City : See posting

Category : Other

Industry : Public Services/Utilities

Employer : Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)

INDEPENDENT ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OPERATOR (IESO)

Why join us? 

You’ve got great skills. And you want to use them in an organization where you know what you do every day matters. We get that.
We also know that ensuring Ontarians have access to affordable and reliable power doesn’t happen by accident. So we give you the tools, flexibility and support you need to achieve your goals, and development opportunities to help you grow. You’ll thrive in a collaborative, team-based environment that values your unique skills and experiences – and recognizes that when you do better, we become even better too.  

Who we are 

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) works at the centre of the province’s power system, ensuring Ontarians have access to reliable and cost-effective electricity when and where they need it. We operate the province’s electricity grid 24/7, design, run and oversee the wholesale electricity markets, and plan and prepare to meet Ontario’s electricity needs – now and into the future.

 

The Role

The IESO is recruiting up to two Engineering Managers to lead the following teams:

Power System Limits South: Responsible for establishing System Operating Limits, Interconnection Reliability Operating Limits, and control room instructions for the southern portion of the IESO-controlled grid.

Connection Assessments South: Responsible for assessing new and modified connection proposals to the IESO-controlled grid, identifying requirements and providing conditional approvals for connections.

The Engineering Manager will exercise full supervisory responsibilities over staff and oversee the administration of processes and assigned work programs/projects related to power system modelling, to transmission and resource reliability assessments, and to the support of operation of the market and power system in Ontario. Provide coordination related to the above within the IESO and externally. Lead and/or collaborate to define, develop, modify or implement processes.

What you'll do:

1. Reporting to the Senior Manager, exercise control for assigned departmental accountabilities including full supervisory responsibilities over staff:

• Plan, organize, and assign work of staff to maintain control of quality and work performance. Ensure staff output effectively meets business needs and goals, ensuring quality, quantity, timeliness of work to achieve business objectives. Provide advice and guidance, including direction to staff on the more complex aspects of the work as required, develop work methods, processes and procedures to maintain efficient and effective work operations. Make effective recommendations on staff development, training, hiring, discharge, performance increases and performance management. Provide clear expectations, performance measures, meaningful feedback and corrective action as required.
• Ensure staff training on work methods and techniques including awareness of established and changing practices and procedures.
• Participate as a management resource to resolve labour relations matters such as job challenges, grievances and arbitration cases. May be called upon to act as a management representative on various committees, teams, etc.

2. Exercise control, oversight and supervision of assigned work programs related to power system demand, supply resources, transmission infrastructure, and participation in markets and programs, including some or all of the following:

• Resource and transmission adequacy assessments, documenting the expected performance of the IESO-controlled grid.
• Coordination of assessment procedures and study results with NERC and NPCC as required.
• Internally and externally coordinated demand forecasts, capacity and energy adequacy forecasts and transmission adequacy forecasts.
• Integration of relevant transmission assessments with resource assessments.
• Assessments of proposed infrastructure changes, such as modifications, additions and retirements, on the IESO-controlled grid.
• Production of timely and accurate models for operational and planning purposes and the maintenance of data, tools and systems as applicable.
• Assess and mange compliance with relevant reliability standards, criteria, policies and market rules.
• Develop planning and operating criteria necessary to maintain the reliability of the Ontario power system.
• Manage reliability assessment of transmission and resource outages on the IESO-controlled-grid, including the development on outage specific limits and operating instructions to support real-time operations.
• Prepare instructions and guidelines for the operation of the IESO-controlled grid.
• Develop and support the Operations Engineer function including ensuring training and incident follow-up.
• Ensure the establishment and maintenance of documents, procedures, business controls and performance measures in support of department functions.
• Provide reliability organization support as required.
• Oversee Ontario power system operating security, including joint studies with interconnected system operators.
• Develop and maintain automated monitoring of the power system against operational instructions as required to operate the IESO-controlled grid and the IESO-administered market.
• Establish transmission capability and provide other technical support as required for the operation of the Transmission Rights market.
• Safeguard the confidentiality of electricity system information.
• Provide analysis and advice to the Ontario Government, the Ontario Energy Board and other sector agencies on matters related to operating and planning the Ontario power system.
• To act as a witness, and participate in regulatory hearings as required.
• Lead and manage projects and change management sponsored by the business unit.

3. Prepare business plans, budgets and projections as required. Plan work programs and establish budget in order to achieve objectives. Analyze expenditures and performance achieved relative to budget and objectives.

4. Provide a consultative service to other departments and/or business units on matters related to power system assessments. Coordinate and assist the efforts of other departments in accordance with IESO authorities and needs. Ensure compliance with established reliability standards, market rules, specifications, practices and procedures. Lead other departments and/or collaborate with other departments in adopting future methods and practices beneficial to the IESO and its stakeholders.

5. Participate in internal and external committees and work groups on matters related to assessing of system reliability. Represent the company on these external groups. Advocate and advance IESO interests with responsible parties while coordinating IESO activities with their activities. Publish and present assessments and findings related to system reliability to external committees and stakeholders.

6. Discuss plans, assessments, and findings with personnel in other departments and business units, to allow them to fulfill their obligations and to coordinate in the best interest of the IESO.

What you need to succeed:

• Requires knowledge of electrical theory, power system analysis and control, mathematics, statistics, computer science and the like to carry out analytical studies related to adequacy and security assessments. Requires knowledge of technical writing to prepare effective reports.
• Requires the completion of a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering degree from an accredited university or by having the equivalent education.
• Requires a license to engage in the practice of professional engineering in Ontario.
• Requires extensive exposure to the overall power system planning and operation through progressive training in this technical field.
• Requires specific experience as applicable to the particular specialty of the group.
• Experience will be related to the fields of power system planning, utilization of generation resources, secure operation of bulk electricity system, reliability assessments, power system models and assessment and monitoring tools. Background experiences will include electrical engineering design concepts as they relate to the functions and characteristics of power system components, analytical studies and the application of computer techniques to solve power system problems, an understanding of control systems and control theory, familiarity with electric energy and transmission rights market operations, practices policies and market rules, an understanding of constrained economic dispatch, provincial operating and system requirements, particulars of power system operation, including technical features of equipment and facilities, high tension transmission, system interconnection and methods of attaining efficiency in power production and interchange between systems, leading project teams, providing technical advice, training junior staff, participation in business planning, budgets and projection activities and collaborating with other business units or external stakeholders to facilitate, manage and implement strategic or critical initiatives.
• A period of over 10 years and up to and including 12 years is considered necessary to gain this experience.

What’s in it for you

• A comprehensive total rewards program, including best-in-class benefits and a flexible workplace 
• A challenging, fast-paced and collaborative team environment, where your perspectives and experiences matter 
• Leaders who support your growth and success through regular feedback and coaching 
• The opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the industry 
   

Deadline: August 28, 2023

For future reference, please ensure to save a copy of the job description as it will no longer be available once the posting closes.

At the IESO, we know that achieving great results depends on embracing diversity by attracting, developing and retaining people from a wide variety of backgrounds. We do this by ensuring our recruitment and advancement policies are fair and equitable, and by creating an accessible and inclusive environment – one that values every team member’s unique skills and experiences and ensures they have the support they need to achieve their potential. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please let us know. 

We thank you for your interest in a career at the IESO, but we will only contact those candidates selected for an interview. 

Note: The successful candidate must be eligible to work in Canada and will be subject to a background check.

The IESO offers a hybrid work model program to most of our employees, based on business needs. Individuals participating in the program can work an average of three days per week remotely within Ontario. It also offers three flex weeks when individuals can work remotely within Ontario . When working in the office, you will be located at our Mississauga location.

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Sign up for talent community; stay in touch, find out about new opportunities – and discover how you can make a difference. Discover how we use our expertise and commitment to deliver reliable and affordable electricity to Ontario’s businesses and communities, and how we’re innovating to secure a stronger energy future for all Ontarians. Visit Careers at IESO and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

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