What are the responsibilities and job description for the Substation Relay Comm Mgr position at Evergy?
JOB TITLE: Substation Relay and Commissioning Manager
REQUISITION: TRA00JI
DEPARTMENT: Substation and Relay C&M (Topeka General Office, Wichita Service Center, or 801 Charlotte)
LOCATION: Topeka, KS
Wichita, KS
Kansas City, MO
PAY RANGE: $98,700 – $131,600
Scheduled Work Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Additional hours as required)
Summary of Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
- Responsible for providing leadership and coordination in support of work execution of Evergy’s T&D Substation and Relay investment plan. Duties include managing and administrating contract relay technicians and commissioning specialists managing activities such as construction, maintenance, and repair of all types of equipment associated with substation protection and control systems within Evergy Transmission, Distribution, and Generation substations. Candidate will be responsible for becoming familiar with personnel, systems, and operations of the Evergy Substation and Relay C&M, Large T&S Construction, P&C Engineering, Generation, Operations Technology, and Distribution Construction departments. Responsibilities include:
- Sets a high standard for safety, quality, productivity, and efficiency through clear and frequent communications with the contract relay technicians and commissioning specialists.
- Provides frequent guidance and direction to contract relay technicians and commissioning specialists as required.
- Communicates frequently with Large T&S Construction supervision, Substation and Relay C&M supervision and Scheduling to ensure current projects needs are being met and collaborates to ensure proper resource adjustments are made. Routinely ensures switching requests are submitted in advance of contract personnel needs.
- Leads and facilitates the work coordination of contract personnel with Substation and Relay C&M Planning & Scheduling, Large T&S Construction, P&C Engineering, Generation, Operations Technology, and Distribution Construction to develop and manage a 6-month,12-month, and 18-month ahead construction season schedule of assignments for workload and resource allocation needs. Makes contract personnel project work assignments accordingly.
- Effectively scales contract personnel levels to manage workload and provides forecasting and reporting to support upcoming workload.
- Works with Supply Chain to develop Master Service Agreements, owns the contract administration process, and maintains the Company relationships with protection and control and commissioning providers and evaluates new providers.
- Leads the vetting and interview process to ensure contract relay technician and commissioning candidates possess the desired technical and job performance capabilities and collaborates with other C&M leadership for concurrence.
- Coordinates selection, onboarding, and the equipping of contract relay and commissioning specialists with TCA’s required to perform project functions.
- Performs routine administration of purchase orders, time entry approvals, invoice review and receipting, financial reporting and monthly accrual reviews, and job performance feedback surveys.
- Acts decisively upon job performance feedback to coach or terminate contract personnel as required.
- Fully supports and actively participates in efforts to improve system reliability, NERC compliance, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) improvements, planning & scheduling, and sets high expectations for precision work and documentation.
- Ensures thorough and documented safety and human performance investigations are completed timely and shared with affected workgroups.
- Contributes and provides leadership, input, and feedback in the alignment of Evergy construction standards for protection and control equipment and commissioning practices.
- Ensures all work and commissioning activities are performed and documented consistently in accordance with Evergy work practices. Also ensures relay records and work orders are accurately processed and completely entered into RTS, Powerbase and Cascade(CMMS), as required.
- Develops and maintains process documentation for contract relay technicians and commissioning specialists.
Education and Experience Requirements:
A degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, or the equivalent is preferred. Select candidates must demonstrate at least 8 years or related functional experience and at least 5 years of proven leadership experience. Related functional experience includes knowledge of planning and scheduling, construction phasing and sequencing, commissioning of new equipment and specific knowledge of substation equipment, system protection and control equipment, and SCADA. Proven leadership experience in leading, coaching and mentoring teams through project deliverables, complex situations and demonstrating the ability to keep teams engaged while meeting performance expectations is critical.
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities Required:
This is a highly technical position requiring functional relationships with many different departments. The candidate must have strong interpersonal skills and a well-rounded knowledge in the theory of and experience with the operation of substation, electronic, microprocessor, and communications equipment. Must be able to make sound, clear, time sensitive decisions including recognition of flawed information as it is received. Must have good communication skills, be a team player and be able to work effectively with all levels of employees and customers. Must be a self-starter with excellent multi-tasking skills. Must be able to recognize and shift priorities to meet system and labor requirements. Must have excellent software skills and be willing to learn.
Licenses, Certifications, Bonding, and/or Testing Required:
Valid driver’s license
Working Conditions:
Position will require travel in the entire Evergy territory on a regular basis. Must have a satisfactory work record including good attendance and safety record. Will be required to respond or dispatch personnel to after-hours calls as established by the Substation and Relay C&M department.
Evergy has a clear mission – To empower a better future. Evergy chooses to live this mission by valuing People First. We know to accomplish becoming the most innovative and reliable energy company, we need a team with a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. So, our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. We are committed to celebrating diversity and building a team where everyone – regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status – has a voice and can bring their best every day. We know that the more diverse and inclusive we are, the better we will be. Evergy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.