Vice President of Electric Operations and Engineering

Sartor and Associates Inc. has been retained by PUC Services Inc. of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to recruit a Vice President of Electric Operations and Engineering. This is a critical leadership role, reporting directly to the PUC Services Chief Operating Officer. 

BACKGROUND

PUC Services Inc. is a progressive utility services company operating as a wholly owned private company of the Corporation of the City of Sault Ste. Marie, with a focus on safety, innovation, reliability and customer satisfaction. PUC Services Inc. operates multiple utilities within and around the City of Sault Ste. Marie, including the supply, treatment and distribution of municipal drinking water, the distribution of electricity, and the operation of wastewater treatment facilities. PUC Services Inc. manages the assets and business of PUC Distribution Inc., manages the assets and businesses of the Public Utilities Commission (city’s water treatment and distribution system), and operates the city’s wastewater treatment facilities under multi-year contracts. PUC Services Inc. also provides billing and customer care services and manages the operations of Espanola Regional Hydro under multi-year contracts. Water and wastewater services are also provided to several communities and organizations in the Algoma District. The total value of the assets under management of PUC Services Inc. is approximately 1.4 billion dollars.

PUC offers a dynamic, challenging and rewarding work environment that encourages collaboration and innovative thinking.

PUC Services Inc.’s strategic focus is to be recognized as “One of Canada’s Top 100 Employers”.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer and as a member of the Operations Management Team, the Vice President, Electric Operations & Engineering will be a critical member of the PUC Services leadership team that leads the Electric Operations and Engineering Divisions.

The ideal candidate will have a strategic mindset, with the knowledge, drive and influence to enhance and strengthen our Electric Operations and Engineering Divisions for the organization and the community.  

DUTIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Provide leadership, expertise and innovation to Electric Operations and Engineering in support of the attainment of the corporate strategic plan;
• Provide strategic direction and oversight for management staff in Line Operations, Engineering and Stations & Metering Departments;
• Provide direction and oversight for the construction, operations and maintenance associated with the supply of electric services to customers while ensuring quality, reliability and efficiency of the service provided;
• Provides direction for engineering design and technical specifications pertaining to the construction, operations and maintenance associated with the supply of water and electricity;
• Ensure that electric operations are compliant with relevant legislation, regulations and codes;
• Ensure that effective safety and environmental measures are in place;
• Prepare and review budget and labour justifications and oversees delivery of annual electric system and engineering capital, maintenance and operations programs inclusive of projecting, monitoring, managing and reporting program costs;
• Provides oversight for the purpose of ensuring engineering compliance with regulatory matters inclusive of Ontario Regulation 22/04 – Electrical Distribution Safety;
• Develop and maintain emergency preparedness, response and contingency plans, taking into account risk assessments and mitigation strategies, to ensure appropriate response capability;
• Oversees the preparation of various engineering studies, analyses and reports
• Direct, assist and oversee the preparation of proposals for the acquisition of electric services contracts;
• Integrate new electric services business activities into the organization ensuring targets for safety, profit and quality of service are achieved:
• In conjunction with Engineering, develop and oversee implementation of ongoing, long term asset management plans for key components of electric infrastructure systems to ensure long term sustainability;
• Manage and develop management staff inclusive of a succession plan;
• Establish departmental performance targets consistent with corporate and divisional objectives;
• Lead change to enable innovation, quality, and efficiency

QUALIFICATIONS 

• Experience:       Ten years of diversified experience in a management capacity in electric operations, preferably in a utility environment. Experience managing teams in a unionized environment.
• Education: Preference for a University Degree in Electrical Engineering with a Professional designation (P. Eng.) or a related discipline.
• Knowledge: Strong knowledge of the relevant legislation, regulations. standards and codes.
• Skills: Well developed analytical, organizational, technical, communication and decision making skills. Excellent written, oral and presentation skills.
• Other: Ability to work in an environment that is fast paced, while being able to prioritize multiple, often competing priorities with a positive attitude;

KEY ATTRIBUTES & COMPETENCIES

The candidate possesses managerial courage, integrity, credibility, honesty, inspires and develops others while managing performance.

• Leadership and ability to drive change. The Vice President will need to have a willingness to lead and influence others. An ability to convince others in an honest, respectful and sensitive manner in order to get them to buy-in to organizational objectives.
• Management competency to prioritize goals for multiple groups. The ideal candidate is accountable, strategic, proactive, organized, priority/results focused and service oriented.
• Teamwork that creates progress toward common goals. With a focus on excellence, the Vice President fosters a teamwork environment, is analytical, logical, conceptual, and innovative with strong interpersonal capability. 

APPLICATION INFORMATION

To explore this opportunity further, please email your resume (filename - “Last name, First name - CV”), with “PUC Services Vice President of Electric Operations and Engineering” in the subject line, in confidence to Larry Sartor at larry@sartorandassociates.com and Mark Fukuzawa at mark@sartorandassociates.com. 

It is PUC Services policy to comply with all applicable laws and regulations which prohibit unlawful discrimination because of race, religion, creed, colour, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability or marital status or any other protected class. 

We thank all those that apply for the position, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Thank you for your understanding.

April 14, 2021