Senior Project Manager

Minimum Pay Rate: $132,080.00 

Maximum Pay Rate: $174,928.00 

Civil Service Status: Civil Service 

Apply by Date: 04/17/2024 

 

The Grants, Partnerships, Research & Demonstration (GPRD) department acts as a catalyst and enabler to SMUD’s 2030 Zero Carbon and long-term sustainability goals. Our research programs focus on three priority topic areas: Electrification, Virtual Power Plants, and Thermal Transition. The Electrification topic area includes accelerating customer adoption and mitigating grid impacts of both Electric Transportation and Building Electrification. The Virtual Power Plants topic area includes aggregating and managing customer and utility-owned distributed energy resources (i.e. batteries, electric vehicles, thermostats, etc.) to provide grid operational support.

 

This position will be a Senior Project Management role supporting the entire R&D team, with a focus on Electrification, by providing managerial skills to plan, organize, budget, staff, direct, coordinate, control and evaluate assigned projects as well as helping develop, propose and plan new initiatives. 

 

GPRD is responsible for research that advances innovation in critical enterprise initiatives, furthers our position of industry influence, and prepares SMUD for long-term solutions and alternatives. To support these outcomes, R&D is seeking a Sr. Project Manager to:

• Provide leadership, project management skills and supervision necessary to plan, organize, and conduct, advanced technologies Research & Development (R&D) activities in multiple topic areas.
• Act as subject matter expert, project manager and/or construction manager for the development of advanced generation technologies and business model strategies and programs, to support attainment of SMUD's business objectives.
• Provide insights into the relationship between advanced generation technologies, customer resources, demand response/load flexibility technologies and their impacts on resource planning and forecasting, energy trading, system operations, grid planning, power generation, and distribution assets. 
• Manage the successful implementation of large-scale, multi-stakeholder, state and federal grant award projects. 
• Possess and leverage a strong technical understanding of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs)
• Research design and evaluation 
• Technoeconomic and feasibility assessments 

 

In addition to these proficiencies, the ideal candidate will be ready to engage in the following activities:

• Strategic research planning
• Research design and evaluation 
• Technoeconomic and feasibility assessments 
• Grant acquisition, implementation, and management, primarily with federal and state funding organizations
• Business planning and economic assessments
• Networking with industry and local government and engaging in relevant policy and legislation
• Influencing codes and standards for emerging technology
• Organizational navigation within SMUD

 

Note: to promote broad applicant representation we encourage all applicants with strong project management experience to apply for this position.

Purpose

Provides project management expertise and services in assigned area including to plan, organize, manage, coordinate, and execute activities and projects to ensure adequate, reliable, efficient, and cost effective systems and projects for SMUD.

Nature and Scope

Serves as a technical or functional expert or consultant providing expertise and/or direction in one or more areas of a professional discipline and assumes responsibility for resolving complex problems and overseeing complex projects. May also serve in a Lead role and assist in planning, coordinating, prioritizing, monitoring, and evaluating the work results in assigned area and in selecting, training, motivating, evaluating, and developing lower-level personnel.

 

This role typically oversees or leads one or more large, complex projects. Or supervise PMs and a team supporting portfolios. Substations, Data Co-Lo, Large Overhauls Power Generations. Manages enterprise/OAT projects with budgets in excess of $10,000,000. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Manages activities and projects in assigned area; develops necessary project plans, cost estimates, project budgets, work breakdowns and schedules, and project summary descriptions and justifications for department, SMUD, and/or multi-utility or agency review.
• Ensures integrated planning and cooperation by internal/external partners or stakeholders to support successful completion of assigned projects; coordinates project planning with other departments and entities through meetings and shared written and oral reporting and communications; provides leadership an