Lead Specialist, Stakeholder Engagement

About us

Every day we deliver safe and secure energy to homes, communities, and businesses. We are there when people need us the most. We connect people to the energy they need for the lives they live. The pace of change in society and our industry is accelerating and our expertise and track record puts us in an unparalleled position to shape the sustainable future of our industry. To be successful we must anticipate the needs of our customers, reducing the cost of energy delivery today and pioneering the flexible energy systems of tomorrow. This requires us to deliver on our promises and always look for new opportunities to grow, both ourselves and our business.

At National Grid Ventures, we aim to create an environment where everyone is welcomed for who they are and where our differences are celebrated. We utilize the insights of our employees that come from all different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs to better serve our customers and communities.

National Grid Ventures is hiring a Lead Specialist of Stakeholder Engagement for the External Affairs team. This is a hybrid role. The successful candidate will be required to travel frequently within New England and must reside within the New England states.

Job Purpose

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing, managing and executing stakeholder engagement and education strategy across New England projects. Must be experienced in leading engagement plans and activities to support competitive transmission, as well as other competitive markets. A wide variety of stakeholders are involved with the role, including, but not limited to internal staff, partner organizations, industry groups, environmental and other special interest groups, and communities across New England. Candidate must be able to foster connection, drive positive sentiment, and produce stakeholder support by proactively building strategic relationships. 

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and execute stakeholder engagement and education activities targeted to a variety of stakeholders. Activities include one-on-one meetings, live and virtual presentations, project open houses, collateral development, and tours.
• Maintain the day-to-day relationship with stakeholders
• Identify and plan non-project related events, activities, and other strategies to build good will with communities and provide educational opportunities.
• Collaborate on federal and state policy initiatives to better support the permitting and construction of projects, highlighting the successes of competitive transmission.
• Work with internal and external project-specific partners on overarching stakeholder and public engagement strategies across a project lifecycle that are aimed to 1) achieve timely regulatory approvals and/or compliance and 2) exceed industry standards or requirements on engagement to position National Grid as a responsible, credible, engaged and thoughtful partner.
• Maintain internal database and/or shared site of executed engagement, meetings, stakeholder sentiment, events and materials.
• Actively represent the company in external events to enhance the company profile and reputation. This includes attending meetings and participating in events outside of normal business hours.

Support and track activities associated with key organizations and influencers to understand local community issues and opportunities. Deliver appropriate solutions, in line with National Grid Ventures policies and processes. 

Qualifications

• • Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Public Relations, Political Science, Communications or a related field of study and minimum 10 years prior work experience.
  • Prior experience in stakeholder outreach and engagement on large-scale, complex energy projects in all phases – development, permitting, construction and restoration.
  • Strong understanding and/or existing relationships within New England stakeholders
  • Outstanding oral, written, and interpersonal communication
  • Demonstrates a consistent approach in dealing with community stakeholders and taking personal responsibility for addressing problems and concerns.
  • Ability to comprehend and translate complex technical information into easy-to-understand content for the general public.
  • Proven ability to lead and collaborate with teams to deliver successful outreach/communications efforts.
  • Ability to work well with the public and interact with all organizational levels, including executive leadership.

More Information

This position has a career path which provides for advancement opportunities as you develop and evolve in the position; gaining experience, expertise and acquiring and applying technical skills. Internal candidates will be assessed and provided offers against the minimum qualifications of this role and their individual experience.

National Grid Ventures is an equal opportunity employer that values a broad diversity of talent, knowledge, experience, and expertise.  We foster a culture of inclusion that drives employee engagement to deliver superior performance to the communities we serve.  National Grid Ventures is proud to be an affirmative action employer. We encourage minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans to join the National Grid Ventures team.

In accordance with guidelines regarding companies classified as Federal contractors and consistent with our core commitment of safety, National Grid Ventures requires all new hires to be fully COVID-19 vaccinated as a condition of hire. "Full vaccination" is defined as two weeks after both doses of a two-dose vaccine or two weeks since a single-dose vaccine has been administered. Anyone unable to be vaccinated, either because of a religious belief or a disability can request a reasonable accommodation.

This role is offered on a Full-Time, Permanent basis

Internal candidates should notify current manager of interest prior to application. 

Recruiter: Kim Mayes

Manager:  Alana Russo, Director, US External Affairs