Naperville, Illinois, The City of Naperville seeks a professional possessing three or more years’ experience leading technical projects to become Project Manager for the City’s publicly-owned Electric Utility, focusing on projects related mostly to Utility assets.
Reporting to the Utility’s Asset Manager, this newly created position will successfully manage various projects for the Electric Utility with an emphasis on the migration and usage of asset information from various sources into a single software system – Cityworks - and organizing all available data to produce organized, actionable data to Utility management. Applying Utility leadership’s direction, the Project Manager will define project requirements, lead project teams to meet those requirements, and bring projects to a close per time and budget constraints.
The Electric Utility
As a public utility owned by the customers it serves, Naperville’s electric utility has proudly served the community for 120 years. Bringing power to 60,000 customers each month, the utility provides reliable, quality, responsive and cost-efficient services in support of the health, welfare & growth of the City. This is achieved principally by effective operation, maintenance and replacement activities; a well-planned and executed capital improvement program; an active employee safety and training program; and continuous public information. Locally controlled and managed, the Naperville Electric Utility provides rates that are among the lowest in the state. Other benefits of local management include greater reliability, efficiency and quicker responsiveness to customer concerns.
Naperville is the 4th largest city in Illinois. Its electric utility maintains 16 substations, 60 miles of transmission and 1000 miles of distribution lines (of which 93% are underground), and has a 350 MW peak demand / 1,400,000 MWh annually. A decade ago, Naperville modernized its electric grid via the installation of 60,000 smart-meters and a wireless & fiber-optic backbone. This City-wide Smart Grid allows the utility to better analyze electricity consumption and offer an energy portal to its electric customers. The electric utility further deployed conservation voltage reduction tools and other advanced automation equipment integrated with SCADA.
The Electric Utility now seeks to expand the City’s deployment of “Cityworks” as its software for all service requests, work orders, asset management and warehousing, to effectively end paper trails and streamline workflows. Cityworks functions as a centralized application that connects with GIS maps to help identify, track and manage assets and the work & materials required to maintain and support them.
Responsibilities:
This position initially will focus on the migration of Utility management processes from legacy computing structures/systems to the Cityworks software environment utilized City-wide. The Project Manager – Cityworks (PM) will manage the transition of work order processing and accounting for labor & material used from Sungard Naviline software to Cityworks. The PM will define and manage interim processes utilized by the Utility while the City’s contractor implements stages of modifications to Cityworks.
The Cityworks Project Manager defines needed changes in Utility processes to better utilize the Cityworks platform, and manages the Utility’s transition to new processes per Utility management direction. The PM oversees and coordinates all City and contractor activities needed to migrate Utility data from Sungard Naviline (and from inhouse MS Access databases & MS Excel spreadsheets) to Cityworks so as to arrive at a single data source for Utility assets. The PM also assists transition management of the Utility’s warehouse to Cityworks Storeroom.
Primary duties include:
Coordinating with other departments on Electric Utility Cityworks usage to ensure compatible functionality for service requests, work orders and reporting.
Managing the process to integrate Electric Utility activities in Cityworks with the City’s Tyler Munis financial system.
Managing processes to define and implement required reporting from Cityworks to meet Electric Utility needs.
Managing projects for the Electric Utility’s records retention process, external billing process, and document scanning & storage process. Directing related activities of support personnel for these tasks.
Providing reporting on capital projects to management as requested.
Managing training of departmental personnel on Cityworks (and related) software/process as needed.
Planning & executing Electric Utility projects: defining projects, building comprehensive work plans, and managing them to related budgets and timelines.
Facilitating project teams’ accomplishment of defined goals. Facilitating commitment and productivity from staff & project team members. Mitigating obstacles, and (with the support Utility management) motivating team members.
Managing expectations by aligning projects to business goals and effectively communicating project status & milestones (and unexpected difficulties) to stakeholders.
Coordinating project work performed by contractors, ensuring conformance to project specifications, budgets and timelines as assigned. Coordinating vendor communications with internal team members.
As a professional manager of projects, the incumbent successfully engages other Utility staff members, staff from other City Departments, and/or vendor/contractor personnel in order to accomplish assigned project requirements (or pieces thereof); applies knowledge, skills, tools & techniques to Electric Utility project activities in order to meet project requirements; plans, executes and completes utility projects; defines the project, builds a comprehensive work plan, and manages to the budget; and is accountable for the success or failure of projects. He/she directs project teams to meet defined goals; facilitates commitment and productivity from staff and project team members; mitigates obstacles and motivates team members; and manages expectations by aligning projects to business goals, managing stakeholders, and communicating project status, milestones (and unexpected difficulties) effectively.
Qualifications:
At a minimum, applicants must possess:
A bachelor’s degree in a related field (engineering preferred)
Three years’ related experience (leading and/or directing projects, or similar). Professional project management certification may be substituted for some of the required education and/or experience.
Project management knowledge and previous PMBOK-related training, and
A valid State of Illinois Driver’s License
Preferred credentials include previous experience working for an electric utility, and/or PMP certification.
Top candidates will possess knowledge of procedures and practices related to asset management within an electric utility; currently relevant technology & software, such as AutoCAD, GIS and other department-specific technology (e.g., CitiWorks, Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook) including relational data bases (MS SQL Server) and Microsoft Project). Knowledge and experience with Sungard Naviline and/or Tyler Munis financial systems a plus.
They will also be able to demonstrate strong analytical skills, written & verbal communication skills, problem-solving skills, and will be able to apply a substantial project management skill set. They will possess proven abilities to establish & maintain effective working relationships; to communicate clearly and concisely (verbally and in writing) with technical and non-technical audiences; to maintain focus in a fast-paced, multitasking environment and manage time effectively; and a desire to learn new position-related skills in a diverse, frequently changing environment.
Additional Information:
The City of Naperville, Illinois is a dynamic community of 148,000 residents, conveniently located 28 miles west of Chicago. Various publications have named Naperville as one of the best cities in the United States in which to live. The City has gained national recognition for our family-friendly environment, excellent schools and library system, low crime rate, and vibrant downtown area. It’s also a great place to work! Our municipal government employs over 900 dedicated individuals in a wide range of job categories and provides a dynamic & collaborative working environment, a forward-looking leadership team, and a competitive benefits package.
APPLY ON-LINE AT:
www.naperville.il.us/careers
THE CITY OF NAPERVILLE IS AN E. O. E.
CLICK HERE for the City of Naperville’s EEOP Utilization Report
The City of Naperville complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals needing accommodations in the recruitment process should notify Human Resources in advance at (630) 305-7066.
Commensurate with relevant experience