Key Account Manager Associate - Key Account Manager Principal

American Electric Power•Tiffin, OH

About The Position

AEP is hiring at multiple grade levels, from Key Account Manager Associate through Key Account Manager Principal. The position is responsible for retaining and expanding strategically important customer accounts and ensuring overall customer satisfaction. It requires an economic and business-development focus alongside a commitment to customer experience. The role develops and implements programs and offerings, pursues new business, provides customer service, negotiates contracts, and builds long-term relationships with customer decision makers, including executives. The Key Account Manager serves as a point of contact for assigned customers, identifies critical issues, and coordinates action plans with relevant operating-company departments. The role collaborates with engineers and teams in energy efficiency, economic development, customer services, and other AEP business units. Depending on grade, the position may develop marketing strategies and outreach programs for products and services, particularly for complex and influential accounts. It also promotes energy-efficiency, demand-response, and energy-conversion programs. Higher grade levels carry increased experience and qualification requirements; the Principal level requires an advanced degree or professional certification.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, engineering, communications, or a related field.
For Associate level, customer account management, business or economic development, and/or utility industry experience is preferred but not required.
For Key Account Manager level, at least 2 years of experience in customer account management, business or economic development.
For Senior level, at least 5 years of experience in customer account management, business or economic development.
For Principal level, at least 8 years of experience in customer account management, business or economic development.
Utility industry experience is preferred.
Demonstrated communication and presentation skills, including excellent written and verbal communication.
Ability to travel to various locations for extended periods and work late into the evenings.
Demonstrated ability to build strategic internal and external relationships, exercise political acumen, and manage resources, projects, and issues across business units, committees, and task forces.
Demonstrated successful leadership.
For Principal level, an advanced degree or professional certification is required.

Nice To Haves

Utility industry experience.
An advanced degree or professional certification for Associate, Key Account Manager, and Senior levels; examples include Professional Engineer (PE), Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Project Management Professional (PMP), MBA, and Juris Doctorate (JD).
For Principal level, professional certifications may include PE, CEM, PMP, MBA, JD, or Certified Associate Project Manager.

Responsibilities

Establish and maintain high-level relationships with decision makers in assigned strategic customer accounts.
Retain and expand assigned accounts and support overall customer satisfaction.
Act as a customer point of contact, identify critical issues, and oversee plans to resolve them with relevant operating-company departments.
Develop and implement programs and offerings, pursue new business, provide customer service, negotiate contracts, and build long-term customer relationships.
Collaborate with engineers, energy-efficiency and economic-development teams, and AEP and operating-company business units to meet goals and objectives.
Market products and services to customers in identified industry segments; at senior levels, develop marketing strategies, and at the Principal level, develop prioritized outreach programs with targets and value propositions.
Engage operating-company leadership on matters affecting assigned accounts.
Promote and support energy-efficiency and demand-response programs for assigned accounts.
Promote and support energy-conversion programs for assigned accounts.
At the Principal level, manage the most complex and influential assigned strategic accounts and resolve critical issues with operating-company decision makers.