Customer and Community Services (CCS) is seeking a Business Transformation/ERP Project Manager to lead the successful business processes migration of the end-to-end meter-to-cash (M2C) processes related to the multi-year ERP implementation of SAP S/4HANA.

The incumbent will report directly to the Chief Customer Officer (CCO) with a matrixed reporting relationship to the Director of Customer Experience Planning & Integration. They will work closely with the IT Program/Project Manager, Project Team Members across the enterprise, and Subject Matter Experts and Process Owners across multiple business units.

This role involves the following:

• Serve as single point of contact for the business unit and coordinate with the IT PMO
• Oversee project planning, execution, change management, monitoring, and closure
• Ensure all M2C processes are accounting for and impacts understood
• Work with stakeholders and analysts to re-design processes to better fit S4HANA
• Identify impediments, risks and escalate accordingly for resolution
• Communicate to the CCO and other key stakeholders on status of migration of processes

Candidates should be energized about working on SMUD campus Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The most qualified candidate will have a strong background in project management, an understanding of utility customer operations, and ERP systems, specifically SAP S/4HANA. They will demonstrate passion for creating exceptional customer experiences and operating in a way that’s easy, responsive, caring, trust building, and community minded.

Official SMUD Classification: Senior Strategic Business Planner

Purpose

To lead in the performance of both short and long term strategic business planning balancing the experiences and needs of customers while also focusing on internal priorities, resources and objectives. Oversee long term strategies while also delivering value to the business through short term, actionable efforts. In doing so, clearly identifies SMUD current state, desired state, key steps required to reach the desired state, and the benefits to our customers and SMUD. Maintains a focus on customer experience excellence; ensures achievement of department results and goals that support SMUD strategic objectives

Nature and Scope

Serves as a technical or functional expert or consultant providing expertise and/or direction in one or more areas of a professional discipline and assumes responsibility for resolving complex problems and projects; may serve in a Lead role and assist in planning, coordinating, prioritizing, monitoring and evaluating the work results in assigned area and in selecting, training, motivating, evaluating and developing lower-level personnel.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Leads and supports key business initiatives by overseeing the development of short and long term strategic and operational plans to drive and support implementation of customer programs, operational enhancements, product solutions, or other services to meet SMUDs strategic business objectives.
• Oversees the establishment of 3-year strategic and/or operating plan for assigned unit. Coordinate the monthly forecast process, ensure line of sight between project outline and delivery.
• Use existing financial models and/or develop new models, spreadsheets or other techniques to analyze financial and business planning issues. Including researching and analyzing data to identify major drivers of performance, customer experience and interpret trends to develop, present, and implement value-added solutions to optimize resources and processes.
• Define, review and monitor operational/program metrics; support requests for project maintenance and creation to ensure business alignment; collaborate with stakeholders to determine measures of success to ensure program/project changes benefits are realized; serves as a liaison between workgroup/business units to facilitate business needs.
• Develop and support recommendations with accurate financial analysis and rigorous financial or economic theory. Review analyses, reports or other decision documents prepared by other contributors or stakeholders and provide comments or additional analyses to improve the overall quality of information provided to management.
• Develop, prioritize and evaluate strategic customer initiatives including technology, energy technology and capital projects. Incorporate primary and secondary customer research to ensure that the voice of the customer is considered.
• Oversee contract management for assigned area, ensure vendors are meeting SLA, evaluate contracts and determine if extensions or a new RFP is necessary to sustain business processes/needs. Establish delivery tactics, budgets, key performance indicators and metrics within the planning framework for all initiatives to guide the implementation process.
• Work closely with implementation teams to track and adjust plans on an on-going basis to ensure a positive customer experience and ongoing success.
• Partner with applicable stakeholders within and across business units and departments to ensure coordination, consistency, and continuity of planning processes and projects.
• Proactively focus attention on areas requiring attention.
• Connect and coordinate with applicable external stakeholders including other utilities, research groups, policy groups, regulators, consortiums, other organizations at a regional and national level to provide input and insights on best practices, industry trends and opportunities for program or process improvements and new service options.
• Provide clear, concise, and meaningful information and recommendations to management, including feasibility studies to define business opportunities and to gain approval for implementation of initiatives, and business justifications for approval that include the costs and benefits of alternative solutions and recommended solutions.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Required Education

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Business, Marketing, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience). If no degree, a minimum of eleven (11) years of relevant experience is required.

Required Experience Qualifications

Seven (7+) years of progressively responsible relevant experience. Experience should include project management, business and/or budget planning and/or developing and monitoring business performance measures and metrics.

Knowledge Of

Customer experience concepts and experience working with others within SMUD to gather and summarize the potential market and/or impact of products, services, process improvements and/or construction projects as they relate to our customers; characteristics and operational needs of various organizational units; techniques and practices for problem research and resolution; principles and techniques of research and analysis; principles of performance measures development, application, planning and evaluation; principals of project management, cost accounting, work management and managerial reporting systems; interrelationships between SMUD operations and relevant external; principles and practices for contract management; principles and practices of budget preparation and administration; SMUD policies, procedures, applicable MOUs and other special agreements; principles and procedures of record keeping and filing; principles of business letter writing and basic report preparation; mathematical principles; office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and applicable software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases; English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Skills To

Manage multiple projects and planning processes of moderate complexity; analyze complex issues and develop/implement resolution alternatives; analyze procedures/systems and develop/implement operational improvements; analyze situations, documents and data for conformance to established policy and procedures; gather data from appropriate sources and identify relevant factors; interpret, clarify, understand and analyze verbal/written information and ideas; compile and prepare technical, statistical and/or analytical reports and presentations; independently prepare a variety of correspondence and memoranda; compile data, maintain records and files, and prepare administrative or technical reports; develop and implement new and revised policies and procedures to provide for the effective operation of the area of responsibility; develop, implement and maintain work procedures; plan, organize, prioritize and schedule projects; assist in budget preparation and administration; Achieve results through the efforts of other people; establish and maintain effective working relationships internally/externally; plan, organize, direct, and review the work of others; prepare performance plans and evaluations for employees; develop performance standards and accountability; operate office equipment including computers and supporting word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications; interpret and apply administrative and departmental policies and procedures; communicate effectively orally and in writing internally/externally; establish and maintain effective working relationships internally/externally.

Desirable Qualifications

• Project Management Institute Project Management Professional (PMI-PMP) certification or equivalent
• Ten (10+) years of experience in SAP-focused project and program management
• Ten (10+) years of experience with change management involving enterprise system migrations
• Proven expertise in managing full lifecycle S/4HANA or similar ERP systems
• Strong knowledge of utility customer operations and how they integrate with ERP solutions
• Familiarity with business process modeling, optimization, and reengineering