About The Position
The Director, Business Transformation Analytics & Automation leads FirstEnergy’s Data & Analytics and Automation & AI disciplines. The role establishes methods, standards, and quality expectations; allocates specialist capacity across business units; and ensures analytical value estimates and realized benefits are defensible. The Director leads a team of technical individual contributors and represents both disciplines to executive leaders and steering committees. The position partners with IT on tooling, data platform decisions, and build delivery, while implementation and long-term ownership of transformation solutions remain with the business unit. The Director maintains an enterprise view of automation and AI opportunities, identifies data gaps and constraints, and partners with IT, Risk, Legal, and Compliance on responsible AI standards, model risk controls, and data governance. The role also builds business-unit literacy, manages third-party partners, contributes to transformation strategy and portfolio governance, and continuously improves the tools and templates used by the organization. This is a full-time position with a hybrid schedule anchored at FirstEnergy Headquarters in Akron, Ohio. It may be based anywhere within the FirstEnergy service territory, with four days per week onsite and travel to territory work locations as needed. Participation in storm restoration or emergency response duties may be required. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in data science, analytics, engineering, information systems, business, or a related discipline.
- At least 10 years of leadership experience and 8 years of relevant functional or technical work experience.
- Relevant functional or technical experience leading data, analytics, automation, or technology delivery work.
- Working knowledge of best-in-class analytics practices and automation and AI capabilities, with the ability to set direction and evaluate quality in each.
- Demonstrated experience establishing methods, standards, or quality controls that others consistently apply, particularly for data and AI controls.
- Experience leading and developing a team of technical individual contributors.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including translating technical work into business and financial terms for senior leaders.
- Ability to manage concurrent initiatives across multiple business units and deliver quality work within established deadlines.
- Legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree.
- Experience establishing or scaling analytics, automation, or digital capability from an early stage.
- Experience developing AI governance, responsible AI standards, model risk controls, or comparable frameworks.
- Hands-on practitioner background in data or automation, with the ability to read models and review code.
- Familiarity with next-generation AI development tooling and enterprise automation platforms.
- Prior experience in the electric utility industry or another regulated operating environment.
- Experience partnering with an IT organization across the boundary between business-led design and IT-governed build.
Responsibilities
- Lead and develop individual contributors across data and analytics and automation and AI.
- Set methods, standards, and quality expectations for both disciplines, and review work before it reaches business units.
- Allocate specialist capacity across business units based on portfolio priorities and resolve competing demand with Portfolio Managers.
- Confirm the analytical basis for value sizing at intake and realized benefits at close.
- Manage the relationship with IT on tooling evaluation, data platform decisions, build delivery, and handoff of scoped automation specifications.
- Represent both disciplines to executive leadership and steering committees, including defending methodologies and recommendations.
- Identify enterprise data gaps, quality defects, and architecture constraints that limit decision-making, and make the case for resolving them.
- Maintain a forward-looking assessment of automation and AI opportunities, including feasibility, sequencing, and cost-to-achieve.
- Partner with IT, Risk, Legal, and Compliance on responsible AI standards, model risk controls, and data governance.
- Build analytics and automation literacy across the business so business units can better consume and eventually own delivered solutions.
- Manage third-party analytics, automation, and platform partners, including scope, deliverable quality, and value relative to spend.
- Contribute to Business Transformation strategy, portfolio governance, and capability planning as a leadership team member.
- Select or develop, implement, and continuously improve data and analytics and automation and AI tools and templates.
- Champion FirstEnergy’s safety culture and ensure transformation work does not compromise safe operations.
Benefits
- Competitive pay plus incentive compensation
- Company-sponsored pension plan
- 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution
- Medical insurance
- Prescription drug coverage
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Life insurance
- Skills development training
- Tuition reimbursement
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
