Sr. Regulatory and Utility Relations Specialist

Position: Sr. Regulatory and Utility Relations Specialist 

Reports to: Sr. Advisor – Regulatory Policy and Utility Relations

Compensation*: Competitive starting salary $74,900 – $93,700 commensurate with skills and experience, Full Pay Range: $74,900 – $112,400

Application Deadline: 08/15/2025

Employment Classification: Exempt, Full-Time

Anticipated Start Date: As soon as possible, position is open until filled

Office Location: Portland Metro Area, Oregon, USA

BACKGROUND

 About Energy Trust of Oregon

Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy development. We serve Oregon customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista, and SW Washington customers of NW Natural. Year over year Energy Trust is recognized as one of the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work For in Oregon.

Our Vision

Clean, affordable energy for everyone.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We recognize the lack of diversity in our industry, and we actively seek to address it with our hiring and retention practices as well as our values. We believe every person and their lived experience is integral to building a vibrant culture and delivering effective services to all customers we serve. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, and we encourage candidates with diverse backgrounds and experience to apply.

Our Location

Energy Trust provides a range of work location options, including remote, hybrid and in-office work. This position will represent Energy Trust in public settings and potentially at community events. We are open to candidates who live throughout Oregon and Washington. The Sr. Regulatory and Utility Relations Specialist would be expected to report to the office on a quarterly basis, at a minimum.

What We’re Looking For:

 The Senior Regulatory and Utility Relations Specialist will have primary responsibility for managing projects, communications, systems and projects that enable Energy Trust to engage effectively with the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) and our funding utilities. This individual will be the main day-to-day contact for utility and OPUC staff and manage internal collaboration across Energy Trust programs, planning, legal, finance, operations, marketing communications, and other departments as needed to resolve regulatory and utility questions and requests.

The Senior Specialist prioritizes projects and issues for resolution in alignment with Energy Trust’s Strategic and Multiyear Plans, funding agreements, public accountability framework, and relationship management priorities.  Focus areas for this role include crafting communications and briefings on topics relevant to regulatory and utility topics, synthesizing technical and complex Energy Trust data and expertise for input to regulatory dockets, developing project plans and managing internal cross-functional project teams related to emerging needs and priorities, and recommending topics and information for consideration by Regulatory Policy and Utility Relations Senior Advisor, Director of Communications and Customer Service (CCS) and Energy Trust leadership.  

This individual will be a key contributor in Energy Trust’s Communications and Customer Service Group and will directly support work led by the Senior Advisor. This position may lead other cross-functional work as assigned, with correlating responsibilities. 

This position is expected to be available for in-person meetings with the Oregon Public Utility Commission, utilities, and stakeholders on an as needed basis. Most meetings will occur in the Portland metropolitan region, but some travel to Salem and other meeting locations in Oregon and Washington may be required on an infrequent basis. This position is required to report to the Portland office quarterly at a minimum for all staff and other in-person meetings

What You’ll Do:

• Primary responsibility for relationship management systems and processes enabling Energy Trust’s productive engagement with Oregon Public Utility Commission, PGE, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista, working closely with all parts of the organization.
• Maintain active communication and meetings with OPUC and funding utilities to enable exchange of information, cultivate understanding of Energy Trust plans, and provide a forum for discussion of issues, opportunities, needs and concerns that require resolution.                                                                                                                                     
• Define and prioritize inquiries, opportunities, needs and concerns identified by OPUC and utility liaisons and develop plans, project scopes and recommendations to achieve resolution in alignment with Energy Trust’s Strategic and Multiyear Plans, funding agreements, public accountability framework, and relationship management priorities.
• Communicate and negotiate with Energy Trust staff in all departments and OPUC and utility counterparts to address open issues, identify common objectives, set expectations for progress milestones, and secure resources needed to achieve resolution.
• Ensure productive interactions and responsive service to OPUC and utility liaisons, setting expectations appropriately based on resources.
• Manage complex projects related to regulatory/OPUC and utility developments as assigned by Senior Advisor. Ensure work is appropriately scoped, aligned with expectations and project tasks and deliverables are on track. Organize the work of internal contributors and ensure efforts align with the objectives for regulatory and utility relations.
• Identify relative priority of complex projects related to regulatory/OPUC and utility developments as inputs to senior management decision-making. 
• Utilize systems and develop enhancements to provide internal visibility to current, open and resolved topics of discussion, joint projects, inquiries and complaints.
• Monitor commitments related to regulatory/OPUC and utility deliverables, guiding other staff and resources within the organization as needed to ensure assignments are made and commitments are complete.
• Manage the development of documented responses to custom OPUC or utility requests for information across multiple groups and provide internal quality assurance review to determine if the product meets expectations.
• Synthesize relevant OPUC proceedings and utility plans and summarize for internal distribution to cultivate shared understanding of issues important to utility partners, the OPUC and stakeholders.
• Share information regarding regulatory/OPUC and utility issues to inform internal discussions and plans in Energy Programs, Planning & Evaluation, Finance, People Services, IT, Communications and Customer Service and leadership forums as guided by Senior Advisor. Represent OPUC and utility perspectives in internal discussions and serve as a resource to Energy Trust staff. 
• Identify relevant utility and OPUC activities for Energy Trust leadership and staff participation. Provide advance briefings and materials to support successful interactions. 
• Seek input from OPUC, utility partners and other stakeholders as needed to inform Energy Trust decision making and follow-up later to communicate how their input was incorporated. 
• Research regulatory policy approaches related to energy efficiency and renewable energy as directed by Senior Advisor. Synthesize research into key takeaways to inform colleagues.
• Apply knowledge of current approaches to regulatory analysis, regulatory process, regulatory decision-making and utility business considerations to strengthen Energy Trust’s communications and support the expertise Energy Trust offers to external parties
• Provide information about benefits and outcomes of Energy Trust work for stakeholders in new, meaningful and relevant ways
• Create, adapt and share documentation including plans, timelines, presentations, reports, memos and meeting notes from Energy Trust to OPUC, utilities and relevant external parties. Distill content to support communication of critical content.
• Participate in, summarize, and complete follow-ups for other stakeholder meetings as requested.
• Support other Communications and Customer Service group initiatives and activities as assigned.  
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned
• Perform all functions of the job in a safe manner. 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

• This position has no supervisory responsibilities

What You’ll Need:

• Bachelor’s degree relevant to responsibilities described above, such as in program or project management, public policy, public administration, natural resources, business, communications or another relevant field or equivalent professional experience.
• 5 to 7 years of experience in progressively responsible roles utilizing communications, project management, government relations, and relationship management competencies to deliver services and support programmatic, strategic or policy functions.
• Experience in one or more of the following areas is preferred: regulatory agencies, regulatory policymaking, energy efficiency and renewable energy, energy utilities and utility customer programs, energy resource planning.
• Foundational understanding of the role of energy efficiency and small-scale renewable customer programs within the greater energy policy landscape is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary internal project teams is preferred.  
• Experience establishing and developing relationships with external stakeholders is preferred.
• Strong oral and written communication skills. Demonstrated experience writing and producing a variety of communications, briefings and presentations. Skills and experience using data visualization to communicate a compelling story preferred.
• Experience hosting meetings with partners or funders to reach alignment on short and long-term objectives and resolve concerns when raised.
• Project planning skills, including the ability to prioritize, organize and plan for effective development and delivery of projects.  
• Experience developing systems and processes to support timely tracking and information sharing.
• Skilled in interpersonal relationship development, collaboration and problem-solving.
• Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Suite of software tools --- Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Planner – as well as SharePoint, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and similar software applications. 
• Ability to respond to quick-turn tasks and meet deadlines, synthesize information from multiple inputs, and recognize when advising is needed from senior staff.
• Ability to interact with a diverse workforce and be comfortable working in culturally diverse settings and groups. 
• Ability to work alongside individuals and organizations with different and conflicting viewpoints on Energy Trust’s work.  

 The above information is designed to outline the functions and position requirements of this job. It does not identify all tasks that may be expected, nor address the performance standards that must be maintained

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

 Please submit your resume and a cover letter that shares your interest in this role.

View our current openings at Energy Trust’s website www.energytrust.org/About/careers

What You’ll Get:

• Health/dental/vision insurance
• Employer sponsored and paid life/disability
• 401(k) with a company contribution of 6% of your salary after 90 days of employment
• TriMet pass
• Access to health and dependent FSA/HSA accounts
• Generous paid vacation, holidays and sick days
• Paid volunteer hours
• Employee assistance program
• Career advancement opportunities
• Great colleagues and culture
• Flexibility to work from home and/or an office space at the Portland, OR location 
• Work from home laptop provided
• Read more about our benefits here

All offers of employment are conditional pending the successful completion of a background check (which may include employment verification, education verification, criminal history, motor vehicle record) and reference checks.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that candidates from certain demographics are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification—for example, women and People of Color. At Energy Trust we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace—if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles. 

Energy Trust of Oregon is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy, medical condition, genetic information, mental and physical disability, political affiliation, union membership, status as a parent, military or veteran status or other non-merit based factors. We will provide reasonable accommodation throughout the application, interviewing and employment process. If you require reasonable accommodation, contact us. Energy Trust of Oregon is an E-Verify employer. This policy is applicable to all phases of the employment relationship, including hiring, transfers, promotions, training, terminations, working conditions, compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Energy Trust is committed to pay equity. Energy Trust is committed to fair employment practices and non-discrimination, including pay equity for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected class (race, sex, veteran status, disability, age, color, religion, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation) in the payment of wages or screen applicants on the basis of their current or past compensation. We determine salary by completing a review of your application materials to evaluate your related education, experience and training.

*Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, and certifications in the pay equity assessment to determine equitable salary placement. Candidates should expect compensation offers within the starting compensation range. The full pay range is included to show the earnings potential for this position with sustained high performance.  

www.energytrust.org