Assistant Director of Utilities - Resources Management bei City of Palo Alto, CA

About the Department

Lead the future of energy and water planning in one of California’s most innovative cities.

The City of Palo Alto Utilities Department is seeking a strategic, forward-thinking Assistant Director of Utilities – Resource Management to oversee the City’s critical utility planning, procurement, financial forecasting, and sustainability programs.

As the only municipal utility in California providing electricity, gas, water, wastewater, and fiber services, Palo Alto offers a unique platform to lead integrated and innovative resource management strategies. The City’s control over these essential services allows for coordinated planning across sectors, including a strong emphasis on acquiring renewable energy resources and ensuring reliable water supplies. A forward-thinking City Council and an engaged community further strengthen this work. Palo Alto’s locally owned utilities enable us to offer some of the lowest electric rates in the state, making it easier for residents and businesses to adopt clean technologies while keeping utility services affordable.

This alignment of financial, operational, and environmental goals positions the City as a leader in sustainable public utility management. Palo Alto is on the cutting edge of building and mobility electrification, advancing efforts to transition away from fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With ownership of both the gas and electric utilities, the City is uniquely equipped to implement bold, system-wide decarbonization strategies. As Palo Alto pioneers these approaches, the lessons learned and models developed here have the potential to inform and inspire similar efforts in communities around the world.

About the Role

Reporting to the Director of Utilities, you will supervise two work groups comprised of 25 high-level staff responsible for utility resource procurement, load forecasting, financial planning and rate setting, key account relationships and customer program development. In this high-visibility position, you will play a central role in ensuring the City meets its goals for affordability, reliability, environmental sustainability, and long-term utility resiliency. Some exciting near-term collaborations include implementation of residential electric time of use rates, renewable energy procurement for a growing electric demand, decommissioning the gas utility while keeping gas rates affordable, and scaling electrification programs to achieve the City’s aggressive climate goals.

Position Duties

Key Responsibilities

• Direct the procurement and delivery of utility commodities (electric, gas, water), ensuring alignment with reliability, rate, environmental, and risk management policies.
• Lead long-term forecasting of energy and water consumption to inform strategic planning and operations.
• Guide utility financial forecasting and rate design, ensuring rates are equitable, transparent, and sustainable.
• Manage a $200 million budget.
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with joint powers authorities (JPAs) and regional utility associations; support governance efforts and represent the City’s interests in collaborative decision-making.
• Oversee the design and implementation of electrification and energy and water demand-side management programs that support customer conservation and carbon-reduction goals.
• Manage and mentor professional teams including managers, program administrators, and analysts.
• Represent the department to the Utilities Advisory Commission, City Council, community groups, and partner agencies.

Ideal Candidates should demonstrate the following: 

• Proven experience overseeing procurement and delivery of utility commodities including renewable energy resources in compliance with risk management standards.
• Expertise in utility demand forecasting, particularly in modeling energy and water consumption trends and infrastructure needs.
• Experience developing and managing demand-side management and sustainability programs with measurable customer or environmental outcomes.
• Strong background in utility financial forecasting and rate design, ideally within a municipal or public agency context.
• Skill in developing productive relationships with regional agencies, JPAs, and regulatory bodies, and effectively supporting executive-level governance.
• Excellent leadership, supervisory, communication, and project management, skills with a track record of leading high-performing teams. 

Minimum Qualifications

Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field and eight years of related experience, including five years of management level experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

Licensing Requirements:
 
Depending on area of assignment, some positions may require by Municipal Code, State or Federal law one or more of the following:

• Valid California Driver's License

Preferred Experience & Education

• At least 8–10 years of progressive experience in utilities resource management, energy/water procurement, or financial planning.
• Public sector or municipal utility experience strongly preferred.
• Advanced degree in Public Administration, Environmental Policy, Engineering, Economics, or a related field is desirable.

Other Qualifications

The Selection Process:

• Recruitment status notifications will be sent via email or text (if interested in text, please enroll in text alerts when applying).
• Updates can also be found on your governmentjobs.com account.
• Applicants will be screened throughout the posting process and highly qualified candidates may be invited to interview. 
• The screening process for this position may include a panel interviews preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.
  
  

Our online application system is provided by NeoGov. If you have problems while applying online, please contact NeoGov's Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.  

The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

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