Manager Program Delivery

Minimum Pay Rate: $154,190.40

Maximum Pay Rate: $204,318.40

Civil Service Status: Civil Service

Apply by Date: 04/07/2025

Posting Type: Open

The intent of this posting is to fill one (1) regular full-time position, and establish an eligibility list which may be used to fill future limited-term or regular full-time vacancies over the next two (2) years.

SMUD is seeking a highly engaged professional to provide vision, leadership and expertise for the success and sustainability of SMUD's Residential and Assistance programs. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker, and an enthusiastic, team-oriented, and self-motivated person who is passionate about vulnerable and under resourced communities, and the role SMUD plays in achieving our goals and not leaving any community behind. This position manages, monitors, and implements Residential and income eligible programs with attention to customer experience, affordability, equitable access, and community engagement.

Key success factors for this important leadership position are the ability to interpret and convert the strategic elements of SMUD goals into measurable annual goals and the ability to lead a team to develop tactical plans that include monthly and annual targets for customer programs with focused solutions that are easy, responsive, trusting, and community minded.

This position also acts as a key liaison with multiple internal groups and business units across SMUD, as well as external groups and community-based organizations, to ensure coordination and linkage between program implementation and strategies, policies, standards, regulations, and industry best practices.

The ideal candidate will have 10 or more years of responsible relevant work experience with customer or energy related activities; experience with contract negotiations; experience writing business reports and giving oral presentations; and experience improving process and customer experience inefficiencies.

Application Requirements

We recommend you prepare your responses to the following prompts in advance as you will be required to submit a response during the application process:

1. Describe your experience working with vulnerable customers (low income, moderate income, disadvantaged and under resourced communities) and provide specific examples. Include in your answer the opportunities and barriers to connecting with this segment of customers.
2. What are the core competencies that you feel are necessary to be successful in this role? Please provide examples of how you have demonstrated these competencies successfully in a leadership role.

Failure to respond to the questions may preclude you from moving forward in the process. Please do not indicate "refer to resume" as a response to the question as it will be viewed as incomplete.

Purpose

To provide management, expertise, and guidance by overseeing all aspects of program delivery and services including energy efficiency, building and transportation electrification, load management and flexibility, green pricing, renewable energy, special assistance and other retail electricity resource programs ensuring excellent customer experiences, contract management practices, and high-quality electric services to SMUD customers.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensures programs and services meet specified performance standards and metrics to assure high-quality, customized service to customers; manages and/or provides oversight for multiple programs and/or program portfolios; negotiates terms and conditions of products and services considering both the customer and SMUD perspectives; directs staff in efforts to provide solutions, new business opportunities and products and services that meet customer needs in accordance with approved business strategic goals.
• Supervises the formulation and implementation of policies, procedures and program portfolios for delivery through close coordination with department management; provides policy and procedure guidance for implementation of products and services; and ensures contract terms that meet customer needs within approved budgets and SMUD revenue requirements.
• Directs the assessment of customer needs and benchmarking of competitor service by documenting customer needs and effective solutions offered; coordinates efforts to survey customers for satisfaction levels and product/service interests; participates in conducting industry best practices benchmarking and assessment of customer/process requirements and performance assessment; interprets and communicates industry patterns, trends, impacts on pricing and sales and early warning signals of customer issues through literature search and participating in industry, governmental and professional organizations and meetings to gather intelligence; and ensures customer-driven program and process improvements through benchmarking of competitor services, gathering information on customer opinions and industry trends to anticipate customer issues.
• Develops business plans with unit management that support department and SMUD goals by identifying program implementation, marketing, sales and service strategies and short- and long-term objectives; oversees coordination of work process structure and design to meet desired outcomes and target productivity and efficiency measures; supports the strategies and objectives and annual goals with resource planning and budget formulation; contributes to business planning, coordination of segment process workflows and performance expectations/outcomes; and promotes achievements of unit and SMUD goals through resource allocation.

Required Education

Bachelor’s degree in applicable discipline at an accredited college or university, or equivalent experience. If no degree, a minimum of nine (9) years of relevant experience is required.

Required Experience Qualifications

At least five (5 ) years of progressively responsible relevant work experience with customer program planning or development, implementation and delivery in a specialty area such as customer segmentation, product development, product management, pricing, research, or finance, and at least five (5 ) years of experience in a supervisory and/or lead role (experience can run concurrently).

Knowledge Of

Planning, implementation, and delivery best practices for customer programs and services; customer and business decision-making processes and preferences; techniques of negotiation and persuasion; techniques and methods of financial evaluation; process design and fundamentals for continuous process improvement; federal and state laws and regulations related to supervisory practices and employee rights; methods and techniques for planning, organizing, directing and controlling work activities; methods and techniques for training staff; policies and procedures for evaluating and recording performance results; fundamentals and practices for budget administration; fundamentals and practices for motivating, coaching, mentoring, training, and developing; safety policies, practices and procedures; standard operating procedures for modern office equipment including a computer and applicable software; English grammar, punctuation and vocabulary standards.

Skills To

Conceptualize innovative and practical solutions to meet customer needs and issues; listen effectively to identify opportunities and solutions; resolve operational and personnel problems or conflicts; tactfully handle customer complaints and resolve issues; readily adapt to change and provide change management for staff; coordinate multiple priorities and activities; identify and correct operational problems; develop and implement new and revised policies and procedures to provide for the effective operation of the area of responsibility; negotiate and process contracts and related documents and assure contractor coordination and cooperation; plan, organize, direct, control, and review the work of others; prepare performance plans and evaluations for the staff; develop performance metrics and accountability for the staff and the work unit; coordinate the work of the function or unit with other SMUD entities; prepare and implement safety plans, procedures and practices for unit; utilize a personal computer and/or computer terminal, systems and software relevant to the job; communicate effectively orally and in writing internally/externally; establish and maintain effective working relationships internally/externally.

Desirable Qualifications

• Ten (10 ) or more years of experience in the following:
• Engaging and responding to direct inquiries from Senior Leadership (Directors, Executives, Board Members, etc)
• Managing and/or administering business processes within the meter to cash life cycle
• Business process development and process improvement implementations
• Experience working with community-based organizations and thorough understanding of assistance offerings, outreach and education.
• Experience managing complex budgets, forecasting and accrual processes.
• Experience with contract management including request for proposal (RFP) and memorandums of understanding.
• Experience in the development and implementation of product and program plans including direct install energy efficiency, building & transportation electrification programs for income eligible customers.
• Strong analytical and information synthesis skills and ability to make well-supported recommendations for planning and decision-making.
• Superior communication skills.
• Ability to lead and influence at all levels of the organization.