Program Manager, Principal

Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 144,000 - 244,000; Full time

Job summary

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is seeking a Principal Program Manager to lead ROWRS community engagement and external communications, coordinating with cross-functional teams to support encroachment resolution across the Bay Area and broader service territory.

The role requires executive communication skills, program direction to external partners, and the ability to translate technical information into effective engagement plans. Travel is expected 2–4 days per month.

Qualifications

• 10 years of relevant experience in program management, community engagement, strategic communications, stakeholder relations, public affairs, or a related field.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Valid driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Lead ROWRS community engagement program and external communications partners with priorities and decisions.
• Develop and implement comprehensive strategic communications, outreach, government relations, and community engagement plans.
• Establish engagement objectives, audiences, strategies, channels, milestones and success measures.
• Manage external partner scope, schedule, budget, deliverables, risks and performance; review invoices and forecasts.
• Lead planning and deliverable review meetings with external partners and cross-functional PG&E teams.
• Create and maintain an integrated project and engagement calendar aligned with field work and leadership updates.
• Coordinate with Legal, Marketing, Government Relations, Regulatory Affairs, Customer Care, and field teams to ensure accurate and approved engagement materials.
• Lead development of stakeholder impact assessments to shape outreach sequencing and messaging.
• Oversee creation of message architecture, talking points, FAQs, fact sheets, letters, emails, presentations, and other communications.
• Lead planning for community meetings, briefings, and engagement activities; represent PG&E at meetings.
• Establish governance, workflows, and reporting for the ROWRS communications workstream.

Skills

Program management

Community engagement

Strategic communications

Stakeholder relations

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Job description

Department Overview

The Electric Transmission Right of Way (ROW) Risk Reduction Strategy (ROWRS) establishes a programmatic approach to reduce the existing asset encroachment backlog by 95%+ and stand up a sustainable, end-to-end process for the ongoing identification, validation, and resolution of easement encroachments.

Position Summary

The Principal Program Manager leads community engagement and strategic communications for ROWRS and serves as PG&E’s primary program lead for external communications and engagement partners. This role directs the development and execution of integrated communication, outreach, government relations, stakeholder engagement, and community engagement strategies that support the safe and effective resolution of transmission right-of-way encroachments.

The Program Manager provides program direction to external partners, translates technical and operational information into clear engagement plans and materials, coordinates cross-functional PG&E partners, and ensures outreach is timely, consistent, and aligned with program milestones, customer and community impacts, and corporate communications requirements. The role leads planning and governance, manages scope, schedule, budget, deliverables, risks, and performance, and represents PG&E in key community and stakeholder forums. This is a fast-paced, high-impact, and high-visibility role requiring sound judgment, executive communication skills, and the ability to navigate complex or sensitive issues.

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned location based on business need. Travel is estimated to be about 2-4 days/month in Dublin, San Ramon, Concord, and communities across PG&E’s service territory.

Position location is flexible throughout PG&E's service territory.

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for this position at the time of the job posting. This compensation range is specific to the locality of the job. The actual salary paid to an individual will be based on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, geographic location, and internal equity. Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed towards the middle or entry point of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors.

Bay Area Minimum: $144,000

Bay Area Mid: $194,000

Bay Maximum: $244,000

California Minimum: $137,000

California Mid: $184,000

California Maximum: $232,000

This job is also eligible to participate in PG&E’s discretionary incentive compensation programs

Job Responsibilities

• Lead the ROWRS community engagement program and serve as PG&E’s primary point of contact for external communications and engagement partners, providing priorities, direction, decisions, and timely access to program information.
• Direct the development and implementation of comprehensive strategic communications, outreach, government and stakeholder relations, and community engagement plans.
• Establish engagement objectives, audiences, strategies, channels, milestones, decision rights, and success measures aligned with ROWRS work plans and risk-reduction priorities.
• Manage external partner scope, schedule, budget, deliverables, dependencies, risks, and performance; review invoices and forecasts and develop solutions for variances.
• Lead recurring fact-finding, project planning, and deliverable review meetings with external partners and cross-functional PG&E partners.
• Create and maintain an integrated project, communications, outreach, and engagement calendar tied to field work, customer impacts, leadership updates, and key program decisions.
• Coordinate with Legal, Marketing and Communications, Government Relations, Regulatory Affairs, Customer Care, Local Public Affairs, operations, engineering, and field teams to ensure engagement plans and materials are accurate, approved, and consistent.
• Lead development of customer, community, and stakeholder impact assessments and use findings to shape outreach sequencing, messaging, escalation paths, and mitigation actions.
• Oversee creation and approval of message architecture, talking points, frequently asked questions, fact sheets, letters, emails, presentations, video scripts, social content, field crew materials, training content, leadership updates, and other internal and external communications.
• Lead planning and execution for community meetings, briefings, workshops, and other engagement activities; represent PG&E at key community and stakeholder meetings.
• Establish governance, workflows, templates, approval processes, document controls, and reporting for the communications and engagement workstream within the cross-functional ROWRS PMO.
• Prepare and present concise program updates, risks, recommendations, engagement outcomes, and decisions needed to senior leadership.
• Identify emerging stakeholder concerns, reputational risks, policy issues, and community impacts; coordinate rapid, accurate, and consistent responses with appropriate PG&E teams.
• Ensure internal stakeholders, leaders, and field personnel are informed and equipped to communicate consistently about ROWRS activities.
• Support qualitative and quantitative research activities, as authorized, and translate findings into actionable engagement strategies and program improvements.
• Apply program management expertise to resolve complex cross-functional issues, improve processes, and ensure communications and engagement activities support safe, consistent, and scalable encroachment resolution.
• Support legislative, regulatory, and media engagement on an as-needed basis in partnership with the responsible PG&E organizations.
• Coordinate and participate in field visits to understand local conditions, validate stakeholder impacts, and inform engagement planning.

Qualifications

Minimum:

• 10 years of relevant experience in program management, community engagement, strategic communications, stakeholder relations, public affairs, or a related field
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Valid driver’s license

Desired:

• Experience leading complex community engagement or strategic communications programs in the electric utility, infrastructure, construction, or public-sector environment
• Demonstrated experience managing consultants, agencies, contracts, budgets, schedules, and executive-level deliverables
• Strong ability to translate technical, operational, and regulatory information into clear messages and practical engagement strategies
• Experience coordinating across communications, government relations, regulatory, legal, customer, engineering, operations, and field organizations
• Ability to build credibility with community representatives, customers, public agencies, senior leaders, and other internal and external stakeholders
• Strong facilitation, presentation, writing, issue management, and executive communication skills
• Experience with transmission rights-of-way, easements, encroachments, or other complex land and infrastructure matters