GENERAL SUMMARY
Provide leadership and strategic direction to the Legal Services department, including setting priorities, allocating resources, and managing the Legal Services Supervisor and any attorneys or staff reporting directly to the Manager. Evaluate department performance, oversee professional development planning, and serve as primary liaison to the Assistant General Counsel/Compliance Director on department operations and staffing matters.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
Provide leadership and management direction to Legal Services. Manage and evaluate direct report staff performance through performance appraisals/reviews, promotions, salary changes, professional development and through active monitoring and coaching.
Provide legal advice and counsel on complex, enterprise-level and high stakes matters across EN departments including regulatory proceedings and novel legal questions. Draft, review, and negotiate major contracts, leases, waivers, releases, financing documents, and other documents on behalf of Energy Northwest.
In coordination with the Assistant General Counsel/Compliance Director, serve as Energy Northwest's point of contact with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of the General Counsel and Office of Investigations. Represent Employees Testifying in Legal Actions, Proceedings and Public Hearings (GBP-LEG-03) and NRC Investigations: Rights of Energy Northwest Employees (GBP-LEG-04).
Maintain knowledge of, and ensure Energy Northwest compliance with, federal and state statutes, regulations and court decisions.
Protect Energy Northwest's interests by initiating or defending Energy Northwest in significant lawsuits, administrative hearings and/or directing the conduct of said litigation by in-house or retained counsel.
Provide training, as required, to Energy Northwest staff on current legal issues and in compliance with legal requirements.
Review and act upon legal invoices less than or equal to $200,000; refer greater expenditures to the appropriate delegated authority under Delegation of Authority-Financial Matters Chief Executive Officer Re-Delegation for action.
Prepare and manage the annual budget for Legal Services.
Must participate on the Emergency Response team (ERO) when designated.
Must support the biennial refueling outage.
REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
A Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school and a current license to practice law in the State of Washington or the ability to obtain license through WSBA Admission by Motion within 9 months.
A minimum of 10 years of experience practicing law.
Previous management/leadership experience.
PAY RANGE
Pay Range:
$195,000 - $250,714
Typically, selected candidates are hired between the minimum and midpoint of the range, based on applicable experience and qualifications, market rate, internal equity, and budgetary allowances.
Offers will be negotiated based on each candidate's qualifications.
INCENTIVE COMPENSATION
This position is eligible for an annual at-risk compensation (ARC) incentive plan target of 20% of the base salary. Incentives are earned based on agency performance against defined metrics and goals and follow eligibility rules within the ARC plan document.
BENEFITS
Energy Northwest (EN) provides a phenomenal benefits package. Washington State also has no state income tax, and the Tri-Cities provides a cost-of-living lower than the national average.
EN offers substantial retirement benefits through three retirement programs including the Washington State Public Employees' Retirement System pension plan (PERS), a 401(k) savings plan with an employer match component, and a 457(b) savings plan. EN also offers multiple options for medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance coverage. Other voluntary benefits may include flexible spending accounts (FSAs), tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment, childcare subsides, health reimbursement arrangement (HRA VEBA), health savings account (HSA), supplemental life insurances, credit monitoring/identity theft insurance, and more! Qualifying employees will typically start a personal time accrual rate of 160 hours per year and EN provides nine paid holidays throughout the Calander year; personal time accruals grow significantly at various service intervals.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate due to race, color, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, national origin, veteran status or on the basis of disability.
Know Your Rights: Workplace discrimination is illegal
Energy Northwest produces reliable, affordable, environmentally responsible electric power and delivers it to Northwest public power utilities at the cost of production. Formed as a joint operating agency in 1957, the organization was created to serve the needs of public power by producing reliable, low-cost electricity while promoting public power activities in the region. Today the joint operating agency membership includes nearly every public power utility district in the state and several municipalities. The agency owns and operates four electricity generating facilities: White Bluffs Solar Station, Packwood Lake Hydroelectric Project, Nine Canyon Wind Project and Columbia Generating Station (nuclear energy facility). Energy Northwest also provides operations and maintenance services for generating facilities owned by other utilities, and develops new power generation facilities to meet growing demand. Oversight of Energy Northwest operations is provided by an 11-member executive board and a board of directors comprising one representative from each member utility. The agency’s vision is to be the region's leader in energy generation and public power solutions through sustained excellence in performance. To achieve its vision, Energy Northwest works to understand and meet the energy needs of its members – the Washington state public power utilities who serve nearly 1.5 million ratepayers. Meeting the goal means measuring current performance while looking for solutions to meet the region’s future energy needs. The vision calls for a strong power portfolio, including a variety of electricity generating operations and professional and technical services. The agency’s mission is to provide our public power members and regional ratepayers with safe, reliable and cost-effective power. Energy Northwest member utilities and employees are the agency’s primary stakeholders. They serve the ratepayers of the Pacific Northwest through our members and the Bonneville Power Administration. To best serve the ratepayers, we strive to provide reliable power and other energy services to the region at the least cost, while protecting the environment and ensuring the safety of our employees and the public.