Description

The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) helps all electric power stakeholders accelerate the transformation to a carbon free electricity system. SEPA concentrates our focus on the following areas to maximize impact: Transportation, Storage, Resilience, Emerging Technologies, and Policy.

SEPA delivers value to our members through research, education, events, working groups, peer engagements, and member projects. We facilitate collaboration, develop innovative strategies and guidance for regulatory and business innovation, and provide actionable solutions for our members and partner organizations. For more information, visit www.sepapower.org.

Position

The Manager of Advocacy is responsible for leading and managing the non-lobbying advocacy efforts to build awareness of SEPA as a trusted partner in the clean energy transition. This role will monitor the national landscape of energy-related federal and state regulatory filings, proceedings, legislative hearings, and other related areas where SEPA’s publications, projects, and products can help policymakers and decision-makers in making informed decisions about technologies, policies, and business models. The Manager of Advocacy will ensure coordination and awareness of any SEPA filings made, testimony presented, with any state or federal agency both internally to the SEPA team and externally with the SEPA membership working closely with Communications, Membership, and Research & Industry Strategy teams. This role will also coordinate with SEPA subject matter experts and ensure timely availability of testimony/presentations, and working with the Executive team, helping identify appropriate individuals to represent SEPA before policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.

The salary range for this position is $74,000 - $105,000 with the target being around $90,000 based on experience.

Requirements

Advocacy

• Develop and implement non-lobbying advocacy processes, aligned with SEPA’s organizational goals, to identify, prioritize, and then educate and inform policymakers, regulators and decision makers.
• Monitor and track policy development, legislative and regulatory changes. Provide timely analysis to inform decision making.
• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, policymakers and regulators
• Establish, track and be responsible for advocacy-related Key Performance Indicators for the organization
• Prepare written materials such as legislative/policy summaries and briefs, filing and proceeding comments to educate and inform policymakers of SEPA’s respective work.
• Support SEPA representation at conferences, public hearings, and other forums to educate and inform on relevant issues.
• Understand, recommend and introduce advocacy opportunities to assigned members of the SEPA leadership team.
• Contribute to the development and scoping of SEPA’s annual planning process.

Industry Engagement

• Help develop content and represent SEPA externally by attending and speaking at key SEPA and/or industry events to raise SEPA’s visibility and to establish credibility for our work (e.g., moderate panels, support/advise core content committees as requested, etc.).
• Network with and engage other members of the electric industry to advance SEPA's work.

Project Management Leadership

• Lead projects as assigned with support from staff from across SEPA and input from internal and external stakeholders. Successfully collaborate with internal and external content experts.
• Ensure accuracy and high quality of data and writing represented in each deliverable.
• Effectively manages budgets of projects assigned, meeting all project management and delivery milestones.
• Work cross-organizationally to define marketing and engagement strategy for assigned projects.
• Support continuous improvement and streamline processes, as appropriate.

Communicate Research Findings

• Presents research findings and SEPA’s perspectives at conferences and events organized by SEPA, RE+, and external organizations.
• Converts research content into various formats working with SEPA’s marketing and communications teams based on target audience and delivery channel. This may include: webinars, podcasts, SEPA conference sessions, blogs, infographics, slide decks, industry articles or other formats as requested.
• Collaborate with SEPA’s marketing and communications team to create talking points, drive media coverage, publicize research externally through industry events, and social media channels.
• Represent SEPA by attending, moderating and speaking at SEPA, RE+ and industry events to raise visibility and to establish credibility for this work.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, energy policy, environmental science, engineering, or related field or equivalent experience
• 4 to 7 years of combined experience in the electricity industry, utility business models, electric utility operations and planning, renewable/distributed/new and emerging technologies, regulation or policy.
• Proficient knowledge of legislative/policy and regulatory processes
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex concepts and challenges into more fundamental and actionable components.
• Excellent project management skills.
• Experience as an author and presenter on utility and clean energy topics
• Proficiency in using digital tools for non-lobbying advocacy and outreach
• Experience using online databases to discover, collect and aggregate information on regulatory and legislative hearings, and present succinct summaries

Attributes

• Market awareness. You have a keen awareness of new and upcoming policies, market indicators, and/or technology breakthroughs and how they relate to the work you do.
• Forward thinking. You have the technical aptitude and industry experience to notice changes in the external landscape, understand the relevance of existing and upcoming policy directions, market indicators, and emerging technologies, and help SEPA members to bridge the gap between current needs and future directions—creating value and minimizing risk. You are comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty, knowing when to gather more information and when to take committed action. You are strategically flexible, adapting quickly to changing priorities and effective in a fast-paced environment.
• Influential. You are viewed as credible by key leaders in the energy sector and you are willing to take the lead on emerging issues, shaping other’s thinking and helping to shape the national conversation on key issues. 
• Skilled communicator. Your communication is clear and direct. You easily adjust your message to your audience and have exceptional written, oral, interpersonal and presentation skills. You add value by making connections between people and ideas, understanding, documenting, distilling and synthesizing key points.    
• Exceptional Problem-Solving Skills. You are self-reliant and flexible in your thinking. You evaluate issues from many angles and are creative at finding solutions to complex, multi-dimensional problems. 
• Skilled project manager. You show grace under pressure and excel at managing budgets and timelines. You juggle multiple projects and tasks with ease and composure. You are organized, demonstrate superb time management, know how to effectively prioritize work and wisely allocate and optimize resources. You enjoy creating processes that uphold rigorous standards.
• Results driven. You see the big picture and take the action necessary to produce bottom line results. You understand success in this role requires taking full strategic advantage of every opportunity. You have a keen ability to determine what is working and what is not, taking committed action to lead projects in the right direction.
• Strong attention to detail. You take responsibility for every element of your work, honoring your deadlines, understanding the vital importance of delivering high-quality work on time.     
• Proactive and self-motivated. You think ahead and anticipate challenges, taking initiative to drive projects forward and leading projects with minimal supervision. You work effectively on a team and independently and find the resources you need to get the job done.
• Deft political style. You are an adept consensus builder who excels at convening groups of people to reduce barriers. You work effectively with a multitude of stakeholders, volunteers, colleagues and research partners and build relationships at all career levels. Your diplomacy enables you to de-escalate emotions while driving projects forward.

What’s Attractive to the Right Candidate?

• Your work will help accelerate our nation’s transformation to a carbon-free electricity system.
• You will enjoy working in a collaborative and highly-supportive work environment with a great team of trustworthy and approachable colleagues. You will experience a culture driven by these organizational behaviors:
  • Adaptability - Be flexible and capable of change to achieve maximum impact.
  • Innovation - Drive new understanding & methods to grow ambitiously as an organization and as individuals.
  • Comradery - Work hard and have fun.
  • Humility - Start with questions, rather than answers.  Explore all sides of an issue.
  • Ownership - Think and act like owners of SEPA. Hold ourselves and each other accountable for our shared success
  • Transparency - Communicate honestly, frequently and openly.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

SEPA is committed to creating a diverse environment and is an equal opportunity employer. Employment is based on personal capabilities and qualifications. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected class as established by applicable law.

ADA Requirements and Disclaimer

This position description generally indicates the nature and levels of work, knowledge, skills, abilities and other essential functions as covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act expected of an incumbent. This role requires the ability to use standard office equipment and learn new software applications as necessary. This is a largely sedentary role; however, some traveling may be required. This position description is not designed to cover a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of an incumbent. An incumbent may be asked to perform other duties as required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.