O&P or CIP Enforcement Analyst

NORTHEAST POWER COORDINATING•New York, NY

8d•$115,000 - $135,000

About The Position

Under the direction of Director, Enforcement, the primary responsibility of the Operations and Planning (O&P) or Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Enforcement Analyst is to investigate, analyze, and prepare dispositions for noncompliance of Operations and O&P or CIP North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) Reliability Standards. The O&P or CIP Enforcement Analyst also serves to provide technical expertise in grid operations, planning, modeling, or cybersecurity issues and to work with Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise staff, registered entities, and regulators to support a highly reliable and secure North American Bulk Power System.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power System Engineering, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Computer Engineering or other relevant bachelor’s degree.
3 or more years’ experience in the electric utility industry in bulk power system planning and/or utility operations or 3 or more years’ experience associated with computer systems used in the electric utility industry; or 3 or more years of experience in securing computer systems, including both physical and electronic security; or 3 or more years of experience working within an electric utility Control Center or Regulatory IT role.
Experience in the qualitative assessment of system risk with respect to thermal, voltage, short circuit, and stability issues.
Experience in protection system design and operation under emergency system conditions.
Ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to non-experts verbally and in writing.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize and to manage multiple assignments concurrently.
Strong questioning attitude and attention to detail.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
Ability to learn and work in a variety of portals, software, and databases.
Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineering License
NERC System Operator Certification
Other electric power system operations and/or planning certifications.
CompTia Security+
CompTia Network+
CompTia CySa+
GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC)

Responsibilities

Evaluate applicability of NERC O&P Standard noncompliance by leveraging NERC Standards language and measures, Implementation Plans, ERO-developed practice guides, and industry-created implementation guidance.
Assess noncompliance for completeness of disclosure including but not limited to scope, duration, discovery, and accuracy of root cause.
Evaluate risk to the Bulk Power System of O&P Standard noncompliance to ensure risk assessments are technically sound and defensible.
Review and/or work with entities in developing mitigating actions to remediate and prevent recurrence.
Evaluate the quality and completeness of evidence submitted by registered entities in support of mitigation completion.
Assess an entity’s compliance history to determine repetitive conduct and/or programmatic failures.
Conduct peer reviews of dispositions drafted by other staff.
Triage incoming noncompliance to identify violation facts, preliminary risk assessment, and complexity of the noncompliance.
Communicate with registered entities and the ERO Enterprise as necessary, to investigate O&P noncompliance and issues, and to assure appropriate and informed enforcement actions.
Provide formal written assessments that serve as the technical basis for enforcement disposition recommendations.
Ensure confidential information is identified, labeled, stored, and transferred in accordance with NPCC’s procedures for confidential information.
Ensure information and data placed into various portals, software, and databases are accurate and complete.
Participate in NPCC and ERO Enterprise meetings, workshops, task forces, committees, and forums, as assigned.
Work closely with the Director, Enforcement, legal, and other NPCC staff to develop and/or review responses to oversight.
Provide O&P or CIP technical expertise to NPCC staff.
Identify and recommend changes to policies and/or procedures.
Perform other assignments as directed.