The Field Operations Manager is responsible for managing and overseeing all field operations and service staff. In this role, the Field Operations Manager will be responsible for multiple work disciplines including; substation technicians, relay technicians, field engineers, switching personnel, and transmission line and right-of-way services. The Field Operations Manager will also be responsible for managerial administrative tasks that support field operations such as; developing field operations work plans, annual operations and maintenance (O&M) and capital budgets, contract management, and NERC compliance.
This position will be located in Austin, TX, and will report to the Operations Director. The candidate will be required to work at COMPANY’s Austin corporate office 70% of the time and travel to field operations office in Big Spring, TX, 30% of the time.
DUTIES, FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Oversee all transmission line, station, and protection and control field operations staff in Big Spring, TX
- Oversee and provide clear direction to local field operations supervision in Big Spring, TX
- Oversee and help coordinate switching and clearance operations
- Review and approve electrical isolations plans for medium-high risk maintenance activities
- Develop and manage annual O&M and capital maintenance budgets and forecasts
- Develop and manage annual field operations work plan and outage schedule
- Initiate and manage all on-going and new maintenance contracts with external vendors
- Manage safety qualifications and onboarding requirements for all contractors working on COMPANY systems
- Manage all related field operations NERC compliance requirements (i.e. PRC-005)
- Develop weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual field operations performance reports
- Manage field operations preventive and corrective work orders using Oracle Fusion Cloud
- Support management of implementation of COMPANY’s asset management database
- Support management of COMPANY’s maintenance program
- Support management of implementation of COMPANY’s field operations safety program
- Develop training requirements and frequency of training for field operations staff
- Coordinate with COMPANY system operations and outage coordination teams to plan and manage outage activities
- Cross-coordination with multiple internal departments such as accounting, IT, planning, engineering, construction, regulatory, and compliance
- Cross-coordination with external stakeholders such as NERC, TRE, and ERCOT
- Participate and provide input during new project design reviews - review and provide feedback on applicable new project designs
- Develop and present reports to internal teams, leadership, and other company departments.
- Maintain COMPANY's internal operations events and issues database and coordinate with stakeholder groups to seek resolution of operations issues
- Support and manage development of standard operating procedures such as; outage request criteria, field event reporting requirements; equipment operation protocols, clearance acceptance and release, NERC documentation
- Assists in developing tools, processes and procedures that enhance safety, system reliability and departmental efficiencies
- Support and prepare field staff for third party inspections and general site visits
- Manage on-call rotating field schedule and overtime requirements for field staff
- Support management of COMPANY’s field operations inventory requirements
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, AND QUALIFICATIONS
- Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Project Management, or Business is required. Other Bachelor’s degrees will be considered based on applicability to this position.
Skills and Experience:
- Minimum 8 years work experience in field operations, engineering, or project management
- Prior experience working in substation or transmission line environment is preferred
- Candidate must be familiar with ERCOT nodal protocols and operating guides
- Experience with NERC compliance reporting and documentation requirements
- Experience with substation equipment (i.e breakers, transformers, switches)
- Experience with protection and control equipment (i.e. SEL/GE relays, RTUs)
- Experience with transmission line and right of way inspections/maintenance
- Work scheduling using P6, Microsoft project, or similar applications
- Ability to develop annual O&M and capital budget requirements and forecast
- Contract management
- Certificates & Licenses:
- Professional Engineer (PE) license is preferred but not required.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is preferred but not required.
- Computer Skills:
- Ability to use and quickly comprehend computer based systems and databases utilized for content management, data entry, contracts, data tracking, and work processes
- Ability to create presentations, charts, tables, and graphs
- Microsoft Office (MS Project, Excel, Power Point, Word, Outlook)
- Basic AutoCAD principles
- Competencies:
- Ability to manage a team remotely
- Good communication using email, presentation, and verbal methods
- Organization of information, tasks, communications, and data
- Documentation and tracking of critical information
- Basic accounting principles (cash and accrual basics)
- Cost forecasting (commitments, actuals, accrual management)
- Work and resource planning / scheduling
- Electrical schematic and control/protection circuit interpretation
- Understanding of transmission line plan and profile drawings
- Understanding of AC/DC diagrams
- Understanding of GE and SEL relay logic / functionality
- General understanding of RTU and SCADA systems
