About us

National Grid is hiring a Senior Specialist for our Stakeholder Engagement department in Syracuse, New York.

Everyday 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

Job Purpose

The Senior Project Engagement Specialist is responsible for meeting the outreach and education needs of National Grid's capital infrastructure projects. Part of the success of a project at National Grid heavily depends on the quality of its relationships and interactions with stakeholders. As part of multiple project teams, the Senior Specialist will play a pivotal role responsible for building relationships and engagement strategies for a multimillion-dollar portfolio of complex construction projects to support the on-time and on-budget completion of these projects.

Key Accountabilities

Serve as the Subject Matter Expert for stakeholder relations and public engagement for complex construction projects.
Develop, manage, and execute project outreach plans, strategically tailored to educate and engage a wide range of audiences on complex capital projects.
Create strategic project messaging, simplifying technical information to ensure it is easily understood across audiences.
Organize and execute project-related events, including open houses and public hearings to support the delivery of projects.
Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders throughout the planning, permitting, construction, restoration and post-construction phases to proactively address, minimize, and resolve project impacts (e.g., traffic impacts, visual disruptions, recreational concerns, etc.).
Establish and maintain long-term professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders (including Engineering, Legal, Environmental, Project Management, and Corporate Affairs departments, as well as National Grid Leadership) within a specific geographic area.

Desired Knowledge and Experience:
Problem-Solving: Skilled at working within a team to plan and execute outreach and education initiatives, and effectively respond to stakeholder inquiries.
Execution Management: Proficient in managing and measuring the execution of outreach plans with internal stakeholders across disciplines, including Project Management and Corporate Affairs.
Communication: Skilled in conveying complex engineering, environmental, construction, and regulatory information in an understandable manner across diverse audiences.
Strategic Development: Proven track record of developing strategic, informative, and professional collateral to deliver campaigns.
Crisis Communication: Proficient in anticipating, planning, and executing communications in potentially contentious environments, with a proven track record of de-escalating situations.
Relationship Building: Highly skilled in building and maintaining relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, from executives to the public, fostering trust and collaboration.
Capable of navigating complex organizational structures to ensure alignment and support for projects.
Proven ability to create and sustain long-term professional relationships that contribute to the successful execution of projects.
Availability & Travel: Willing to attend evening meetings and presentations as required to support project work, including evenings, weekends and "off-hours".
Travel: Open to travel, including off-hours.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree preferred in Communications, Political Science, Business, Environmental Science, or other related field or 7+ years of related experience.
Proven experience in public, customer, community, and/or municipal relations.
Exceptional writing and editing skills, including the ability to craft documents and marketing materials.
Exceptional people skills, relationship building skills, and problem-solving skills.
Strong verbal communication skills, with experience in public speaking and handling potentially contentious forums.
Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office products (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, etc)
Excellent project management and time management skills; capable of handling multiple projects with competing deadlines.
Ability to thrive in an inclusive, flexible work environment, interacting with a diverse range of stakeholders.

Valid drivers license required.

More Information

Salary

$84,800 - $100,700 a year

This position has a career path which provides for advancement opportunities within and across bands 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.