Business Solutions Manager

  • Full-time

Company Description

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) manages the flow of electricity across the high-voltage, long-distance power lines that make up 80 percent of California's power grid. We safeguard the economy and well-being of 30 million Californians by "keeping the lights on" 24/7.

As the impartial grid operator, the California ISO opens access to the wholesale power market that is designed to diversify resources and lower prices. It also grants equal access to 25,865 circuit-miles of power lines and reduces barriers to diverse resources competing to bring power to customers.

The California ISO's function is often compared to that of air traffic controllers. It would be grossly unfair for air traffic controllers to represent one airline and profit from allowing that company's planes to go through before others. In the same way, the California ISO operates independently—managing the electron traffic on a power grid we do not own—making sure electricity is safely delivered to utilities and consumers on time and reliably.

Job Description

Under the general direction of the Manager, initiates, oversees and participates in the execution of complex projects to ensure the achievement of the business’ evolving technology and automation requirements. Engages with internal and external business partners and IT constituents and provides innovation leadership in the delivery of the strategic business plan and mandates by changing industry conditions and governances, and to remediate system deficiencies and problems. Responsibilities include product management, customer relationship management, and vendor management as it relates to the department objectives, including product planning and innovation of the customer’s application portfolio to ensure a high-performing and cost-efficient organization. Performs requirements analysis, participates in product design, performs functional and regression testing and manages the end-to-end system lifecycle.

What's In it for You

Our purpose is to lead the way to tomorrow's energy network. Make a difference and impact millions of people who depend on electricity in their everyday lives.

  • You get to work on interesting and challenging assignments that will help grow your skill set.
  • You will work in an extremely collaborative environment inside our LEED certified Folsom, California campus.
  • You will be challenged, be a part of a winning team, and your contributions will be rewarded and recognized.

 What You Will Be Doing

  • Provides technical expertise and leadership in analyzing and translating business requirements into system functional requirements and designs for software systems and end-user training. Performs requirements gathering, analysis and user story and use-case development with internal and external customers for software delivery. Advocates and represent the business needs to IT constituents to ensure those needs are effectively translated into functional and technical specifications. May act as a scrum master during construction as required.
  • Responsible for creating, executing and coordinating functional and regression test plans, test cases and estimates time to complete test activities. May lead interdepartmental teams in the execution of test activities for all test phases. Provides guidance to others in the execution of security, integration, and performance and user acceptance testing as required. Creates and prepares test data, executes test cases, documents detailed results and provides regular and ad-hoc test reports. Ensures that system tests are successfully completed and documented and all issues are identified, tracked and resolved.
  • Manages business application portfolios through the development, communication and execution of application roadmaps based on product deficiencies, the business strategic plan, regulatory changes, innovation, and consolidation opportunities for internal and external business partners. Identifies innovation opportunities and alternatives to influence the strategic plans and roadmaps and leads key process improvements and conceptual designs of business solutions.
  • Establishes and maintains positive relationships with assigned business partners through continuous, collaborative communication and reporting of IT activities on their behalf. Manages IT service levels through the development, monitoring, and communication of Service Level Agreement metrics with business partners and IT staff.
  • Oversees software vendor interactions and delivery to ensure ISO needs and contractual obligations are met. Educates vendors on ISO processes to deliver new systems and modifications to existing systems and reports vendor performance to management.
  • Ensures assignments are completed accurately, with awareness of up-stream and down-stream impacts, and with value to internal and external customers. 
  • Responsible for the initiation and transition phases of internal product projects. Initiates software procurement, including vendor/product evaluation, negotiation, and selection. Collaborates with IT Projects to establish project scope, budget and schedule. Partners closely with IT Projects to ensure successful transition of new business solutions into operational maintenance and support, including oversight of knowledge transfer to Critical System Operations and business partner communications. Ensures that delivered solutions maintain the integrity of business processes, data, IT standards and tenets.
 

Qualifications

Level of Education and Discipline

  • A Bachelor's degree (BA, BS) or equivalent education, training or experience in Information Technology, Management of Information Systems, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field.
  • Master's Degree preferred 

Amount of Experience

  • Equivalent years of education and training, plus six (6) or more years related experience.
Certifications
  • Project management credentials (PMI CAMP, PMI PMP or equivalent), business process modeling, requirements management certification, and/or other relevant technical certifications such as CBAP, CSQE, CSQA are desirable.

Type of Experience

  • Experience executing traceable software testing, development, system analysis, and business requirements analysis. 

  • System architecture (application and/or data architecture) experience. 

  • Experience managing software vendors. 

  • Leadership, customer service and/or project management experience a plus. 

  • Energy industry experience and experience with Unix, Oracle, Java, and W3C standards is desired.

Additional skills and abilities

  • Demonstrates fundamental leadership skills with the ability to work effectively in a team environment as a leader, facilitator and team member.  
  • Ability to provide practical and feasible solutions to problems, keeping multiple conflicting considerations into account. 
  • Excellent interpersonal, communication, and writing skills required. 
  • Excellent analytical skills are required, including the ability to effectively communicate complex technical materials and concepts in a non-technical manner.  
  • Must be able to handle a dynamic and changing work environment, and work independently. 
  • Strong computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite. 
  • Self-motivated, problem solving skills and the ability to influence others without direct authority. 
  • Ability to envision and grasp big-picture concepts very quickly and break them down into subcomponents. 
  • Must be able to innovate and identify information technology opportunities for continual improvement or to meet changing business conditions.

Additional Information

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.