SMART GRID CONSUMER COLLABORATIVE

Assistant Director Position Description

Job Title: Assistant Director

Reports To: Executive Director

Salary: Commensurate with Experience

Job Requirements: Minimum of 5 years of energy experience is required

What is Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative?
The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative is a consumer focused non-profit organization aiming to promote the understanding and benefits of modernized electrical systems among all stakeholders in the United States. Membership is open to all consumer and environmental advocates, technology vendors, research scientists, and electric utilities for sharing in research, best practices, and collaborative efforts of the group.

Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative Mission:
Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative is a 501c3 nonprofit organization chartered to be the trusted source representing consumers, advocates, utilities, and technology providers in order to advance the adoption of a reliable, efficient, and secure smart grid and ensure long-lasting sustainable benefits to consumers. We want to see the country’s energy infrastructure moved into the modern age without anyone feeling as if their perspective or their priorities have been ignored.

SGCC fulfills this mission by:
• listening to consumers via primary consumer research
• collaborating with stakeholders via shared best practices
• educating consumers via events, outreach, and messaging
toolkits for use by members.

Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative Accomplishments:
After being formed in March, 2010, the SGCC matured into a fully functional organization with many activities moving forward in parallel, supported by operational processes and a management structure. Accomplishments:
• Consumer-facing factsheets were created to address relevant topics: Benefits and Value of Smart Grid, Data Privacy and Smart Meters, Radio Frequency and Smart Meters, and Myths vs. Truths of Smart Meters.
• Excellence in Customer Engagement Report – A comprehensive analysis identified best practices for smart grid consumer engagement based on real-world findings from 20 mature AMI projects around the country.
• 2012 State of the Consumer Report – Summarized overarching themes and resulting implications from SGCC primary research studies of 2011.
• Consumer Voices 2012 – Qualitative focus group analyses will explore in greater depth the consumer segments defined by 2011’s study.
• Smart Grid Consumer Pulse and Segmentation Waves 1 through III – these quantitative surveys identify what consumers know, what they think, and their preferences related to energy and smart grid programs.
• Spotlight on Low Income Consumers – a quantitative study that surveyed consumers to understand their energy and smart grid knowledge, acceptance, and engagement among communities in the U.S. with low income or non-English speaking populations.
• Success Stories in Community Engagement – A qualitative study which examined utility outreach strategies that have been successful in creating value for consumes a variety of programs and deployments.
• Invitations to speak at conferences – Throughout 2011 and 2012, representatives from many different member organizations were given the opportunity to speak on SGCC webinars or SGCC-moderated panels at major smart grid gatherings.
• Resource library – The addition to SGCC’s website of an indexed, intuitively-searchable library of members’ smart grid research, white papers, and factsheets will provide a one-stop-shopping source for smart grid reference materials.
• Myth-busting video – a 3:30 minute video which addressed the major concerns of consumers related to RF emissions and data privacy in a fun and provocative way.

Summary of Responsibilities:
The primary responsibility associated with the Assistant Director (AD) position is to “assist in success” of SGCC. The AD, together with the Executive Director and the Board of Directors, is responsible for the fulfillment of the strategic plan and will assist in its execution. The AD shall serve as a spokesperson, market the organization, raise revenue, membership development, and pursue sponsorships and grants. In terms of the day-to-day operations the AD will provide leadership for the staff, manage contractors, provide member services, support the Executive Director, the Board of Directors and its committees, and manage the business affairs of the corporation.

Key Functions:
1. Raise Revenue. Market SGCC to potential members, recruit new members, pursue sponsorships for SGCC events, write grant proposals, and create and distribute marketing materials for member companies and SGCC staff.
2. Membership Services. Maintain the membership database, perform accounting, invoicing, and receipt of funds, and track and responding to member questions and concerns.
3. Stakeholder Education. Be the “public face” of SGCC, perform spokesperson functions, inform relevant stakeholders about the merits of consumer education and SGCC activities surrounding research findings, education committee deliverables, and events promotion.
4. Program Management. Provide tracking, accountability, and reporting for all SGCC work plans, task lists, and projects.
5. Program Delivery. Participate in, and guide the relevant committees to ensure that SGCC delivers on its mission. Promote active and broad participation by volunteers in all areas of the organization's work. Manage SGCC face-to-face meetings. Provide operational support to the work of all member and Board committees and working groups. Manage the education component of the SGCC to ensure tools, messaging, whitepapers, etc. are developed and available to educate key stakeholders on the value of Smart Grid for the consumer, the utility and the country.
6. Partner and Relationship Management. Establish partnerships with key organizations critical to accomplishing SGCC’s goals. Manage those relationships and the linkages between them. Oversee and manage contracting programs with consulting or government agencies.
7. Organizational. Manage the operations of the SGCC to carry out plans and policies authorized by the Board. Execute legal documents as authorized. Assure that the organization has a long-range strategy and makes consistent and timely progress towards those goals. Lead the development of program, organizational, and financial plans. Interface with all relevant Board committees. See that the Board is kept fully informed on the condition of the organization and all important factors influencing it. Arrange for and support Board meetings by phone.
8. Public Relations. Serve as the public face of the organization, assuring that SGCC and its mission are consistently presented with a strong, positive image. Deliver speeches, conduct interviews, manage marketing and PR activities, and interface with the relevant committees. Maintain a working knowledge of significant developments and trends in the field.
9. Financial. Manage all accounting functions for budgeting, forecasting and analysis. Maintain official records and documents, and ensure compliance with federal, state and local regulations. Oversee the collection of dues from members. Make monthly reports to the Board of Directors forecasting cash flow and comparing budget to actual. In consultation with the Board, solicit grants from government agencies and charitable foundations.
10. Staff Leadership. Supervise and manage day-to-day activities of the staff and ensure they maintain a high level of performance, and manage contracted resources.

Key Skills:
The successful candidate will have strong written and oral communication skills. They will have relevant organizational, administrative, partnering and financial management experience. The Assistant Director will be comfortable in a hands-on role and willing to do the essential tasks required to grow a young organization. A four-year degree is required in one of the following fields: business, communications, electrical, electronics, or power systems engineering field. A minimum of 5 years of experience in the energy is required.

Other Considerations:
The Assistant Director is expected to manage a virtual office and should be prepared to work 40 hours per week from their own facilities and manage remote subcontractors. Non-profit experience is strongly preferred, including experience getting work done through volunteer committees. Experience in and contacts in the electric power and information technology industries are an advantage. Experience in other electricity-related industries is helpful, particularly those with a strong regulatory or policy component.

Send Resumes to:
demika.thomas-hill@smartgridcc.org. All inquiries and submissions will be held in strictest confidence.