Director of the Office of Resilience, Utility Security, Nuclear Affairs, and Emergency Preparedness NS-M7

Bachelor's degree and ten years of relevant progressively responsible professional experience*, including at a policy making and managerial level in utility oversight and/or emergency planning and response. This experience must include at least five years in a managerial** capacity.

*Substitutions: four years of relevant experience or associate's degree and two years of relevant experience may substitute for bachelor's degree; J.D. or master's degree may substitute for one year of relevant experience; Ph.D. may substitute for two years of relevant experience.

**Managerial experience includes having responsibility for determining and prioritizing the workload of a unit or section, the management of subordinate professional employee supervisors, including assignment of tasks, employee training and development, evaluation of their performance and time and attendance, making recommendations on hiring and other human resource actions, and participating in long-range planning for the program.

Duties Description The Director Public Service Programs, NS-M7, will serve as the Director of the Office of Resilience, Utility Security, Nuclear Affairs, and Emergency Preparedness (OREP) and be responsible for the management, administration, and coordination of the work of OREP. Specific duties include, but are not limited to:
• Serving as the Department's lead manager on all components of resilience, utility security, nuclear affairs, and emergency preparedness.
• Providing leadership guidance and oversight of OREP staff engaged in rate case filings, program research and testimony development for aspects of resilience, vegetation management, storm preparation and response, and physical and cyber security.
• Providing oversight and input into utility targeted hardening initiatives, vegetation management specifications, and special programs aimed at providing flexibility to restoring customers through automated processes.
• Monitoring electric reliability performance, including and excluding major storms, identifying worst performing circuits that feed into our resilience efforts, and providing leadership guidance for the preparation of the annual reliability report with a Statewide review as well as for each individual utility.
• Providing senior staff guidance and overseeing testimony development on capital investments focused on service improvements, expense levels for tree trimming and hazard tree mitigation, cybersecurity and IT investments, staffing needs, and reliability performance measures.
• Providing leadership oversight and guidance to the OREP Utility Security Section to ensure that critical facilities of the regulated utilities are well protected from possible malicious threats and manageable risk, as well as ensuring staff conducts thorough inspections and audits of the physical and cyber security posture of utility facilities, sites, and assets.
• Supporting staff oversight of the light regulation of the State's nuclear power plants, including the operational monitoring and executive reporting, site visits, and license amendment reviews.
• Supporting staff tracking nuclear plant decommissioning, including on-site day-to-day monitoring of the decommissioning activities at Indian Point.
• Acting as the Department's primary contact with utilities on emergency response, including overseeing utility emergency response plans, preparedness drills, response to emergencies, and post incident analysis. The regulated utilities subject to this oversight include six major electric/gas utilities, five major gas utilities, three major water companies, 39 telephone companies, and several other smaller utilities.
• Serving as the Department's Executive liaison with State and federal disaster operations, including the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency; coordinating efforts with these and other emergency management and disaster preparedness organizations to ensure effective implementation of the Department's emergency management preparedness program and compliance with laws and regulations.
• Ensuring that the Department's Emergency Management Operations Protocol (EMOP), which provides guidelines for notification, investigation, and reporting of incidents and emergencies involving any of the utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission (PSC), is accurate and up to date.
• Ensuring that the Department's Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), which addresses how the Department will respond and operate during an emergency that influences its ability to carry out its assignment from one of the Department's main offices, is accurate and up to date.
• Overseeing the Department's internal preparedness drills and emergency response efforts and providing training to all employees to support Agency emergency preparedness and continuity of operations.
• Assisting the Department's Chair with responsibilities related to the Disaster Preparedness Commission.
• Overseeing staff responsible for conducting the above duties and performing the full range of supervisory duties including identifying staff development needs, evaluating staff performance, and completing performance evaluations.

Additional Comments About the Department:
The primary mission of the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS or Department) is to ensure affordable, safe, secure, and reliable access to electric, gas, steam, telecommunications, and water services for New York State's residential and business consumers, at just and reasonable rates, while protecting the natural environment. The Department also seeks to stimulate effective competitive markets for clean, renewable, and distributed energy resources that benefit New York consumers, as well as product and service innovations.

Additional Comments:
The primary location for this position is in Albany, New York with up to 10% travel, which requires possession of a valid driver's license. Salary will be commensurate with experience. This is an appointment to a position in the exempt jurisdictional class. As such, the incumbent of this position would serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Appointment to this position is contingent upon Division of Budget approval.

This position will require availability afterhours (24/7) in order to respond to emergencies, track outages, and/or report to the State Emergency Operations Center. This position will require interfacing and collaborating with other State agencies, municipal officials, and local emergency management agencies to ensure timely response and coordination during critical events.

Equal Opportunity Employer:
The Department of Public Service is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by contacting the Designee for Reasonable Accommodations (DRA) and Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator which can be found under the Accessibility Link on the Department's webpage at https://dps.ny.gov.

Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.

Name Human Resources Management - CG

Telephone

Fax (518) 473-9990

Email Address Recruiting@dps.ny.gov

Address

Street 3 Empire State Plaza

City Albany

State NY

Zip Code 12223

Notes on Applying Please send a resume and cover letter to recruiting@dps.ny.gov or fax to Human Resources Management at (518) 473-9990. Please reference "Director Public Service Programs, posting 00800" when applying.