Key Customer Manager

Manages accounts of customers with substantial energy usage such as commercial or industrial consumers, universities, and local municipalities.

Key Customer Manager

Key Job Information

Key Customer Manager, P3

• Requires in-depth knowledge and experience.
• Uses best practices and knowledge of internal or external business issues to improve products or services.
• Solves complex problems; takes a new perspective using existing solutions.
• Works independently; receives minimal guidance.
• Acts as a resource for colleagues with less experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Customer Relations Manages customers with complex technical distribution systems and needs; builds strategic partnerships between PGE and a select portfolio of customers to ensure highly productive and high-value customer relationships; ensures PGE is meeting all customer needs and expectations so that PGE is held in the highest regard; develops relationships with the customer's decision-makers; provides exceptional service, technical guidance, leadership, expertise and creative solutions; educates customers about the various rates and regulatory environment, service improvements and production/energy efficiency opportunities; negotiates terms and agreement details.
• Customer Intelligence Develops and maintains thorough understanding of the customer's business, industry and energy needs for the managed portfolio of customers; gathers critical information about customer interests and industry so that better products to meet customer needs can be developed.
• Strategic Plans Develops and maintains strategic account plans and annual joint work plans for complex accounts and delivers annual service reports for each customer; supports initiatives for process and other improvements that impact the team or impact key customers at a group level; packages and delivers innovative solutions.
• Customer Service Assessment Analyzes and evaluates PGE's reliability for customers in the managed portfolio, advocates for cost-effective improvements and solves problems.
• Internal Relations Coordinates with internal PGE personnel as necessary (e.g., billing, rates, contracts, construction, outages and reliability) to respond to all customer needs; serves as the internal PGE expert for assigned customers and their industry and advocates for customer needs; works with internal PGE partners on issue resolution, program development, policy development and proposal evaluation; briefs management on major customer issues and developments for assigned customer accounts.

Education/Experience/Certifications

• Requires a bachelor's degree in engineering or other related field or equivalent experience.
• Typically, five or more years in an electric utility, account management or related field.

Competencies (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities)

Functional Competencies

• Advanced knowledge of utility operations and business, including regulatory requirements, account management, business principles, electricity fundamentals, pricing and power cost fundamentals.
• Intermediate knowledge of how PGE's transmission and distribution system works.
• Intermediate knowledge of business energy efficiency technologies, systems, concepts, practices, energy savings calculations and modification strategies.
• Working knowledge of contract law and administration and risk analysis.
• Working skills in negotiating contracts.
• Advanced skills in protecting customer's confidential information.

General Competencies

• Intermediate analytical thinking skills.
• Advanced customer focus skills.
• Intermediate decision-making skills.
• Advanced diplomacy skills.
• Intermediate enterprise/business awareness skills.
• Intermediate presentation and facilitation skills.
• Intermediate problem-solving skills.
• Intermediate written and oral communication skills.

Senior Key Customer Manager

Key Job Information

Senior Key Customer Manager, P4

• Requires specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise.
• Interprets internal or external business issues and recommends best practices.
• Solves complex problems; takes a broad perspective to identify innovative solutions.
• Works independently, with guidance in only the most complex situations.
• May lead functional teams or projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Customer Relations Manages complex accounts, which are customers with higher technical needs, more complex distribution systems, higher reliability concerns or other sensitivities; builds strategic partnerships between PGE and a select portfolio of customers to ensure highly productive and high-value customer relationships; ensures PGE is meeting all customer needs and expectations so that PGE is held in the highest regard; develops relationships with the customer's decision-makers; provides exceptional service, technical guidance, leadership, expertise and creative solutions; educates customers about the various rates and regulatory environment, service improvements and production/energy efficiency opportunities; negotiates terms and agreement details.
• Customer Intelligence Develops and maintains deep understanding of the customer's business, industry and energy needs for the managed portfolio of customers; gathers critical information about customer interests and industry so that better products to meet customer needs can be developed.
• Strategic Plans Develops and maintains strategic account plans and annual joint work plans for highly complex accounts and delivers annual service reports for each customer; leads or supports initiatives for process and other improvements that impact the team or substantially impact key customers at a group level; packages and delivers innovative solutions.
• Customer Service Assessment Leads a team or personally analyzes and evaluates PGE's reliability for customers in the managed portfolio, advocates for cost-effective improvements and solves problems.
• Internal Relations Mentors new team members or those with less experience; coordinates with internal PGE personnel as necessary (e.g., billing, rates, contracts, construction, outages and reliability) to respond to all customer needs; serves as a team lead and as the internal PGE expert for assigned customers and their industry and advocates for customer needs; serves as an authority and works with and advises internal PGE partners on issue resolution, program development, policy development and proposal evaluation; briefs management on major customer issues and developments for highly complex customer accounts.

Education/Experience/Certifications

• Requires a bachelor's degree in engineering, business or other related field or equivalent experience.
• Typically, eight or more years in an electric utility, account management or related field.
• Requires a valid driver's license and a history of safe driving practices.

Competencies (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities)

Functional Competencies

• Advanced knowledge of utility operations and business, including regulatory requirements, account management, business principles, electricity fundamentals, pricing, and power cost fundamentals.
• Advanced knowledge of how PGE's transmission and distribution system works.
• Advanced knowledge of business energy efficiency technologies, systems, concepts, practices, energy savings calculations and modification strategies.
• Working knowledge of contract law and administration and risk analysis.
• Intermediate skills in negotiating contracts.
• Advanced skills in protecting customer's confidential information.

Read the full posting.