptional talent for future opportunities. If you're an Energy Efficiency Portfolio Manager professional, we'd love to hear from you! Please submit your application, and a member of our Talent Acquisition team will reach out when a role becomes available that aligns with your experience.

Company Overview:

Founded in 2000, Walker-Miller Energy Services is a core-values driven company committed to changing lives through energy efficiency.  We create and manage customized energy waste reduction programs that help electric and gas utilities meet mandated energy savings goals.   

Our experience driven philosophy of energy efficiency as economic development helps families and businesses save energy and save money. Through innovative, inclusive initiatives, we help build communities by creating local jobs, producing equitable energy savings for all rate payers, and spurring the growth of diverse local businesses.

Our operating philosophy is reflected in our core values. We refer to them as BEHIVE.

B - Boldly Go

E - Embrace Equity

H - Humble Confidence

I - Inclusive Stewardship

V - Value Reputation

E - Extraordinary Experience

Position Summary:

The Portfolio Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and successful delivery of large-scale energy efficiency programs. This role serves as the primary client relationship lead and is accountable for achieving program objectives, financial performance, contractual commitments, and customer experience goals while providing leadership across multiple functional areas and delivery partners. The Portfolio Manager establishes strategic direction, drives cross-functional execution, and ensures all program functions operate in alignment to achieve client and business objectives. The position serves as the senior leader responsible for program results, organizational performance, risk management, and continuous improvement.

Essential Responsibilities: This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities, as management may deem necessary from time to time.

Leadership & Organizational Stewardship

• Champion and model Walker-Miller's core values through daily leadership, decision-making, employee development, and stakeholder engagement.
• Partner with senior leadership to achieve program objectives, contractual commitments, financial targets, and broader organizational goals.
• Establish organizational priorities and ensure staffing, resources, and functional teams remain aligned to client expectations and portfolio objectives.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, operational excellence, and continuous improvement across all program functions.

Client Management

• Serve as the primary executive point of contact for utility clients, building trusted relationships and ensuring exceptional client satisfaction.
• Act as a strategic advisor to clients by providing direction, recommendations, and solutions that optimize program performance, customer outcomes, and portfolio value.
• Lead resolution of complex client requests, operational challenges, strategic concerns, and issue escalations while maintaining strong client confidence and partnership.
• Negotiate scopes of work, contracts, budgets, and program priorities while balancing client objectives, delivery requirements, operational capacity, and financial performance.

Program Leadership

• Establish, communicate, and champion the strategic vision, operational priorities, and performance objectives for the portfolio.
• Review, approve, and operationalize strategic recommendations developed through the Strategy & Planning function.
• Provide leadership across all program functions and delivery partners to ensure coordinated execution and achievement of program goals.
• Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and adoption of industry best practices that strengthen overall program performance and client outcomes.

Program Delivery

• Maintain overall accountability for successful delivery of large-scale energy efficiency programs, ensuring performance targets, customer experience expectations, and contractual obligations are achieved.
• Direct execution of implementation plans, workstream priorities, performance metrics, production goals, and contingency strategies across all program functions.
• Monitor program performance through dashboards, analytics, operational reviews, and forecasting outputs while ensuring corrective actions are implemented when results deviate from expectations.
• Ensure all client deliverables, forecasts, reports, invoices, and operational commitments are completed accurately, timely, and in accordance with contractual requirements.

Financial Management

• Manage a multi-year, multi-million-dollar portfolio budget that includes labor, subcontractors, incentives, technology investments, marketing, and operational expenditures.
• Oversee forecasting, budgeting, accruals, invoicing, and financial reporting activities to ensure effective stewardship of program funds.
• Approve portfolio forecasts, spending plans, resource allocations, and financial strategies developed in collaboration with Strategy & Planning and Finance teams.
• Monitor financial performance, analyze variances, and ensure implementation of mitigation strategies that improve forecasting accuracy and portfolio health.

Team Management

• Provide leadership, coaching, and operational direction to functional managers and program staff responsible for outreach, customer engagement, field operations, QA/QC, reporting, planning, technical operations, and stakeholder relations.
• Lead and develop high-performing teams by establishing clear performance expectations, accountability measures, and professional development opportunities.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration and communication while ensuring managers have the resources, support, and accountability necessary to achieve program objectives.
• Oversee subcontractors and delivery partners through defined scopes of work, performance metrics, operating reviews, risk management practices, and continuous performance management processes.

Supervisory Responsibilities: 

• Manage direct reports, oversee program staff, and subcontractors. This includes interviewing, planning, assigning, completing performance evaluations, coaching, mentoring, and directing work.
• Mentor team members in achieving their personal goals annually, as well as their long-term developmental goals.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in business, engineering or other discipline.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in managing energy efficiency programs.
• Minimum of 5 years management/supervisory experience including hiring, coaching, performance reviews and mentoring.
• Develop, monitor and manage financial budgets, including forecasting revenue and expenses to ensure financial stability and alignment with organizational goals.
• Technical experience in developing and/or reviewing energy savings calculations to determine paybacks and incentive levels for customers.
• Must show proven leadership in fast paced environment.
• Strong customer service and communication skills.
• Must be able to handle a wide work variety and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Must be detail-oriented, organized, self-starter and have an ability to prioritize workload.
• Ability to identify and resolve project application issues with customers and trade allies.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Strong date entry skills in entering information in tracking system/database.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing with customers, clients and employees.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data and solve practical problems.
• Knowledge of mathematical concepts such as fractions, percentages, and ratios.

 Desired Qualifications:

• Advanced degree preferred.

 Licenses & Certifications

• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation.

Travel Requirements

• Willingness to travel up to 20% of the time.

 Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Required to sit, stand, walk; talk and hear; and ability to touch and handle tools and/or controls
• The team member is frequently required to stand, walk, kneel, crouch, and/or crawl
• Ability to lift up to 30 pounds
• Noise level is typically low to moderate

Note: Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

The above information describes the general duties and requirements necessary to perform the principle functions of the position. This shall not be construed as a detailed description of all the duties and requirements that may be necessary in this position.

Walker-Miller Energy Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pay Transparency: This compensation range is provided as a reasonable estimate of the current starting salary range for this role. If this opportunity includes multiple job levels, the salary information represents the job level minimum and the job level maximum. There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.

A team member may be eligible for additional pay, premiums, or bonus potential. Walker-Miller Energy Services offers eligible employees health, vision and dental insurance, retirement, and tuition reimbursement.

Compensation Range: $110,000-$160,000/ annually 

At Walker-Miller Energy Services, we Embrace Equity by encouraging qualified candidates from all backgrounds and identities to apply for open positions! We have several optional questions about candidates' demographics, but they do not impact hiring decisions. In fact, all candidate demographic data is anonymized for compliance purposes and to reduce unconscious bias in the hiring process, so none of the information collected here will be attached to your individual application. We ask for this information because Walker-Miller is committed to inclusive recruitment practices, so we hold ourselves to a high standard in developing a candidate pool that is diverse in background, experience, and perspective.

Walker-Miller Energy Services participates in E-Verify. Which confirms employment authorization of all newly hired employees and most existing employees through an electronic database maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security. For new hires, the E-Verify process is completed in conjunction with the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification on or before the first day of work. E-Verify is not used as a tool to pre-screen candidates. For up-to-date information on E-Verify, go to www.uscis.gov and click on 'E-Verify' located near the bottom of the page.

E-Verify Notice

E-Verify Notice (Spanish)

Right to Work Notice

Right to Work Notice (Spanish)