Mgr, Ext Aff & Reg Compliance

Southern Company • Atlanta, GA

3h • Hybrid

About The Position

This position manages SouthStar’s (SSE) state regulatory affairs functions and promotes regulatory compliance. The incumbent supervises the organization’s policies and objectives involving matters of state regulatory regulations. This position manages regulatory and compliance filings with state regulatory bodies and ensures company-wide regulatory compliance. This role will liaise with and lead individuals and teams within SSE to achieve corporate goals while ensuring operational compliance with state regulatory requirements. Engages with the Public Utility Commision (PUC) staff and maintains relationships with policymakers and industry partners.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• 5-7 years’ experience in a regulated and/or competitive retail energy market.
• Knowledge of regulatory theory and practice as it relates to regulation of natural gas utility and a retail energy marketing company and legislative policy making.
• Must be able to demonstrate the following: Strong analytical skills, attention to detail and an investigative mindset.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to digest large, complex volumes of information and summarize it into understandable abstracts for wide dissemination.
• High ethical standards and sound professional judgment.
• Expertise in a changing regulatory environment and restructured energy market. The appropriate candidate exhibits comfort with ambiguity in an unpredictable setting.
• Proven thought leadership, industry issues management, planning, and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to develop and foster relationships with external and internal constituencies. The candidate must be able to build trust while utilizing business acumen to collaborate with multiple levels of internal and external organizations.
• Strong oral advocacy and persuasive negotiation skills
• Considerable problem-solving ability, including the resolution of technical questions through identification and interpretation of legal documentation.
• Ability to resolve conflicts between differing priorities of various process stakeholders by formulating pragmatic solutions and obtaining consensus.
• Ability to work in a highly complex environment under general direction as to assignment and occasional review.
• Ability to manage and complete multiple high priority projects and activities with strict time sensitive deadlines. Strong organizational skills required to manage staff, vendors and projects in an effective manner.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree is preferred.
• Knowledge of the natural gas industry is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Monitors and interprets new and existing regulations from PUCs and other agencies, including Attorneys General (AG) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
• Represents the company in PUC meetings regarding new projects, compliance issues, rulemakings and other business. Develop positive relationships with the PUCs, Consumer Advocates, and Consumer Affairs departments. Attends and/or monitors regulatory proceedings on behalf of company. Provides answers and resolutions to internal queries regarding regulatory requirements.
• Assists in the preparation of the company’s certification applications. Once certified, prepares and files annual reports for specific markets. Prepares and files renewal certifications in multi-state jurisdictions.
• Conducts research and analysis and prepares regulatory summary information for Director, as required. Analyzes new regulatory requirements to determine company compliance obligations.
• Manages the completion and filing of all regularly scheduled filings in various markets, including monthly price filings, financial reporting, slamming reports, metrics reports, etc. Coordinates information for all PUC data responses and assists in internal meetings to facilitate those responses.
• Maintains strict regulatory compliance in all markets. Develops, maintains and updates compliance policies, procedures and documentation to align with PUC and other agency requirements. Conducts internal compliance audits and risk assessments, identifying areas for improvement and coordinating corrective actions. Oversees resolution of compliance issues to ensure vendors' compliance with business rules. Ensures all Business Owners understand the importance of rule compliance and provides appropriate documentation to ensure their compliance. Identifies compliance risks and assists in implementing effective controls for those risks. May assign Business Owners to PUC rules in regulatory jurisdictions in which SSE operates. Maintains a library of compliance issues. Collaborates with auditors and provides appropriate documentation to satisfy compliance audit concerns. Prepares compliance annual report for Director.
• Participates in project development, design and implementation meetings to ensure compliance with state regulatory rules. Serves as internal Subject Matter Expert for queries from Business Owners, etc. Reviews Business Rules, direct marketing pieces, and customer-facing correspondence with an eye toward regulatory and operational compliance.
• Assists in the management of customer complaint investigation and SSE responses to PUC customer complaints, PUC Staff complaints and any Commissioner issues. Conducts meetings with SSE’s Consumer Relations Manager and team to train them on new PUC rules, update them on regulatory changes, answer questions, etc. May conduct Disconnection in Error and Slamming training for call center personnel and new hire training classes as determined by Director.
• Assists in preparing materials and representing the company in regulatory proceedings, hearings and stakeholder meetings.
• Performs any other duties or responsibilities as assigned by the Director of Governmental Affairs.

Benefits

• Comprehensive total rewards strategy that includes competitive base salary, annual incentive awards for eligible employees and health, welfare and retirement benefits designed to support physical, financial, and emotional/social well-being.
• Additional compensation, such as an incentive program, with the amount of any bonus/awards subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable incentive plan(s).
• A summary of the benefits offered for this position can be found here https://seo.nlx.org/southernco/pdf/SOCO-Benefits.pdf

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees