Manager, IRA Compliance

About the role

The Manager, IRA Compliance oversees the day‑to‑day management and execution of Qcells USA's Labor Compliance program, with primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship (PWA) requirements and related federal, state, and project‑specific labor rules. Reporting to the Senior Manager of Labor Compliance, the role provides direct operational leadership to the Labor Compliance Department, including senior specialists, operations specialists, specialists, and coordinators. The manager ensures consistent program execution across the project portfolio, establishes priorities, manages workload and resources, monitors compliance performance, and addresses risks and deficiencies promptly. This position serves as a critical link between labor‑compliance leadership and project‑level execution, enabling the Senior Manager to focus on strategic initiatives, executive reporting, owner engagement, regulatory development, and enterprise‑level labor compliance. The role is hybrid, based in Houston, TX, requiring up to four days per week in the office, with standard hours of 8:00 am–5:00 pm or 9:00 am–6:00 pm local time and up to 20 % travel.

Responsibilities

• Department Operations & Leadership – Manage day‑to‑day operations of the Labor Compliance Department; provide 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; monitor workload and recommend additional staffing or resources; lead recurring operational meetings; support employee development, performance management, training, and succession planning; promote consistency, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• IRA Prevailing Wage & Apprenticeship Compliance – Oversee implementation and execution of Qcells USA's IRA PWA compliance program across applicable EPC projects; ensure projects establish appropriate compliance processes from startup through closeout; monitor prevailing wage requirements, worker classifications, fringe benefits, certified payroll, apprenticeship labor‑hour requirements, participation requirements, and apprentice‑to‑journeyworker ratios; ensure wage determinations and classifications are identified and implemented; provide guidance on complex wage classification, apprenticeship, payroll, and compliance matters; review significant compliance exceptions and determine escalation and corrective‑action strategies; track and resolve underpayments, apprenticeship deficiencies, documentation gaps, and other potential violations; coordinate with internal stakeholders and legal counsel on complex or high‑risk 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 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 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; communicate early‑identified compliance risks 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 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 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 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 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 – 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.

Schedule

This is a hybrid position based in Houston, TX, requiring up to four days per week in the office. Standard working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am–5:00 pm or 9:00 am–6:00 pm local time. The role entails up to 20 % travel.