Freelance Management Development Program Jobs in Chicago, IL

The Manager, Program Management - Commercial Development is responsible for leading a team that manages strategic programs and projects supporting utility infrastructure development for large-load commercial customers, with a primary focus on data centers, hyperscale campuses, advanced manufacturing, clean energy projects, and other high-growth economic development opportunities.

This role serves as a key link between customer development activities and utility system planning, ensuring commercial opportunities are successfully evaluated, planned, and delivered while maintaining reliability, regulatory compliance, and long-term system objectives. The successful candidate will bring experience working within the utility, energy, data center, or large-scale infrastructure development sectors and have a strong understanding of the processes required to support large-load customer interconnections and utility infrastructure expansion.

The position collaborates extensively with engineering, transmission and distribution planning, construction, operations, regulatory affairs, finance, customer solutions, and external stakeholders to deliver complex, cross-functional initiatives that enable customer growth and economic development.

• Lead the day-to-day program management function supporting commercial development initiatives for large-load customers, including data centers, hyperscale developments, advanced manufacturing facilities, clean energy hubs, and other high-energy-demand projects.

• Oversee the planning, execution, governance, and delivery of programs and projects related to utility infrastructure expansion, customer interconnections, and electric and gas system development.

• Partner with economic development, account management, engineering, system planning, regulatory, and construction teams to evaluate and advance customer growth opportunities.

• Coordinate cross-functional workstreams to identify and manage project dependencies, risks, schedules, milestones, and resource requirements.

• Drive alignment between customer development timelines and utility capital planning, infrastructure readiness, and system capacity requirements.

• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure projects align with utility objectives, customer requirements, permitting considerations, and system capabilities.

• Guide project teams through the entire project lifecycle, including feasibility analysis, load forecasting, system impact assessments, permitting, engineering design, construction, energization, and project closeout.

• Monitor and report program performance, key milestones, KPIs, and portfolio health to leadership teams, ensuring accountability and transparency.

• Support portfolio management efforts to prioritize commercial opportunities and balance near-term customer needs with long-term utility system planning strategies.

• Identify and implement best practices that improve program governance, project execution, stakeholder communication, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Develop executive-level presentations, business cases, and strategic communications for senior leadership, executive committees, and board-level stakeholders.

• Prepare materials and updates for regulatory agencies, community stakeholders, and leadership teams as required.

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, Energy Management, or a related field.

• 5+ years of progressive experience supporting utility infrastructure projects, commercial development, large-load customer programs, data center development, energy delivery, or electric/gas system planning.

• Demonstrated experience managing complex, cross-functional programs involving utility infrastructure, customer interconnections, transmission/distribution upgrades, or large-scale capital projects.

• Experience working with or supporting data center, hyperscale, advanced manufacturing, or other energy-intensive customer developments.

• Strong understanding of electric and/or gas utility operations, system planning, regulatory environments, and customer development processes.

• Proven ability to influence and lead cross-functional teams in a matrixed environment.

• Strong leadership, communication, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills.

• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and a systems-level perspective.

• Technical understanding of utility infrastructure planning, capacity assessments, and project development processes.

• Demonstrated change leadership, organizational agility, and problem-solving capabilities.

• Strong experience developing and delivering presentations and business recommendations to Senior Executive Leadership and Board-level audiences.

• Master's Degree in Engineering, Business Administration (MBA), Project Management, Energy Management, or a related field.

• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program/project management certification.

• Experience supporting utility service to hyperscale data centers, cloud service providers, industrial load growth, or large economic development projects.

• Knowledge of transmission and distribution planning, interconnection processes, load forecasting, and utility infrastructure investment planning.

• Experience working across utility commercial development, economic development, customer solutions, or strategic growth organizations.

Why This Opportunity?

This role offers a unique opportunity to help shape the future of utility growth by leading programs that enable some of the largest and fastest-growing customers in the market. The successful candidate will play a critical role in supporting data center expansion, economic development, and utility infrastructure investments that drive long-term growth and reliability for customers and communities.