Substation Compliance Analyst

Required Skills & Experience Bachelor’s degree required (Preferably in engineering, computer science, information systems, business, risk management or related field of study) Must have experience working in utility industry or generating facility Deep understanding of substation environment Minimum of three (3) years’ experience in one or more of the above disciplines Knowledge and experience in electric utility operations, regulatory compliance and/or procedural development of a similar nature Familiar and competent with industry compliance: NERC, FERC, etc. Technical writing skills – auditing, documentation. Analytical skills with experience in critical thinking, problem solving, and project management. Job Description A utilities client in the Houston area is looking for a Senior Consultant Policy & Compliance (CIP) to join their team. They will coordinate and assess the implementation of the clients Internal Compliance Program for North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standards for Operations and Planning (O&P) and Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) requirements by supporting various operations departments in their operations and planning compliance efforts. They need to be competent and familiar with compliance for utilities. The client has a compliance department outside of this operations group. They deal with different business units (this group being one of their biggest customers) because substations has a lot of compliance. They need a Compliance Analyst to join their side on the operations and to help keep their compliance requirements in line and keep up with what's going on and being the point of contact with outside enterprise compliance group.  Provide assistance in understanding the requirements in the NERC CIP and O&P Standards and what evidence is sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the Standards.  Review compliance documentation from the responsible operations departments and provide guidance on document development and maintenance.  Maintain audit readiness through review of RSAWs and evidence, testing of the Company’s compliance with current NERC Reliability Standards, documenting and evaluating internal controls.  Facilitate the Company’s Corrective Action Process for potential issues by coordinating with various operations departments, Legal, and management.  Coordinate communications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), NERC, Texas Reliability Entity (Texas RE), and ERCOT for compliance related activities.  Collaborate with various Company departments and Legal to coordinate the Company’s response to formal compliance audits, spot checks, certification reviews, self-logs, self-reports, system event reporting, Requests for Information, and compliance and enforcement investigations.  Participate in the NERC Standards Development process, including coordination with various operations department Subject Matter Experts and management, evaluation of potential impact to operations and current compliance activities, comments preparation, and voting recommendations on various NERC projects.  Lead preparation activities for compliance with new or revised NERC Reliability Standards, including communication with Subject Matter Experts and management, coordination with applicable departments, process and procedure development, and documentation review and verification.  Use knowledge of electric transmission physical or cyber infrastructure best practices to assess the technical and economic impact of various policy proposals or contemplated strategies.  Assist in regulatory-related operations and planning activities as necessary.  Participate in a wide range of compliance and policy activities in various arenas including compliance audits, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and NERC committees, Standard Drafting Teams, and other internal and external committees, conferences, or working groups.  Participate in a wide range of compliance and policy activities in various arenas including compliance audits, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and NERC committees, Standard Drafting Teams, and other internal and external committees, conferences, or working groups.  Develop, coordinate, and implement Bulk Electric System compliance programs (including policies, procedures, and documentation) to comply with the applicable mandatory and enforceable Governance Operation & Planning (693) Reliability Standards.  Coordinate reliability activities by participating in FERC, NERC governance or other Regional Entity regulatory forums; coordinating, evaluating and reviewing regulatory documents impacting client's assets and reliability activities; analyzing clients position, filings, and other documents; weighing the impact of certain actions by the client; preparing correspondence, opinions and presentations outlining client 639 positions within the area of responsibility.  Provide staff training on regulatory requirements and operational impacts of those requirements.  Participate in comprehensive on-site and off-site audits of Registered Entities in compliance with Governance standards and Regional standards, with a special emphasis on the Operation and planning (693) Standards.