Manager - Vegetation Management

Central Hudson•Kingston, PA

About The Position

The Manager - Vegetation Management leads a team of internal forestry professionals and an all-contractor field workforce responsible for Central Hudson’s enterprise vegetation management program across more than 8,000 circuit-miles of overhead electric and gas rights-of-way. Your mission is to safeguard reliability (with a focus on SAIFI improvement), control and reduce program costs, and accelerate the adoption of modern technologies and processes—such as remote sensing technologies and advanced work‑management tools—to deliver a best‑in‑class vegetation program that meets regulatory and safety requirements while supporting our broader transformation goals. This is a program leadership role, not a field supervision role: the Manager owns the program’s budget, regulatory compliance, contractor performance, and reliability results, and sets the multi-year strategy needed to meet corporate reliability, safety, and cost objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, environmental science, forestry, natural resources, or a related field and 5 years of experience in utility operations, program management, or a regulated infrastructure function. In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree in the aforementioned fields of study and 7+ years of experience in utility operations, program management, or a regulated infrastructure function. In lieu of an associate’s degree, a High School Diploma or equivalency degree and 10+ years of experience in utility operations, program management, or a regulated infrastructure function
Experience managing or developing a program or operating budget, including forecasting and cost control
Vegetation management, utility forestry, or large-scale rights-of-way experience, or comparable utility operations experience with the ability to acquire the technical domain
Experience in a regulated, compliance-driven environment, with the ability to support regulatory reporting and audits
Proven contractor or vendor management experience, demonstrated ability to lead teams and drive change
Valid driver's license

Nice To Haves

ISA Certified Arborist or Utility Specialist, or the ability to obtain.
Working knowledge of NERC FAC-003 and New York PSC requirements, and experience supporting rate proceedings or regulatory audits.
Experience deploying remote sensing, drone inspection, or predictive analytics in a field program.
PMP certification

Responsibilities

Develops and executes multi‑year vegetation management strategies covering transmission, distribution, and gas corridors, aligning with corporate reliability, safety, and cost targets.
Owns the program’s O&M budget, including forecasting, cost-per-mile accountability, and cost control.
Supports NYPSC rate proceedings and regulatory filings and ensures compliance with NERC FAC-003 and New York PSC reliability rules.
Governs all vegetation contractors commercially, including RFP strategy, performance-based contracts, and work-quality and safety auditing.
Owns vegetation-related reliability outcomes (including tree-caused SAIFI reduction), reports program KPIs such as cost per mile and outages per circuit-mile, and leads modernization through remote sensing, drone inspection, and predictive analytics.
Leads and develops the internal vegetation team, and engages internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, municipalities, and property owners.
Supports storm/emergency restoration efforts