City of Austin - JOB DESCRIPTION

Executive Account Manager

This positions is responsible for managing Austin Energy's (AE) business relationship with its largest Key Account commercial and industrial customers with technical and complex energy requirements, including the semiconductor business. This position performs account management activities and acts as a resource and facilitator to resolve customer issues as they arise.

1. Acts as the trusted energy advisor, single point of contact, and liaison between the customer and utility, delivering excellent customer service. Builds and maintains excellent business relationships with multiple levels of contacts within assigned companies ranging from technical to the executive level.
2. Informs customers on AE's technical, engineering, and distributed energy resource products and services. Maintains a thorough understanding of AE's highly technical/engineering products and services, including service delivery configurations, rate structures, laws and policies, energy conservation, reliability, power quality, complex metering, demand response, green building, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources.
3. Coordinates, assembles, and leads cross-functional teams to resolve customer issues. Makes recommendations to achieve bilateral goals and resolve problems between AE and customers.
4. Works with the Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development, and Key Account customers on new construction projects. Leads internal cross-functional efforts and effectively communicates with customers regarding AE’s new construction processes, timelines, and design criteria, as well as Green Building programs.
5. Provides detailed planning and follow-up information for both scheduled and unplanned outages and voltage sags. Participates in a root cause analysis of the outages, corrective and preventive action plans, and implementation strategies to improve reliability.
6. Develops and implements account plans, communication plans, and outreach strategies to meet each customer needs and AE program and strategic goals.
7. Maintains customer account history in customer relationship management software.
8. Writes competitive proposals for the entire suite of AE products and services by negotiating agreements with legal, engineering, and financial officers.
9. Serves on cross-functional teams to ensure continuous improvement of internal processes and procedures. Leads, as necessary, the development of new or revised business processes, policies, or programs.
10. Follows all safety protocols and actively supports the safety of both customers and employees in the workplace and in the field.
11. Keeps customers apprised during voltage sags, outages, or other energy emergencies so they can make informed business decisions. Manages the Key Accounts team during energy emergency events when required.

Responsible for the full range of supervisory activities including selection, training, evaluation, counseling, and recommendation for dismissal.

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office and customer relationship management software such as SalesForce.
• Knowledge of utility industry functions such as rates, reliability, power quality, substation and relay configurations and operations, renewable energy, demand response including automation, and energy conservation.
• Knowledge of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the nodal power market.
• Knowledge of and ability to follow National Incident Management System protocols.
• Skill in leadership and project management to lead employees or groups who are not direct reports, including times of energy emergencies.
• Skill in organization and time management.
• Skill in oral and written communication and presentation.
• Ability to provide clear communication and manage resources through an emergency.
• Ability to produce creative/positive solutions for customer service in a challenging environment through negotiation or persuasion while balancing the needs of AE and the customer.
• Ability to develop creative solutions to address highly complex and technical customer issues.
• Ability to read and comprehend transmission and substation one-line drawings and sine waveforms.
• Ability to openly communicate with highly specialized personnel regarding technical, engineering, and complex energy issues.
• Ability to accurately calculate a commercial customer’s highly complex energy bill using meter or billing data and recommend appropriate rate options.
• Ability to work various shifts, on-call, and call back hours, typically in support of outages or energy emergencies.
• Ability to communicate associated technical and engineering concepts to non-industry individuals and executives at assigned companies.

• Graduation with a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in a field related to Business, Marketing, Engineering, or Liberal Arts, plus eight (8) years of experience in account management, business to business sales, customer service, energy efficiency, corporate sustainability, project management, electrical design or facilities management, or other directly related experience, including at least four (4) years of utility experience.
• Experience may substitute for education up to four (4) years.
• Graduation with a Master’s degree in Business Administration from an accredited college or university or Professional Engineer (PE) license may substitute for up to two (2) years of experience.

• Must be able to bend, lift, walk, carry, or use a force equal to lifting up to ten (10) pounds frequently and greater than ten pounds of force occasionally.
• Must be able to view a computer screen and possess the manual dexterity required to operate a personal computer on a frequent basis.
• Must be able to climb ladders and traverse new construction job sites with up to one (1) mile of walking over raw terrain.
• Must be able to endure frequent outdoor activity, sitting, standing, walking, squatting, bending.
• Must be able to endure exposure to extreme heat, cold, inclement weather, noise, mechanical hazards, fume/odor/dust hazards, electrical hazards, occasional kneeling, and crawling.
• Must be able to travel out of town for meetings or conferences, when necessary.