Lead CIP Technical Specialist

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is about more than power. We’re about the power of relationships. Our employees have the opportunity to work together to ensure electricity is delivered reliably and affordably to the millions of people living in our service territory. We have been voted one of Arkansas’ Best Places to work by Arkansas Business and we are looking for a member of our team who is passionate about our mission to keep the lights on!

We have a core ideology here at SPP that we stand by: Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.

We believe in supporting our employees through a fantastic benefits package:

• Competitive pay with bonus opportunities
• Excellent insurance package including three great medical plans to choose from, employer-paid short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
• Relocation assistance to those that currently live 50 miles away from SPP’s office in Little Rock

• Flexible working environment for positions that are eligible where employees have the flexibility to work from home and come into the office when collaborative in person work is needed.

• Fantastic contributions to your retirement through a 401(k) savings plan with employer-match benefits and a defined benefit plan fully funded by SPP

Overview

The Lead CIP Technical Specialist leads with the implementation and ongoing management of processes necessary for oversight of SPP’s corporate-wide programs to ensure adherence to national and regional reliability and commercial business practice standards relevant, primarily, to Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). The Lead CIP Technical Specialist also plays an important role in ongoing corporate effort to support NERC Standards development, and should have technical knowledge and expertise to support the application of the CIP Standards to SPP.

This position requires contact with SPP members, external audit teams and other industry representatives. Excellent working relationships with all parties must be maintained to ensure the accomplishment of meeting compliance requirements. The Lead CIP Technical Specialist provides both internal and external outreach to gather and validate processes and associated evidence to demonstrate ongoing corporate compliance. In addition, this position requires strong writing skills.

Essential Functions

• Serve as a compliance subject-matter expert (SME) for all relevant CIP compliance needs, with particular focus on IT Architectures, Virtualization, Storage and/or Network Technologies.
• Working knowledge and understanding of various IT architecture and technologies, particularly server, network and storage.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of NERC CIP Standards and other reliability requirements
• Act as a Compliance Department Liaison with the SPP departments responsible for CIP compliance, establishing a positive rapport with key staff.
• Gather, review and prepare audit-related materials in advance of formal external audits, focusing on CIP audits and miscellaneous visits.
• Support the coordination and facilitation of external audit
• Lead internal compliance risk assessments and provide scheduled, ongoing review of internal CIP compliance readiness.
• Conduct investigations of potential compliance risks/possible violations.
• Support the development of self-reports, mitigation plans, evidence citations, and responses to requests for information.
• Conduct testing of CIP Internal controls, and support the development and maintenance of SPP’s NERC internal controls program
• Participate in the NERC Standards Development Process to provide influence and obtain knowledge of revisions to NERC Standards. This may be in the form of participation as an observer or member of NERC Standard Drafting Teams.
• Provide leadership to Compliance department staff, especially in areas that involve CIP-related responsibilities
• Provide guidance and mentor lower-level Compliance department staff on regulatory responsibilities and compliance-related processes and procedures
• Assist the Manager and Director of the Compliance Department with the development and ongoing practice of relevant Internal Compliance Program initiatives
• Provide consultation for the development and delivery of CIP compliance-related training for SPP Staff.
• Participate in SPP external stakeholder meetings related to CIP Compliance (RCAG, SAG, ORWG, etc.) when needed.
• Represent compliance interests involving the NERC CIP Standards during industry and regulatory meetings, such as r regional conferences, regulatory meetings, compliance forums.
• Work closely with Legal and Regulatory Departments by reviewing possible compliance related filings, and changes involving corporate compliance, when appropriate.

Qualifications

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university, or equivalent technical experience related to network infrastructure, infrastructure support, IT architecture, or virtualization and storage infrastructures

Experience Requirements:

• Ten (10) years of relevant IT, industry, or Compliance related experience

Required:

• Fluency in English and ability to communicate effectively with a variety of technical staff and management
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Flexibility and the ability to function with constantly changing and multiple priorities
• General proficiency with computers, to include the Microsoft Office Suite
• Excellent organizational skills
• General understanding of industry compliance requirements
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures

Preferred:

• Advanced Degree
• Industry Experience
• Experience with network infrastructure, infrastructure support, IT architecture, or virtualization and storage infrastructures
• Experience with Juniper Firewalls, VMWare VSphere, and/or Red Hat Linux.
• Technical and/or Security Certifications such as VMWare Certifications, Juniper Certifications (JNCIE, JNCIP, JNCIS or JNCIA), Security , CISSP, CISA.

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job successfully.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to make decisions, interpret data, and problem solve.

• The employee frequently is required to stand or sit for extended periods; use hands to operate a computer keyboard and standard office equipment.
• The employee must occasionally lift and move up to 10 pounds.
• Requires the ability to work and collaborate with managers and employees at all levels to exchange ideas, information, and opinions to facilitate the task.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of workweek are Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Working extended hours may be required.

Travel Requirement:

This position requires minimal travel (approximately 10%).

Should you elect to apply for this position SPP will review your qualifications? If after reviewing the qualifications and experience of all applicants, your skills and credentials meet our needs, someone from our organization may contact you. Please be advised that the time required to complete the applicant review process typically takes between 30 and 90 days, but could extend beyond that. Once the position has been filled, all applicants will be notified via email.

Southwest Power Pool is an Equal Opportunity Workplace and an Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age or any other protected category.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines “reasonable accommodation” as a change or adjustment to a job or work environment that allows a qualified individual with a disability to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of a particular job, and does not cause an undue hardship for the employer. SPP adheres to the ADA and reasonable accommodations may be made to enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions.