Manager, IRA Compliance

Title:Manager, IRA Compliance
Department: Labor Compliance
Location:Houston, TX
Supervisor: Sr. Manager of IRA Compliance
FLSA Status: Exempt
Position Status:Permanent, Full-time

Work Status:Hybrid

MANAGER, IRA COMPLIANCE

Hanwha Qcells USA Corp (Qcells USA), headquartered in Houston, TX, specializes in providing utility-scale modules, solar photovoltaic (PV), and battery energy storage systems (BESS) project development, along with Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) services for solar and BESS projects nationwide. Qcells USA delivers comprehensive turnkey solutions encompassing the entire utility-scale project lifecycle. By choosing Qcells USA for turnkey solutions, customers can reduce uncertainty and risk, leading to enhanced investment returns and contributing to a more sustainable future.

Qcells USA’s complete turnkey solutions seamlessly integrate the expertise of our Development, Module, and EPC teams, while ensuring close coordination with other vital internal groups such as Project Finance, Systems Integration, and Legal. This collaborative approach ensures that Qcells USA projects deliver exceptional value and performance. With several multi-billion-dollar investments, Qcells is pioneering the establishment of the only complete module supply chain in the U.S., including the expansion of our Georgia module manufacturing facility, which stands as the largest in the Western Hemisphere.

As an integral part of the global Qcells brand, Qcells USA benefits from a legacy of excellence in photovoltaic manufacturing. Qcells is renowned worldwide for its high-performance, superior-quality solar cells and modules. With dual headquarters in Seoul, South Korea (Global Executive HQ) and Thalheim, Germany (Technology & Innovation HQ), Qcells operates under the umbrella of Hanwha Group, a FORTUNE Global 500 company and one of the top 8 business conglomerates in South Korea.

SUMMARY

The Manager, IRA Compliance is responsible for the day-to-day management and execution of Qcells USA's Labor Compliance program, which primary responsibility for compliance with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship (PWA) requirements and related federal state owner. Project specific labor requirements. Reporting to the Senior Manager of Labor Compliance, this position provides direct operational leadership to the Labor Compliance Department, including oversight of senior labor compliance specialists, the Senior Labor Compliance operations specialist, labor compliance specialists, and labor compliance coordinators. The manager ensures consistent program execution across the project portfolio, establishes priorities, manages workload and resources, monitors compliance performance, and ensures identified risks and deficiencies are addressed in a timely manner. This position serves as a critical operational link between labor compliance leadership and project level execution, allowing the Senior Manager of Labor Compliance to focus on strategic initiatives, executive reporting, owner engagement, regulatory development, and enterprise level labor compliance. Risk management. This position reports to the Sr. Manager of IRA Compliance or another management personnel that the CEO of the Company may designate. This position is hybrid, based out of our Houston, TX office, requiring up to 4 days per week in the office. Standard working hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:00am to 5:00pm or 9:00am to 6:00pm local time. This position is expected to travel up to 20%.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTION & RESPONSIBILITIES
Department Operations & Leadership

·          Manage the day-to-day operations of the Labor Compliance Department and ensure effective execution of departmental priorities.

·          Provide direct leadership, coaching, guidance, and accountability to Senior Labor Compliance Specialists, the Senior Labor Compliance Operations Specialist, Labor Compliance Specialists, and Labor Compliance Coordinators.

·          Establish daily and weekly priorities based on project risk, construction activity, owner requirements, audits, and regulatory deadlines.

·          Coordinate staffing and workload assignments across active projects and project portfolios.

·          Monitor departmental workload and recommend additional staffing or resources based on project volume and compliance risk.

·          Lead recurring departmental operational meetings and ensure action items are appropriately assigned, tracked, and resolved.

·          Support employee development, performance management, training, and succession planning within the Labor Compliance Department.

·          Promote consistency, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement throughout the department.

IRA Prevailing Wage & Apprenticeship Compliance

·          Oversee implementation and execution of Qcells USA's IRA Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship compliance program across applicable EPC projects.

·          Ensure projects establish appropriate compliance processes from project startup through construction completion and closeout.

·          Oversee monitoring of prevailing wage requirements, worker classifications, fringe benefits, certified payroll, apprenticeship labor-hour requirements, participation requirements, and applicable apprentice-to-journeyworker ratios.

·          Ensure applicable wage determinations and classifications are identified and implemented appropriately.

·          Provide guidance on complex wage classification, apprenticeship, payroll, and compliance matters.

·          Review significant compliance exceptions and determine appropriate escalation and corrective-action strategies.

·          Ensure identified underpayments, apprenticeship deficiencies, documentation gaps, and other potential violations are appropriately tracked and resolved.

·          Coordinate with internal stakeholders and, when appropriate, legal counsel regarding complex or high-risk compliance matters.

Project & Portfolio Compliance Management

·          Maintain oversight of labor compliance performance across assigned projects and the broader Qcells USA project portfolio.

·          Ensure each project has clearly defined compliance responsibilities, reporting expectations, documentation requirements, and escalation procedures.

·          Work closely with Senior Labor Compliance Specialists responsible for specific owners and project portfolios to monitor compliance performance and address emerging risks.

·          Review project-level compliance status, open issues, corrective actions, subcontractor performance, and outstanding documentation.

·          Identify portfolio-wide trends and recurring compliance issues requiring management intervention.

·          Ensure project compliance risks are identified early and communicated to the Senior Manager of Labor Compliance.

·          Support project startup, execution, audit readiness, and final compliance closeout.

Subcontractor Compliance Oversight

·          Oversee processes for subcontractor onboarding, compliance monitoring, documentation, and corrective actions.

·          Ensure subcontractors understand applicable prevailing wage, apprenticeship, certified payroll, recordkeeping, and project-specific requirements.

·          Establish expectations for timely and accurate subcontractor compliance submissions.

·          Review escalated subcontractor compliance issues and support project teams in developing appropriate corrective-action plans.

·          Monitor subcontractor performance and identify recurring or systemic compliance concerns.

·          Coordinate with Procurement, Project Management, Construction, Contracts, and other stakeholders to address significant subcontractor compliance deficiencies.

·          Support development of subcontractor accountability and escalation processes designed to reduce project and enterprise risk.

Compliance Systems, Reporting & Quality Assurance

·          Provide management oversight of labor compliance systems, processes, reporting tools, and data-quality standards.

·          Work closely with the Senior Labor Compliance Operations Specialist to ensure SOPs, reporting automation, dashboards, quality assurance processes, and departmental metrics support effective project execution.

·          Ensure labor compliance data is complete, accurate, timely, and capable of supporting internal reviews and external audits.

·          Review departmental and project-level dashboards to identify trends, exceptions, and areas requiring intervention.

·          Establish expectations for quality assurance and internal compliance reviews.

·          Drive adoption of standardized processes and systems across the Labor Compliance Department.

·          Identify opportunities to improve efficiency through automation, technology, process redesign, and better use of compliance data.

Audits, Corrective Actions & Risk Management

·          Manage day-to-day coordination of labor compliance audits and documentation requests.

·          Ensure audit requests are assigned, tracked, reviewed, and completed within required deadlines.

·          Oversee reconciliation of identified prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance deficiencies.

·          Review proposed corrective actions, restitution calculations, supporting documentation, and compliance cure packages.

·          Maintain visibility into outstanding compliance risks and ensure appropriate escalation to the Senior Manager of Labor Compliance.

·          Assist with preparation of information for owners, auditors, tax-equity stakeholders, legal counsel, and executive leadership.

·          Ensure documentation supporting compliance decisions and corrective actions is complete and audit ready.

·          Support development of lessons learned and preventive controls following significant compliance findings.

Regulatory & Program Implementation

·          Support the Senior Manager of Labor Compliance in evaluating changes to federal and state labor compliance requirements.

·          Translate regulatory requirements and management direction into operational processes and project-level procedures.

·          Assist with implementation of new or revised IRA PWA guidance, Davis-Bacon requirements, state prevailing wage requirements, apprenticeship requirements, and owner-specific compliance expectations.

·          Ensure regulatory or program changes are effectively communicated to department personnel and incorporated into applicable SOPs and training.

·          Coordinate with the Senior Labor Compliance Operations Specialist to update systems, reports, templates, and controls following regulatory or procedural changes.

Cross-Functional Coordination

·          Serve as a primary operational liaison between Labor Compliance and Project Management, Construction, Procurement, Contracts, Finance, Legal, Human Resources, and other internal stakeholders.

·          Participate in project startup and project review meetings to ensure labor compliance requirements are incorporated into project planning and execution.

·          Work with Procurement and Contracts teams to ensure applicable labor compliance requirements are communicated to subcontractors.

·          Coordinate with project leadership to resolve compliance issues that may affect project execution, subcontractor payments, closeout, or owner requirements.

·          Promote proactive labor compliance with ownership across project teams rather than relying solely on post-performance corrections.

Management Reporting & Senior Manager Support

·          Provide the Senior Manager of Labor Compliance with regular updates regarding department operations, project compliance status, staffing needs, significant risks, audits, and corrective actions.

·          Prepare and consolidate information needed for executive and owner reporting.

·          Escalate significant compliance risks and matters requiring executive, legal, owner, or corporate involvement.

·          Support development and implementation of department goals, annual priorities, staffing plans, budgets, and strategic initiatives.

·          Assume responsibility for routine operational decisions to allow the Senior Manager to maintain focus on strategy, executive reporting, owner relationships, regulatory developments, and enterprise risk.

·          Represent Labor Compliance leadership in internal meetings when delegated by the Senior Manager.

·          Perform other duties and special projects assigned by Management.

·          Regular attendance, in accordance with company's attendance policy and supervisory assignment, is an essential job duty requirement for this position.

·          Perform other duties and special projects, as assigned by Management.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
 

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, Human Resources, Finance, Accounting, Compliance, Legal Studies, or a related field; equivalent relevant professional experience may be considered.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in labor compliance, construction compliance, prevailing wage, certified payroll, project controls, construction operations, audit, or a related field.
• 3+ years of leadership or management experience with responsibility for employees, projects, programs, or operational teams.
• Demonstrated knowledge of prevailing wage, certified payroll, apprenticeship, and construction labor compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to manage compliance activities across multiple concurrent projects.
• Experience managing complex compliance issues, corrective actions, audits, and documentation requirements.
• Strong leadership skills with demonstrated ability to establish priorities, delegate responsibilities, and hold teams accountable.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate complex compliance matters and make sound operational decisions.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and related business applications.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with project leadership, subcontractors, auditors, owners, and senior management.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced construction and project environment.
• High degree of integrity, professional judgment, organization, and attention to detail.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Direct experience administering Inflation Reduction Act Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship requirements.
• Strong knowledge of Davis-Bacon Act and Davis-Bacon Related Acts requirements.
• Experience with U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage requirements and wage determinations.
• Experience with registered apprenticeship programs, apprenticeship ratios, participation requirements, and labor-hour requirements.
• Experience managing labor compliance for utility-scale solar, BESS, renewable energy, EPC, or other large construction projects.
• Experience with certified payroll and labor compliance management platforms.
• Experience working with project owners, independent auditors, tax-equity stakeholders, and outside legal counsel.
• Experience managing prevailing wage or apprenticeship corrective actions, back-pay calculations, and compliance remediation.
• Experience developing and implementing compliance SOPs, controls, training programs, and project startup procedures.
• Experience with compliance dashboards, data analytics, and performance metrics.
• Experience managing compliance across a large, geographically dispersed project portfolio.

EXAMPLES OF PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Stationary Position: frequently remains stationary up to 90% of the time and sitting up to 8 hours in a day
• Move/Traverse: infrequently bend, stand, stoop and/or walk
• Carry Weight: infrequently carry weight and/or lift objects (light to heavy) weighing up to 10 pounds
• Hearing and Speech: frequently communicates with the ability to hear and talk on a regular basis with employees, coworkers, and all personnel matters; must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations
• Sight: frequent use of sight to detect images on computer, office documents, and office objects near and far
• Climb: occasionally ascends/descends on stairway to get to office upper and lower floors
• Travel: up to 20% as needed

EXAMPLES OF WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Regular professional, office business setting
• Noise level ranges from low to moderate (if in office setting)
• Noise level ranges from moderate to high (if on construction worksite)
• Under the Office Mobilization Plan (OMP) policy, the role may transition to an onsite or hybrid arrangement, as determined by business needs and the Head of Department

Hanwha Qcells is proud to be an at-will Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination against race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, citizenship, disability, protected veteran status and any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law.  This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

It is important to note that the job descriptions provided by Qcells USA Corp are not intended to be comprehensive lists of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications associated with the positions. Duties and responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice, reflecting our dynamic and evolving work environment.

We are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals.  As part of this commitment, Hanwha Qcells will provide reasonable accommodations to all qualified individuals with disabilities to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.  Please contact us to request accommodations at

hr-usa@qcells.com