Manager of System Planning and Distribution Engineering

Department:                Engineering

Section:                       Engineering

Reports to:                  General Manager

Supervises:                  Director of System Planning & Engineering, System Planning Engineer, Supervisor of Staking

FLSA status:               Exempt - Salaried

OBJECTIVE:

Provide leadership and supervision of the daily operations of System Planning, System Protection, Power Quality, and Staking. Manage the resources including capital and operations/maintenance budgets, Key Accounts, Distributive Generation (DG), Load Forecast, System Reliability, Electric Vehicle program. 

RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES:

1. Assist members in obtaining adequate, reliable, and safe electric service to new and existing Cooperative members at the most economical cost. 
2. Provide engineering expertise and assistance for management, staff, employees, and members of the Cooperative as well as all others as directed by Management and Cooperative policy. 
3. Perform System Coordination studies for all areas on the LCEC electrical system and determine proper application of protective equipment, preparing sectionalizing studies and the implementation of necessary construction. Make recommendations for protective equipment additions and adjustments.
4. Research new protective equipment technologies and make recommendations to management    for equipment additions and upgrades.
5. Perform fault studies and provide fault analysis reports to members at members’ request.
6. Generate and supervise maintenance schedule for existing LCEC protective equipment.
7. Assist in long- and short-range planning of the electric power distribution system by preparing long-range plans, work plans and load forecast. 
8. Assist in safe and adequate design, selection of materials and equipment, construction, and inspection of overhead and underground distribution line facilities. 
9. Perform routine and special power quality (PQ) studies and investigations including voltage levels, customer voltage and flicker complaints, phase balancing, capacitor and voltage regulator applications, economic sizing of conductors and transformers.
10. Assist in the preparation and application of rate studies, load studies, line extension policies, power requirement studies, right-of-way and joint use practices, and other studies as required or assigned. 
11. Assist with the selection of and application of materials consistent with RUS and the Cooperative's standards and practices, working with and coordinating the engineering phase of materials with manufacturers, representatives, and outside consultants as necessary.
12. Assist with engineering cost estimating, budgeting and overall schedule coordinating of overhead and underground distribution construction required to implement work plans, protection studies, line maintenance and the extension of distribution lines required to serve existing and new Cooperative members. 
13. Preparing departmental budgets and general schedules and periodically reviewing, applying, and modifying them as required.
14. Provide engineering expertise and leadership in all areas of NERC.
15. Recommend and implement new or improved engineering standards, practices, or methods.
16. Assist in personnel functions for those reporting position including development or position descriptions, selection, training, coaching, performance appraisals, rewards, discipline, recommendation for promotions, pay adjustments, leadership, and motivation.
17. Stay current with new or improved engineering and management techniques, standards, and practices.
18. Assist members with distributive generation (DG) requests.
19. Performs such other duties as may be requested or assigned by General Manager to fulfill the needs of the Cooperative in the interest of good management practices.

EDUCATION:

Incumbent must possess a four-year college degree in electrical engineering or a closely related engineering discipline. A Professional Engineer (P.E.) certification for the state of New Mexico is strongly preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

A minimum of ten (10) years of directly applicable, progressively responsible experience in addition to the degree requirement is required. Prior supervisory experience is required.

JOB KNOWLEDGE:

The fully competent incumbent must possess the following knowledge:

• Cooperative principles
• Substation design and operation
• Transmission design and operation
• Distribution design and operation
• Ability to apply sound engineering principles
• National Electrical Safety Code and National Electrical Code
• RUS construction specifications and approved materials
• LCEC rates and power contracts
• Preparation of accurate engineering reports, studies, and investigations
• Analyze complex, technical problems, exercise sound judgment
• Environmental principles and procedures
• Power forecasting principles
• Provide clear direction of work responsibilities and cultivate a team atmosphere
• Manage employees including leadership, planning, budgeting, project management and effective supervisory practices and scheduling
• Work cooperatively across departments 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office and other software programs
• Southwest Power Pool knowledge is a plus

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Understand and be supportive of the ideals and objectives of the cooperative and the rural electrification and state and federal power programs.
• Must be able to analyze trends in the operations of the cooperative and recommend any desirable amendments and improvements. 
• Must have excellent skills in planning and project management and be able to apply the latest techniques in these areas, including the development of charts, graphs, reports, and projection of trends shown therein for information to the board and general manager.
• Must have excellent skills in all relevant personnel management areas.  Must be able to work with Staking, Operations, and other departments.
• Must have computer skills necessary to perform the requirements of the position, including spreadsheets, databases, word processing and engineering analysis. 
• Must have the demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with various customers, community, and affiliated organizations (i.e., key accounts, local governments, vendors, other utilities, etc.). 
• Must have the ability to stay abreast of new developments in all the fields necessary to the effective functioning of the department and to provide leadership in ensuring that all those reporting to the position develop their skills.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Inside office work with some outside field work 
• Occasional exposure to high voltage energized equipment 
• Occasional overnight travel 
• Subject of being on-call as well as to be available quickly in the event of emergency
• Subject to drug/alcohol testing
• Employees are required to live within 30 minutes travel time from their designated work location
• Position is considered safety sensitive

The Cooperative offers competitive pay, benefits and provides great educational development opportunities.  We offer:

100% Cooperative paid health insurance

HSA - Health Savings Account

8% paid into employee 401k

Cooperative funded pension - NRECA

Dental, vision, life, and AFLAC