Jobs

Position Title: CLEAR RTO Campaign Manager
Primary Report: Executive Director

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Illinois is seeking an independent and highly-motivated campaign manager to lead our CLEAR RTO project to promote greater transparency at the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) level.

Who We Are
CUB is a non-profit created by the Illinois legislature “to promote the health, welfare and prosperity of all the citizens of this State by ensuring effective and democratic representation of utility consumers.” We work for more inclusive decision-making at obscure regulatory bodies whose actions have a direct impact on our utility bills. CUB fights in the general interest of all consumers and works to ensure that the clean energy transition provides real benefits for
real people. CUB also promotes tougher consumer protection laws in the Illinois General Assembly, intervenes in Illinois Commerce Commission dockets on behalf of consumers, and engages in robust outreach and education to residential utility customers throughout the state. CUB is funded through small donations and philanthropic grant funding.

The Project
With our CLEAR RTO project, CUB seeks to promote a more open and diverse bidding environment for cost-effective supply and demand-side resources within PJM Interconnection and other Regional Transmission Organizations. To do this, we work with equity-centered advocates, renewable energy companies, statutorily designated consumer advocates and others to create a more open RTO that allows for the participation of diverse resources and
lowers costs to consumers and new market actors. While this body of work is currently a project of the Illinois CUB it may, upon our discretion, become a free-standing, but affiliated, entity over the next few years.

The Role
The CLEAR RTO campaign manager will be a self-starter who knows how to develop and strengthen coalitions, work with technical specialists to identify policy goals and pathways, and pursue collaborative campaigns to further the program’s goals of equity and inclusion, clean energy, and consumer advocacy. Strong candidates will bring exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, technical knowledge of utilities, ratemaking and RTOs, experience conceiving, developing and implementing advocacy campaigns, and the ability to manage a coalition while never losing sight of the core commitments to equity and consumer advocacy. Because of the unique nature of this role, however, we acknowledge that the successful candidate may not have all of the skill sets and experiences listed above.

Primary Responsibilities
The CLEAR RTO campaign manager will act as a coalition manager but, particularly in these early years, be prepared to handle all aspects of the campaign execution. They should be able to identify partners who have shared goals and set strategies and targets using a collaborative campaign approach. The campaign manager will also create, convene and work closely with partners in order to maximize the campaign’s effectiveness and gather the wisdom of different perspectives from across the region. This individual will make budget recommendations to CUB as appropriate, keep up to speed on key policy and calendar inflection points as put forth by policy experts, translate the policy goals into language accessible to advocates, write up campaign planning documents and keep in contact with appropriate advocates. He or she will report to, and ultimately be accountable to, the Illinois CUB. The campaign manager will also keep funding partners apprised of progress and, as appropriate, develop relationships with new funding partners.

Qualifications

  • Familiarity with utility and RTO policies and ability to discuss these policies using plain language.
  • Experience developing, managing and implementing issue advocacy campaigns, particularly in the fields of energy, environmental and/or consumer affairs, including establishing campaign goals, assessing progress, identifying strategic adjustments and communicating about strategy to key partners.
  • Exceptional facilitation, coalition-building, and collaboration skills. Demonstrated ability to manage a diverse coalition and leverage diversity to advance coalition goals is a plus.
  • Personal commitment to and skills around advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • The ability to build, maintain and support trust and strong partnerships. This includes the ability to build consensus and strengthen relationships among and across a diverse group of coalition members.
  • The ability to problem-solve and effectively resolve conflict.
  • Strong management, communication and organizational skills.

Compensation & Benefits:
Competitive compensation will be offered, commensurate with experience. The winning candidate will be able to work remotely and may opt to join us on contract or as a salaried CUB staffer. Salaried staff receives:

  • Health and dental insurance;
  • Employer-paid life insurance and employee assistance program;
  • 401K with company match;
  • Generous paid time off;
  • Extra week of vacation for all staff members, Dec. 24 through Jan. 1;

To Apply:
Email letter of interest and resume to:

David Kolata, CUB Executive Director [email protected]