Regional External Affairs Consultant - Ohio

FirstEnergy • Elyria, OH

1d • Onsite

About The Position

There are 2 open positions with FirstEnergy Ohio, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp.
Position 1 is a Regional External Affairs Consultant (REAC) is an onsite/in office position supporting Erie, Huron, Lorain, Ottawa, Sandusky and parts of Seneca Counties. Position 2 will be responsible for Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties. The consultants will liaise with local elected officials, EMA, and emergency responders across the service territory. The Regional External Affairs Consultant grows and sustains strategic networks and relationships with key elected officials, community leaders and stakeholders. The consultant proactively informs and updates public officials about service-related issues—ranging from customer impacts and power outages to transmission and distribution capital projects.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Engineering, Marketing, Communications, Political Science, Public Relations or comparable field with 10 years of related work experience is preferred
• In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, 12 years of related work experience is required. Related work experience includes positions in public relations, marketing, communications, and customer relations with emphasis on demonstrated problem solving skills and customer service
• Exceptional relationship management, leadership and teamwork skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to function with minimum direction using a broad range of discretion to meet strategic objectives
• Outstanding public relations skills to ensure cooperation from public officials and civic organizations on matters vital to the company
• Able to attend meetings and events before and after normal working hours, including weekends
• Able to work extended hours, particularly during storms, with little notice is required
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Dynamics 365 and Word)

Responsibilities

• Building trusting, supportive relationships with all FirstEnergy departments operating within the assigned territory
• Will work in support of projects relating to FirstEnergy Transmission and other internal stakeholders
• Acting as the key company representative while working with all customers and constituents to ensure the highest level of customer service and satisfaction
• Managing local public relations activities in concert with company communication strategies, including information on programs, outage status reporting and restoration updates, reliability and construction projects, rate cases, etc.
• Partner with the FirstEnergy Foundation and Communications on company public relations activities, including strategic charitable contributions, reliability issues and projects
• Committing resources to satisfy the business needs of the public and constituents on issues consistent with company business strategies
• Attending evening council meetings and events to provide updates on Company initiatives for the communities we serve
• Ensuring that all company strategies are advanced through the appropriate constituencies.
• Providing input, competitive intelligence and feedback on local perspectives pertaining to company performance and company strategies
• In partnership with State and Federal Affairs, and the company’s Regulatory groups leverage key contact relationships with federal, state, community and local officials to successfully manage and advance political and regulatory strategies in concert with the company's Rates, Regulatory Affairs and Economic Development groups
• Acting as a proactive and responsive resource within the region to lead communications to our strategic partners and customers throughout the year and particularly during outage and storm related events, identifying and resolving problems before they become major issues.
• Actively seeking and sharing knowledge of industry trends, competitors, etc., that affect FirstEnergy
• Providing updates to public officials on outages, road closures and critical facilities during the storm response process within the Incident Command System
• Modeling FirstEnergy's core values of Integrity, Safety, Accountability, Performance Excellence, and Stewardship

Benefits

• competitive pay plus incentive compensation
• a company-sponsored pension plan
• 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution
• a choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs
• skills development training with tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level