Director Standards Development

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. The mission of the E-ISAC is to reduce cyber and physical security risk to the North American electricity industry by providing unique insights, leadership, and collaboration. CRISP is a unique and critical threat intelligence sharing program for the U.S. electricity industry.

Your Impact

The Director of Standards Development is responsible for directing all aspects of NERC’s continent-wide standards development process by providing oversight, guidance, and coordination of the timely development of technically excellent reliability standards to ensure an adequate level of reliability of the bulk power system. In addition, the Director of Standards leads standards managers responsible for the standards development process. The Director of Standards Development works closely with the ERO and industry experts, NERC legal, engineering and compliance staff, and federal regulators to ensure quality reliability standards that are intended to maintain (or preserve) and mitigate (or minimize) risks to the bulk power system. The Director of Standards Development reports to the Vice President, Engineering and Standards.

Your Role

• Direct, manage, and lead the standards managers responsible for overseeing standards developers and standards development specialists in the timely development of technically excellent reliability standards consistent with priorities established in the NERC Reliability Standards Development Plan.
• Provide vision and strategic leadership for this department and the ERO Enterprise on standards development.
• Foster a culture of learning/education (for both industry and the ERO Enterprise) on the standards development process.
• Actively coordinate work with other departments and with other ERO groups such as Compliance Assurance, Reliability Risk Management and groups in the ERO Enterprise.
• Establish and maintain relationships with industry, regulatory, and governmental organizations involved with electric system reliability (e.g., NAESB, NAGF, FERC, RTO/ISOs).
• Provide standards information 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.
• Communicate the progress of standards development activities to the NERC Standards Committee, industry stakeholders, and governmental agencies.
• Oversee the collaboration of standards staff with the Standards Committee and governmental agencies to ensure the industry-staffed drafting teams responsible for standards development activities produce technically excellent reliability standards in accordance with applicable guidelines and the schedule established for the project.
• Testify as necessary in all regulatory jurisdictions as required to ensure approval of proposed reliability standards.
• Provide input to the development of the annual Business Plan and Budget.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in one or more related technical fields (e.g., power engineering or computer science); additional postgraduate work is desired.
• Ten to fifteen years bulk power system experience, which may include equivalent regulatory experience (e.g. standards development, compliance oversight, legal, and/or regional experience).
• 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.
• Ability to facilitate groups of industry subject matter experts and to work effectively and closely with peers in a teamwork environment.
• 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

• Application of NERC standards.
• The Standards Development Process.
• Ability to work as a business leader in a high intensity fast-paced environment
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communications skills.
• Demonstrated experience with public policy or regulatory affairs.
  
  

Other

• 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.
• Travel necessary: Passport required for North American travel.
• This position has been classified as exempt.
• The position may be based remotely but must be able to travel to as 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 Enterprise, and the stakeholders of NERC.
• We exemplify NERC cultural behaviors:
• We reward, high-quality, creative, and innovative work.
• We strive to attract, engage, and retain top talent.
• We value and respect diverse perspectives.
• We provide a safe, inclusive, and collaborative work environment.
• We 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.
• We are champions for diversity and inclusion. We seek out and value diverse perspectives.