Director of Regulatory Engagement

The Director of Regulatory Engagement will work closely in collaboration with the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Director of Government Affairs to develop and implement Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE)’s regulatory and policy agendas. The Director will facilitate CSE’s regulatory engagement activities, including ex-parte and quasi-legislative communications, as well as compliance filings, advice letters, and participation in relevant proceedings at the state and federal level. Foremost of the duties of the Director is to support CSE’s key relationships with state regulatory agencies, through regular meetings and continuous interactions, on behalf of both our existing programs and new initiatives. The Director will manage a team of two to five staff with expertise in specific policy subject matter and will lead the team in tracking proceedings and leading preparation of regulatory comments, as well as informing CSE program teams of relevant proceedings and decisions. The Director will work closely with policy and program staff to further specific program goals and enhance our organization’s reputation with regulators. This will involve establishing and maintaining routine communications and productive working relationships with regulatory agency officials, utility staff, and other key stakeholders while ensuring that policy team staff maintain them as well.

Core Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and execution of CSE’s regulatory agency engagement, including ex-parte, quasi-legislative, and general informational meetings.
• Direct regulatory engagement, including actively tracking key and participating in regulatory actions and proceedings, scheduling, filings, and notices regarding Distributed Energy Resources, Clean Transportation, Climate Change, and other mission-related topics.
• Develop and maintain positive, productive relationships with agency commissioners, regulatory staff, and other relevant stakeholder leaders through a regular cadence of meetings and follow-up.
• Assist in the development of CSE positions on specific legislative efforts in Distributed Energy Resources, Clean Transportation, Climate Change, and other mission-related areas.
• Collaborate and coordinate with relevant stakeholder groups on regulatory initiatives.
• Proactively engage key regional and statewide stakeholders on issues of importance to CSE’s mission.
• Provide forward guidance to the Policy team and develop regulatory updates, including the Policy Team annual calendar.
• Monitor state regulatory policy developments that are relevant to CSE; prepare written and oral reports interpreting and detailing these developments.
• Represent CSE, its programs and policy positions in a variety of public and official forums.
• Manage at least one and up to three direct reports supporting the above tasks, while fostering junior staff’s professional development.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 5-10 years of experience in state regulatory work.
• In-depth knowledge of state regulatory agencies and processes, including ex-parte and other forms of communications, in addition to filings, response letters, and program handbooks.
• Strong knowledge of, and relationships with, key networks in state government and agencies on issues related to sustainable energy and clean transportation.
• Excellent skills in analyzing, understanding, and translating complex legislative and policy issues to advise on pending legislation, regulatory action, and changes in key government policy.
• Direct experience with energy policy development and advocacy at the state level.
• Excellent, efficient writing and editing abilities in the policy context.
• Ability to communicate clearly, tactfully, and persuasively to individuals and groups.
• Proven networking abilities and a talent for coalition-building and ideation.
• Demonstrated success in developing robust policy solutions.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Sense of discretion, independent judgment, and the ability to work effectively under deadline.
• Proficiency with standard office software packages such as MS Office: Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook.

Preferred

• Knowledge of CSE programs/projects.
• Highly developed research skills; ability to find and synthesize information on specific energy topics, utilizing the widest variety of credible sources.
• In-depth knowledge of at least one transportation or energy-specific policy issue (preferably several).
• Able to handle multiple projects simultaneously within sometimes challenging time constraints.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy or related discipline/coursework from a four-year college or university.
• Juris Doctorate Degree Required
• Must have passed The State Bar of California and remain in good standing