Director Engineering & Security Integration

Our Company

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority whose mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid. NERC develops and enforces Reliability Standards; annually assesses seasonal and long‐term reliability; monitors the bulk power system through system awareness; and educates, trains, and certifies industry personnel. NERC’s area of responsibility spans the continental United States, Canada, and the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico. NERC is the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) for North America, subject to oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Provincial authorities in Canada. NERC's jurisdiction includes users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system, which serves nearly 400 million people.

Our Mission

The vision for the ERO Enterprise, which is comprised of NERC and the six Regional Entities, is a highly reliable and secure North American bulk power system. Our mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid.

Your Impact

The Director, Engineering and Security Integration, is knowledgeable on power system planning, operations and cyber issues affecting the North American electricity system. The Director is responsible for leading a department that will develop and promote cyber security-informed planning, operations and recovery strategies to improve the posture and performance of the bulk power system to cyber threats and direct Advanced System Analytics and Modeling activities which relate to advanced power system analysis, advanced modeling, advanced statistical analysis of a variety of relevant collected BPS outage and performance data, assessments of emerging reliability issues.  In addition, this position would support the ERO and industry to implement security risk mitigation priorities. The Director reports to the Vice President, Engineering and Standards.

Your Role

• Provide vision and strategic leadership for this department and the ERO Enterprise on new technologies and emerging threats.
• Foster a culture of learning/education (for both industry and the ERO Enterprise) on BPS system performance in light of the integration of new technologies.
• Lead a high performing team with advanced technical capabilities in pioneering new studies, modeling and statistical analysis methodologies, or novel applications in support tackling new risks.
• Create processes that support ERO Enterprise risk identification and mitigations, understanding of Risk Priorities, and basic understanding emergent technical needs.
• Actively coordinate work with other departments and with other ERO groups such as Compliance Assurance, Reliability Risk Management and groups in the ERO Enterprise.
• Integrate cyber security-informed thinking into all aspects of system planning, operations and restoration.
• Direct the development of studies concerning interconnection-wide reliability issues such as oscillatory behavior, system reaction of inverter-based generation, and other factors.
• Establish and maintain relationships with industry, regulatory, and governmental organizations involved with electric system reliability (e.g., DOE, FERC, EIA, RTO/ISOs).
• Lead efforts to advance the RISC’s risk mitigation recommendations.
• Develop industry approaches, best practices related to the security of the bulk power system, taking input from situational awareness, power system planning and operations, reliability assessment, performance analysis, standards, compliance monitoring and other ERO Enterprise programs.
• Provide technical expertise to the executive management team, Board of Trustees, and other stakeholder groups.
• Direct and manage teams to ensure achievement of departmental and corporate goals and objectives. Assess individual and team performance at regular intervals and implement corrective actions as necessary.
• As a key member of NERC's Leadership Team and as a people manager, lean in to support NERC's employee development, diversity and inclusivity efforts, as well as NERC's corporate culture initiatives.
• Delivers reliability of sustainable solutions through inclusive practices. Seeks out diversity of thought, consults with diverse networks, peers and leadership, and uses these practices to make informed decisions.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have:

• A BS degree in one or more related technical fields (e.g., power engineering or computer science); additional postgraduate work is desired.

• Ten to fifteen years of experience in power system transmission planning, cyber security and/or other system analysis.
• Strong statistical, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
• Advanced interpersonal skills with a high degree of emotional intelligence to navigate building relationships with various stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience with studying and understanding inverter technologies and BPS integration of new technologies.
• Ability to facilitate groups of industry technical experts and to work effectively and closely with peers in a teamwork environment.

• Demonstrated leadership experienced in power systems and cyber security; knowledge of ERO Enterprise, NERC, and E-ISAC operations preferred.
• Exceptional verbal and written communications skills, with experience clearly explaining complex issues to audiences ranging from senior executives to technical experts.
• Strong consensus building skills.

Additional desired attributes include:

• Management experience within a utility or other resource/transmission planning setting
• Thorough understanding of the elements needed for transmission planning and cyber security
• Preparation of regional and/or multiregional bulk power system reliability and adequacy assessments.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word)

Other

• A background check will be conducted prior to employment.
• In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.
• This position has been classified as exempt.
• The position may be based remotely but must be able to travel to NERC offices, if needed. Reimbursement of travel expenses will be in accordance with the company’s travel and expense reimbursement policies.

Our Culture Declarations

• Everyone at NERC is a leader.
• We are accountable personally and organizationally to deliver on commitments.
• We develop ourselves and people in the organization to ensure that NERC realizes its strategic objectives.
• We are resilient and adaptable to the challenges and needs of the business/people.
• We exude a growth mindset and empower teams to take risks.
• Build collaborative relationships within NERC, the ERO, and the stakeholders of NERC.
• We exemplify NERC cultural behaviors:
  • Reward, high-quality, creative, and innovative work;
  • Attract, engage, and retain top talent;
  • Value and respect diverse perspectives;
  • Provide a safe, inclusive, and collaborative work environment;
  • Form strong relationships within the company, and with the ERO Enterprise;
  • We demonstrate curiosity in a wide variety of areas and are open to exploring new situations, knowledge and opportunities for growth and development;
  • We demonstrate an anticipatory mindset; preventing problems, and building contingencies where appropriate; and
  • We are champions for diversity and inclusion. Seeks out and values diverse