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Volta Executive

Client case · energy-from-waste (SRF)

The director of a plant that does not exist yet

Brittany’s first SRF cogeneration plant, on the commercial port of Brest: €70m invested, commissioning planned for 2027. A candidate presented to the client the day after the assignment, an offer accepted on day 25.

The case in 30 seconds

  • D+1

    candidate presented to the client

  • D+25

    offer made and accepted

  • 70M€

    invested in the facility

  • 14

    jobs created at opening

01 · The case in 30 seconds

The assignment brief

A brand-new plant,a director to find

The project, the role, and the hire day by day.

Assignment briefGuyot Énergies × IDEX × Volta Executive
Client
Polder Guyot Énergies, owned by IDEX (51%) and Guyot Énergies (49%)
Site
Commercial port of Brest, Finistère (29)
Project
Brittany’s first SRF cogeneration plant: €70m, including €14.5m from ADEME (France Relance). Foundation stone laid on 19 June 2025, commissioning planned for 2027
Energy
40,000 t of SRF a year, from the Guyot sites in Morlaix and Brest · 85 GWh of heat and 20 GWh of electricity a year · industrial steam for the Bunge plant in Brest
Role
Site director, permanent contract, hired before opening
Method
National direct search, no job advert
Hired
François Wawczyniak, then director of a biomass and SRF plant in Finistère

The hire, day by day

  1. Day 0Assignment received, candidate approached and called back the same evening
  2. D+1Presented to the operations manager
  3. Days 8 to 15Three interviews, up to the management of Guyot Énergies
  4. D+25Offer made and accepted the same day

Timeline taken from our candidate tracking software. Day 0 is the day the assignment opens.

02 · The challenge

The context

Run a plantthat exists only on paper

Guyot Énergies and IDEX are investing €70m in a heating plant that will produce local, low-carbon energy from solid recovered fuels. It will supply steam to the Bunge plant in Brest and cover a large share of its needs.

  1. A newly created role, with no predecessor

    The director is hired one to two years before opening to oversee the start-up. There is no equivalent role to copy: you need a profile able to build a site that exists only on paper.

  2. Two jobs in one

    Mastering the thermal recovery of SRF and biomass, and leading a team of 14 from day one in the role. Process engineers have not always run a site, and the reverse is true too.

  3. A limited local labour pool

    Brest has few industries of this type. EfW and biomass site directors are in post in the big cities or at existing sites: the search is national.

  4. A project to keep discreet

    The project is partly public; the search is not. The candidate must understand the context without the role being posted on job boards.

Furnace of a cogeneration boiler
Cogeneration, industrial boiler · illustrative photo

03 · The assignment

The role

Site director,from construction site to full operation

A key role for the 2027 start-up: leading the commissioning and then the operation of a plant that is a first for Brittany.

  1. Site director, SRF cogeneration

    Polder Guyot Énergies · Port of Brest (29)

    Filled · new position

    The scope

    • Managing an industrial site of 14 staff, running 24/7
    • Commissioning and start-up of a new installation
    • Tracking energy performance: 85 GWh of heat and 20 GWh of electricity a year
    • Client relations: Bunge (steam), district heating network, electricity grid
    • HSE and regulatory compliance (ICPE, ADEME)
    • Coordination with the two shareholders, Guyot Énergies and IDEX

    The profile

    Engineer or advanced technical education (energy, thermal engineering, processes), 8 years or more in site management or operations responsibility at an energy recovery installation: EfW (UVE, UVED), biomass, cogeneration. Command of SRF or biomass combustion, or of EfW processes, essential. Ideally, start-up or commissioning experience. Leadership, autonomy, safety culture.

    SRF · Biomass · Cogeneration · Greenfield 2027 · ICPE

    Permanent contract · Brest (29) · site management · start before opening

Why it is hardThe director takes charge of a plant under construction and leads the ramp-up to full operation in 2027. Combining SRF and biomass thermal expertise, site management and a taste for greenfield : one of the most demanding assignments in the sector.

04 · The result

The result

A director chosen,offer accepted on day 25

The search ecosystem existed before the assignment: more than 400 energy site directors mapped over six months. That is what makes a 24-hour shortlist possible.

  • D+1

    candidate presented

  • 3

    client interviews

  • D+25

    offer accepted

The director hired

Florian knew how to do what many no longer do: detect the person behind the skills and experience. In complex jobs under constant strain, he can look beyond labels to assess real potential. It is thanks to this vision that we find true leaders, the kind of human executives you want to follow in pursuit of excellence. Florian understood this perfectly and unearths leaders who inspire him and who are inspiring. An approach of trust and great precision that I highly recommend.

François WawczyniakSite director hired · Google review

Hiring before opening

The director arrives during construction: commissioning, hiring the operations team, writing the procedures, qualifying suppliers.

A profile that was not looking

Direct search throughout, no job advert: for this role, job boards deliver nothing. The person hired was already running a biomass and SRF plant.

Follow-up for up to 90 days

Integration check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days after the start date, essential when the site is still under construction.

05 · The method

The Volta Executive method

Four stages,kept on the Brest assignment

A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard, the mapping of the search ecosystem, a shortlist within 10 days, a hire within 3 weeks. The 3 weeks run from scoping to the chosen candidate with the offer accepted, when the five key success factors are in place. The candidate’s notice period, often three months for a manager in post, comes on top.

  1. Day 1

    A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard

    One hour with the future manager, not just HR. We come out with the three results expected at twelve months, the real budget including variable pay, and a scorecard ranking each skill: essential, necessary, useful, bonus.

  2. Days 1 to 3

    Map the search ecosystem

    The companies, sites and roles where the profile really exists: competitors, suppliers, customers, neighbouring sectors doing the same job under another name. We know how many people fit the scorecard before writing the first message.

  3. Within 10 days

    A shortlist within 10 days

    Three to five candidates approached directly, met, assessed against the scorecard by an engineer, presented with their motivations and real salary expectations. Not a pile of CVs.

  4. Within 3 weeks

    A hire within 3 weeks by direct search

    Two interview rounds at most, with the direct manager. The package and the counter-offer are prepared before the final interview: the offer goes out within 24 hours and the chosen candidate says yes.

The ecosystem mapped before the assignment

EfW plants, biomass heating plants, anaerobic digestion units and SRF sites across France, and their directors in post, catalogued before the assignment opened. The candidate is approached and called back the same evening.

A start-up brief, not an operations one

The scoping builds in the greenfield dimension. It rules out routine-operations profiles and attracts those who like to build.

A client who decides fast

Three interviews held between day 8 and day 15, up to the management of Guyot Énergies, then the offer made and accepted the same day.

First confidential conversation

A site to start upor to run?

Site directors, operations managers, SRF, EfW and biomass profiles: executives already in post, who do not read job adverts. Thirty minutes to scope the role, no commitment.

Our full track record

Reply within 48 hours · shortlist within 10 days · hire within 3 weeks

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