FirstEnergy at a Glance
We are a forward-thinking electric utility powered by a diverse team of employees committed to making customers’ lives brighter, the environment better and our communities stronger.
FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to safety, reliability, and operational excellence. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, FirstEnergy includes one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, more than 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, and a regulated generating fleet with a total capacity of 3,780 megawatts.
About the Opportunity
This is an open position with FirstEnergy Service Co., a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. [SC00]
Residence Requirements
This position requires the ability to be on-site at an office location as needed. Applicants must be willing to relocate to within a 1-hour commute of one of the locations located in Akron, OH (preferred), Reading or Greensburg, PA, or Fairmont, WV.
Reporting to the Manager, Tx & Dx Products, this position leads a team focused on applications & integrations across GIS, Vegetation Management, and Generation. The primary systems included are:
- Geospatial: ESRI Geographic Information System (GIS), GIS Gatekeeper Navigate suite (including mobile GIS for field workers and underground locate solution), Distribution Design Studio (DDS), and Vegetation Management System (VMS).
- Generation: Aligne Fuels Management, ZEMA, SAP Generation, and various plant applications.
Position may be filled at Akron, OH; Greensburg, PA; Reading, PA; or Fairmont, WV locations. Position is currently remote but may work at or visit a facility based on business need.
Responsibilities Include:
The successful candidate will have direct knowledge of and/or provide guidance for:
- Champion FE’s Core Values & Behaviors, through coaching and by personal example
- Maintain systems control: Geospatial applications and corresponding mobile application solutions
- Drive issues to closure per IT impact, urgency & priority guidelines; follow up on problem resolution, to assure that root cause is understood and feedback to clients is completed
- Ensure that IT standards and processes are adopted and followed
- Achieve full operational awareness on all system changes
- Accept ownership and accountability of issues escalated to this level
- Manage software contracts and associated external vendor relationships
- Establish & maintain internal customer relationships
- Serve as the liaison between IT and the assigned business areas by developing and managing relationships with the business
- When necessary, lead/facilitate meetings and/or workshops to produce key deliverables (and often driving consensus from a group of stakeholders)
- Manage work: Lead the coordination of tactical IT planning of IT work requests and projects
- Drive the initiation, monitoring, implementation and completion of IT work
- Effectively use team resources to focus on the highest priority work, schedule all work, assign resources to the work, and accomplish the assigned work
- Consider and leverage other sourcing options as necessary, whether staff augmentation or specialized contractor resources
- Develop quarterly plans and estimates for work to be accomplished, monitor progress and quality, and report on status of work
- Assure that adequate documentation of systems is maintained including Disaster Recovery
- Assess risk, provide options, and define impacts of options on all work
- Manage People: Direct personnel actions in accordance with FE guidelines and procedures
- Engage in talent management & creation of development plans
- Clearly communicate priorities & expectations to the staff
- Provide ongoing employee performance feedback via check-in conversations with employees
- Provide mentoring for growth and development of team
- Monitor skill gaps, perform analysis, and create/follow plans necessary to close those gaps
- Establish roadmap & strategic plans: Support manager in establishing a rolling 1-3 year solution roadmap
- Contribute to technology strategic plans across Transmission & Distribution
- Contribute to the development of business cases and priorities of work requests
- Stay current with business solutions, subsequently aiding both IT and business process owners in continuously improving their processes
- Keep updated on IT strategic initiatives
- Ensure staff awareness and adoption of IT standards, processes, and methodologies
- Seek involvement of correct groups and collaborate to arrive at sound decisions
Qualifications Include:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Electrical Engineering or a related degree, or commensurate experience
- Minimum 5 years commensurate experience (with or without a bachelor’s degree). Commensurate experience includes, but is not limited to:
- Working within a team environment to build IT solutions with FE business units
- Hands-on experience configuring and/or developing complex software applications
- Applying FE’s Application Development Methodology and/or agile software delivery methods for delivery of IT solutions
- Applying IT processes which include but are not limited to change management, release management, and Cyber Security policies and procedures
- Applying project management principles and methodologies
- Strong analytical, decision making, and planning skills
- Ability to
- Motivate and engage employees through effective communication
- Provide technical supervision of staff
- Plan for and support employees in career development opportunities
- Work among multiple assignments all while overseeing production support
- Work effectively in a virtual team environment
- Drive effective prioritization of work based on business need
- Willingness to work flexible hours and be available for call in and after-hours work
- Strong interpersonal, communications, presentation, training & mentoring skills
Preferred Qualifications:
- Demonstrated experience and understanding of business processes supported by the mapping, design, and forestry business units, ideally GIS, VMS, and mobile applications across Transmission and Distribution
- Strong project management experience with proven track record leading initiatives
- Prior leadership experience preferred but not required
- Experience with IT general controls which include but are not limited to change management, release management, and cyber security policies and procedures
- Experience working with geospatial platforms such as ESRI
- Experience working with databases (Oracle, SQL Server, etc.) & tools (TOAD, etc.)
- Proven technical skills supporting enterprise level applications
- Experience supporting vendor solutions both on-premise and cloud
- Experience with Sarbanes Oxley (SOx) compliance processes
- Strong Windows operating systems knowledge including profile management and advanced connectivity/network settings
- Experience with the mixed mobile device environment – Windows and iOS powered devices with offline and online capabilities
Benefits, Compensation & Workforce Diversity
At FirstEnergy, employees are key to our success. We depend on their talents to meet the challenges of our changing business environment. We are committed to rewarding individual and team efforts through our total rewards philosophy which includes competitive pay plus incentive compensation, a company-sponsored pension plan, 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution, a choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs, as well as skills development training with tuition reimbursement. Please visit our website at www.firstenergycorp.com to learn more about all of our employee rewards programs. FirstEnergy proudly supports workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with a disability. No recruiters or agencies without a previously signed contract. Unable to sponsor or transfer H-1B visas at this time.
Safety
Safety is a core value for FirstEnergy and is essential to all of our business activities. We ensure employees have the tools, information, and processes to perform their duties in a manner that assures safety for themselves, their co-workers, our customers and the public. Our goals are to provide a safe work environment, to maintain an accident-free, injury-free workplace, and to promote and maintain public safety. To meet these goals, we dedicate ourselves to achieving world-class safety standards.
Position Classification
Exempt
FirstEnergy Human Resources Team
