Senior Program Associate - Solar Battery Savings

San Diego Community Power (CA); San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

San Diego Community Power is seeking a Senior Program Associate to support the Solar Battery Savings (SBS) program in a dynamic, start-up environment. You will help manage enrollment, incentives, reporting, and stakeholder engagement while coordinating with contractors and manufacturers.

The role involves day-to-day operations, collaboration with multiple departments, and budget-related tasks. Strong communication and project management skills are essential to succeed in this position.

Qualifications

• Four-year degree and 3–5 years of professional experience; graduate degree may substitute.
• Experience implementing programs in battery storage, rooftop solar, energy efficiency or related fields.
• Strong commitment to sustainability, community energy, and mission-driven work.
• Ability to travel locally; reliable transportation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities

• Review incentive applications and coordinate with contractors for documentation.
• Review quarterly contractor applications and support programmatic training.
• Coordinate with industry, consultants, customers, and program participants.
• Field calls and emails from the public and stakeholders for program questions.
• Support SBS program implementation with internal teams, committees, consultants, and partner agencies.
• Assist in budgeting, procurement, scheduling, and program metrics.
• Develop and manage contracts through RFPs and negotiations.
• Support data collection, organization and analysis for program-related tasks.
• Monitor progress and provide reports to senior staff.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Skills

Project management

Program implementation

Stakeholder engagement

Environmental justice

Diversity & inclusion

Decarbonization knowledge

MS Office

Travel readiness

Communication

Time management

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Dynamics 365

Microsoft Office

Job description

About the role

The Senior Program Associate supports the implementation of the Solar Battery Savings (SBS) program. This role assumes responsibility for more than one aspect of program maintenance and delivery and contributes to several other aspects including budget tracking, incentive processing, program enrollment and reporting, and stakeholder engagement. A key function of this role will be to review program applications and engage with SBS program participants, approved contractors, battery manufacturers, and collaborate with the Program Team and other Community Power departments who support the program. This role is directly responsible for day-to-day program operations and interacts with a wide range of customer groups.

WHO IS SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY POWER?

San Diego Community Power is a community-driven, not-for-profit public agency providing cleaner energy to the San Diego region. Formed in 2019, Community Power is the second largest Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) in California, serving nearly 1 million customer accounts across its member agencies: the Cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and National City, as well as the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

OUR HISTORY

San Diego Community Power was formed in 2019 as a public, not-for-profit community choice aggregator (CCA) in the San Diego region. We began electric service in 2021 and now serve seven member agencies: the Cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and National City, as well as the unincorporated communities of San Diego County. San Diego Community Power was formed to bring local control and customer choice to San Diego while also providing clean and renewable energy at competitive rates. We are the second largest CCA in California, serving nearly 1 million customers. For more information, please visit SDCommunityPower.org.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

At SDCP, we value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We represent a diverse customer base and hope to hire employees that reflect our communities. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITES

• With support from senior staff, manage the review and approval of incentive applications submitted to the SBS portal and work with contractors to ensure all proper documentation is provided for incentive reservation and payment.

• Review quarterly contractor applications for approval for participation in the program and support the programmatic training for contractors.

• Coordinate with industry, consultants, customers, program participants, and other stakeholders involved in program implementation.

• Field calls and emails from the public, program participants and industry stakeholders to answer program-specific questions and / or refer to the appropriate staff.

• With support from senior staff, coordinate and support implementation of the SBS program by working closely with Community Power staff, the Community Advisory Committee, consultants, stakeholders, and other partner agencies.

• Support senior staff with budgeting, procurement, scheduling, and program metrics.

• With support from senior staff, develop and conduct requests for proposals; negotiate, implement, and manage contracts.

• Support and assist in a broad variety of program-related data collection, organization, and analysis.

• Monitor program progress in assigned program area(s) relative to goals and provide reports to senior staff.

• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITES

Required:

• Working knowledge of core project management concepts and principles, including project lifecycle phases, work planning/scheduling, risk/issue tracking, and status reporting.

• Experience supporting the implementation of programs in one of the following areas: battery storage, rooftop solar, energy efficiency, building decarbonization, demand response, transportation electrification and demand management.

• Strong commitment to sustainability, community energy, and mission driven work.

• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within Community Power and in our communities to build program accessibility and participation, including within Community Power’s Communities of Concern.

• Knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of environmental justice and equity principals.

• Knowledge and understanding of general decarbonization strategies and associated programs to reach decarbonization goals.

• Knowledge and basic understanding of the Community Choice Aggregation business model.

• Strong critical thinking skills including a high tolerance for uncertainty and the ability to identify issues and propose solutions.

• Establish effective and cooperative working relationships with customers, local businesses, community groups, interested stakeholders, officials of municipalities, agencies, special districts, and other related agencies.

• Positive, collaborative, supportive team member excited to work with diverse teams and communities.

• Work independently with strong organizational and time management skills and demonstrated goal setting and self-management to support multiple assignments concurrently.

• Strong work ethic and comfortable taking responsibility, initiative, and working in a fast spaced, start-up environment.

• Strong communicator who can write and present compellingly and clearly.

• Ability to take and provide critical feedback in constructive ways.

• Ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.

• Ability to comprehend and adhere to Community Power personnel policies.

• High proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Word, Excel and PowerPoint and ability to use virtual meeting applications.

• Experience working with office procedures and practices including correspondence etiquette, and operating office equipment, technology, and programs.

• Ability to travel to meetings and community events to meet with residents and stakeholders. Must have access to reliable transportation, and if driving an automobile, a good driving record. Community Power will reimburse mileage expense at the IRS mileage rate.

Desired:

• Working knowledge of rooftop solar and storage systems including topics such as billing mechanisms (i.e., Net Energy Metering, Net Billing Tariff), potential bill impacts, system functionality and market landscape (i.e., new products, major manufacturers, local contractors).

• 2-3 years of experience supporting the implementation of programs in one of the following areas: battery storage, rooftop solar, energy efficiency, building decarbonization, transportation electrification, demand response, demand management.

• 1-2 years of experience at an industry partner (i.e., solar contractor or battery manufacturer), community choice aggregator, investor-owned utility, public utility or public agency.

• Experience with residential rooftop solar and/or battery installation processes and system functionality, ideally working for an installation contractor or a battery manufacturer.

• Experience supporting the implementation of customer energy programs focused on on-site generation (e.g., rooftop solar) and storage.

• Familiarity with CRM software used to manage customer/application data and workflows (e.g., Salesforce; Dynamics 365 or similar). Ability to strongly represent the organization in various professional engagement settings from local to national convenings (conferences, workshops, executive meetings, etc.).

• Proficient in verbal communication in multiple languages, Spanish and English preferred.

QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Any combination of education and experience that would provide the knowledge and abilities listed. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

A four-year degree or higher from an accredited college or university AND a minimum of three (3) to five (5) years of professional experience. Four (4) additional years of professional experience may be used in place of a degree. A graduate degree may substitute for one year of professional experience.

WORK ENVIROMENT & CONDITIONS

Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer. The position requires occasional carrying, lifting and/or moving objects up to 25 pounds. Occasional local travel and reliable transportation to attend Community Power public meetings, events and workshops on an as-needed basis is required.

At SDCP we work in the communities we serve and in the office. SDCP works to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for employees and in our communities. SDCP requires employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Exemptions to the vaccine requirement will be considered for individuals with medical conditions that prevent them from being vaccinated and for individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs that prohibit them from being vaccinated, consistent with governing labor laws.

SDCP is an agency required to adopt and promulgate a Conflict-of-Interest Code (“COI”). The COI code requires employees in designated positions, including those identified under the interim disclosure process, to file a Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) on an annual basis. A Successful candidate accepting this position may be required to file Conflict of Interest forms subject to the regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission.