Senior Manager, Grid Planning

Toronto Hydro•Toronto, ON

3d•CA$132,403 - CA$165,504•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Grid Planning is responsible for owning and integrating the outcomes of the utility’s system and capacity planning strategy to ensure the safe, reliable, sustainable and cost-effective delivery of electricity services to customers in the city of Toronto. The role provides enterprise-wide accountability for aligning and reconciling inputs across asset capital investment planning, distribution system planning, capacity planning, grid modernization, and electrification readiness into a single, integrated system plan and capital strategy. Reporting to the Director of Investment Planning, the Senior Manager, Grid Planning synthesizes and consolidates evidence-based inputs from across planning, innovation, asset management, and operational functions into integrated recommendations that align asset investments with system and customer needs, regulatory requirements, municipal growth objectives, corporate strategy, and emerging trends. This position is accountable for ensuring the consolidated system plan positions the utility’s distribution system to support future growth, transportation electrification, decarbonization initiatives, changing customer expectations, and evolving technologies while optimizing lifecycle costs and asset performance. The role leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers, planners, analysts, and technical specialists and acts as the primary advisor to senior leadership on integrated infrastructure investment decisions, trade-offs, and prioritization and regulatory submissions. The incumbent is expected to behave ethically and follow the established code of business conduct, policies and internal control procedures, laws and regulations governing Toronto Hydro. This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree in Electrical or Systems Engineering or related discipline.
Ten (10+) years professional level experience in utility planning, design, operations, or execution.
Professional Engineer (P. Eng) in the province of Ontario
Minimum five (5) years progressive supervisory leadership experience.
Minimum three (3) years experience in distribution system planning, asset management, and capital investment planning.
Experience with Grid Modernization, electrification planning and advanced utility technologies.
Post graduate degree in Business or Engineering (preferred).
Strategic thinking and planning focus with strong emphasis on vision setting.
Remain calm under pressure and able to make decisions in a complex and uncertain environment.
Travel between work centers.
Comprehensive knowledge of electrical substation and distribution system design, planning, operations and reliability principles.
Thorough understanding of asset management frameworks and lifecycle planning methodologies.
Demonstrated knowledge of capital investment planning, and risk management principles.
Understanding of climate resilience, sustainability, and environmental considerations affecting utility infrastructure.
Familiarity with utility planning software, GIS systems, power system analysis tools, and asset management systems.
Knowledge of risk management and climate resiliency planning principles.
Awareness of the electricity industry changes and the ability to predict trends.
Knowledge of design and foundations of different electrical systems (e.g. URD, CRD/CLD, radial loop and secondary mesh network).
Knowledge of regulatory and business case development.
Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
Strong stakeholder engagement and management skills.
Strong change management skills.
Strong problem solving and decision-making skills (under pressure).
Understanding of effective project management practices and skills.
Understands the financial, regulatory, operational, and customer impacts of planning decisions and balances competing priorities.
Demonstrates ownership of outcomes, builds high-performing teams, and drives departmental performance.
Can challenge traditional approaches and promotes adoption of new technologies.

Nice To Haves

Post graduate degree in Business or Engineering

Responsibilities

Own and provide final accountability for the integration and delivery of the utility’s short- and medium-term distribution system plans, capacity plans and infrastructure investment strategies.
Integrate inputs from the Long-term planning team to establish planning horizons and scenarios to support future customer demand, electrification, and large load connections.
Deliver a single, consolidated system plan that align asset management, system reliability, customer growth, and corporate strategies.
Identify future system constraints, risks, and investment requirements and determine recommended mitigation strategies across competing priorities.
Develop the narrative for the 5-Year Distribution System Plan, incorporating inputs from asset management functions.
Integrate and reconcile inputs from Long-Term Gid Planning and Grid Strategy team on the continuous improvement of enterprise asset management and asset life-cycle practices.
Ensure final investment recommendations appropriately reflect asset condition, criticality, performance, and asset investment prioritization frameworks.
Ensure alignment with applicable asset management standards and industry best practices through integrated planning outputs.
Integrate grid modernization and innovation inputs into system planning outcomes in alignment with the digital and modernization strategy roadmap.
Incorporate evaluations of emerging technologies (including smart grid technologies) into investment decision-making.
Review and integrate business cases supporting innovative investments and modernization programs into broader system priorities.
Assess opportunities to improve system flexibility, resilience, reliability, and operational efficiency and prioritize within the overall system plan.
Oversee integration of system study outputs that support safety, operational and customer connection processes.
Provide final planning direction and prioritization for short- and medium-term stations and capacity-related investments.
Assess impacts of population growth, economic development, electric vehicle adoption, distributed energy resources, energy storage, and electrification initiatives.
Integrate inputs from Long -Term planning team and external stakeholders to determine future infrastructure requirements.
Oversees and manages departmental activities to comply with required environment, health and safety (EHS) legislation, regulations, policies, procedures and practices.
Conducts office inspections and audits performance for alignment with requirements.
Provides coaching and feedback to front-line managers and employees to reduce and/or eliminate EHS hazards and risks, introduces controls and maintain and improve EHS performance.
Conducts incident investigations and root cause analysis (proactive and reactive) to continually drive EHS performance.
Acts to resolve escalated health and safety concerns. Attends safety meetings and contributes as a subject matter expert to the development of organizational environmental health and safety management and technology systems and programs.
In alignment with organizational programs, practices and collective agreements, manages employee performance, attendance and training and development.
Provides coaching and feedback to motivate and engage employee outcomes in the attainment of organizational goals; acts to address gaps in performance which may impact outcomes.
Provides varied growth opportunities and supports specific rotations for all employees.
Own the consolidation and final recommendation of short and medium-term capital plans and investment portfolios
Ensure investment recommendations are supported by prudent engineering, financial, and risk analyses and reflect cross-functional trade-offs.
Balance and reconcile inputs from Grid Strategy team and senior leadership to establish capital expenditure forecasts and funding priorities.
Monitor portfolio performance and alignment with strategic objectives and adjust planning direction as needed.
Support regulatory applications and proceedings, including rate applications and investment justifications
Provide integrated planning evidence and defend consolidated investment decisions
Support and cultivate collaborative relationships with key stakeholders like the Independent System Operator, Hydro One and the City of Toronto
Ensure system risk assessments are integrated into planning decisions
Integrate inputs from grid strategy and standards and policy teams to develop strategies to address climate adaptation, extreme weather events, cyber-physical risks, and infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Ensure planning activities incorporate reliability, safety, environmental, and business continuity considerations.
Establish performance metrics and reporting frameworks to monitor planning outcomes