Vice President, Customer and Community Engagement

Public Power; Lincoln (NE); On-site; USD 216,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Lincoln Electric System (LES) in Lincoln, Nebraska, seeks a Vice President of Customer and Community Engagement to lead the Customer and Community Engagement division and advance the customer experience strategy. You will oversee customer service operations, programs, and communications, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities and a strong, trusted public presence.

As a member of executive leadership, you will shape data-driven decisions, workforce culture, and collaborative partnerships

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, communications, marketing, management, or a related field.
• Progressively responsible leadership experience in customer service, customer experience, community engagement, public or governmental affairs, communications, utility operations, or a related field.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the Customer and Community Engagement division aligned with LES’ vision and priorities.
• Lead executive level teams to ensure safe, productive, and healthy work environment and outstanding employee experience.
• Champion customer experience principles across customer service, programs, quality, accessibility, and communications.
• Oversee public/governmental affairs and policy issues representing LES with civic leaders and stakeholders.
• Oversee mass and crisis communications, public relations, advertising, and marketing to strengthen LES’ brand.
• Ensure access to customer data and insights to guide decisions and digital transformation.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Executive communication

Customer experience

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/related field

Job description

Job Title: Vice President, Customer and Community Engagement

Posting Dates: September 24 - October 25, 2026

Starting Pay Range: $216,000 - $270,000

Competitive compensation and benefits package offered, designed to attract and retain top talent.

JOB SUMMARY

Responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction for the Customer and Community Engagement division and advancing LES’ customer experience strategy while supporting reliable, accessible, and fair service for all customers. Specific responsibilities include leading customer service operations, customer experience, customer programs, service quality assurance, customer-facing communications, as well as public and governmental affairs; and ensuring the division has the resources, data, communication, stability, and culture needed to serve customers well. This position is part of the executive leadership of LES, and as such is expected to demonstrate experience, skills and abilities consistent with a senior leader in a large, complex organization.

ABOUT LINCOLN ELECTRIC SYSTEM (LES)

Lincoln Electric System, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the second largest retail electric utility in the state and the 23rd largest public power utility in the U.S. LES provides electric services to Lincoln and the surrounding communities of Prairie Home, Waverly, Walton, Cheney, and Emerald, serving over 153,000 customers—88% residential and 12% commercial and industrial—across approximately 200 square miles.

A municipal utility owned by the city of Lincoln, LES employs around 560 people, with 27% represented by two IBEW unions. Guided by the LES Administrative Board, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by City Council, the utility has a 60-year legacy of reliability, affordability, and sustainability under local control. LES is deeply engaged in the community, delivering safe, resilient, and cost-effective electric services while supporting the growth and vitality of Lincoln and the surrounding region.

Your Public Power Partner | Lincoln Electric System

ABOUT LINCOLN, NEBRASKA

Lincoln, Nebraska offers an exceptional quality of life, combining the accessibility and affordability of a mid-sized city with the cultural, educational, and economic opportunities of a larger metropolitan area. As the state capital and home to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the community is vibrant, growing, and deeply connected through strong civic engagement and local pride. Residents enjoy a welcoming, family-friendly environment with excellent schools, diverse neighborhoods, and a cost of living that supports both comfort and opportunity.

Lincoln is known for its extensive park system, miles of connected trails, and year-round recreational opportunities, making it easy to enjoy an active lifestyle. The city also boasts a dynamic arts and entertainment scene, locally owned restaurants and businesses, and a thriving downtown that continues to evolve. With a stable economy, low unemployment, and a strong sense of community partnership, Lincoln is an ideal place to live, work, and lead—especially those passionate about serving the public and making a meaningful impact in the community.

Lincoln The Place to Be

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND CORE COMPETENCIES

• Provides strategic leadership and direction for the Customer and Community Engagement division, including ensuring the division’s purpose, priorities, roadmap, and performance measures are in alignment with LES’ vision and enterprise priorities.
• Provides skilled leadership at the executive level that delivers a safe, productive, collaborative, and heathy work environment, intended to achieve outstanding employee experience.
• Champions the development, implementation, and measurement of best-in-class customer experience principles and practices, providing strategic leadership for customer service, customer programs, service quality, accessibility, and other customer-focused functions.
• Provides strategic oversight and occasional tactical guidance of public and governmental affairs and policy-related issues, ensuring the best interests of LES and the service area are represented and advocated for with civic leaders, public officials, community stakeholders, and industry partners.
• Provides strategic oversight for mass and crisis communications, media and public relations, advertising, education, events, and marketing strategies to strengthen LES’ brand, foster public trust, and ensure clear and consistent community engagement.
• Ensures the availability of customer data, voice-of-customer insights, satisfaction measures, complaint trends, and operational metrics, and uses those to guide decisions and lead digital transformation and continuous improvement efforts that improve the customer experience.
• Provides effective executive leadership for complex customer and community escalations, outage and crisis communications, and other time-sensitive issues, demonstrating sound judgment and decisiveness when information may be incomplete.
• Aligns divisional budgets, staffing, and resources with strategic and service priorities and develops and supports leaders and employees through coaching, feedback, accountability, and development opportunities.
• Communicates customer service performance, risks, opportunities, priorities, and resource needs to executive leadership and supports the development and delivery of presentations and information for the LES Administrative Board and committees.
• Builds and maintains productive relationships and strong partnerships across LES and with community organizations, technology partners, industry groups, civic leaders, public officials, and other stakeholders to advance enterprise priorities and strengthen LES’ ability to serve customers and the community.
• Ensures customer service practices align with applicable utility regulations, statutory obligations, consumer protection expectations, internal guidelines, and balanced risk management practices while leading organizational change with clarity, consistency, and care.
• Participates as a member of executive leadership, bringing the customer and community perspective to enterprise decisions and fostering a culture of trust, transparency, accountability, collaboration, and service while balancing customer and employee needs, organizational priorities, operational realities, and the long-term interests of LES

Communication - Expresses ideas and information in a clear and concise manner whether verbally, written, or other means; tailors message to fit the interests and needs of the audience; delivers information in a manner that is interesting and compelling.

Customer Focus - Putting customers, both internal and external, at the center of business decisions to identify and respond to current and future customer needs. Builds customer confidence, is committed to increasing customer satisfaction, sets achievable customer expectations, assumes responsibility for solving customer problems, ensures commitments to customers are met, solicits opinions and ideas from customers, responds to internal customers.

Teamwork - The ability to effectively interact, cooperate, collaborate, and manage conflicts with other people. Shows enthusiasm toward being a member of the group; actively participates in team meetings and activities; leverages the skills and interests of coworkers to achieve goals and solve problems; supports team decisions.

Decision Making - Moves quickly to make good decisions and commit to a clear course of action; comfortable making sound decisions based on partial information; willing to take appropriate risks to maintain momentum; shows a strong bias toward action.

Leading/Facilitating Teams - Helps team develop a vision, objectives, and goals consistent with the organization’s mission while encouraging personal ownership, anticipating, and resolving conflicts, and fostering an environment where team members are motivated to do their best work.

Strategic Thinking - Aligns day to day activities around broader organizational goals and objectives; prioritizes resources based on the strategic objectives of the organization; recognizes and rewards people based on how their actions support the broader needs of the company.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED

• Demonstrated strategic leadership with the ability to translate enterprise priorities into practical divisional strategies, lead organizational change and continuous improvement, and achieve measurable outcomes.
• Exceptional communication, listening, and relationship-building skills with the ability to effectively engage employees, executive leadership, the LES Administrative Board, public officials, community stakeholders, customers, and industry partners.
• Demonstrated emotional intelligence, empathy, sound judgment, and composure with the ability to navigate complex or sensitive situations, provide constructive feedback, develop leaders, build trust, and make effective decisions under pressure.
• Strong ability to use customer and operational data, technology, and automation to identify opportunities and improve service while balancing customer and community needs with organizational priorities, regulatory requirements, risk considerations, and operational realities.

REQUIRED EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, communications, marketing, management, or a related field; and
• Progressively responsible leadership experience in customer service, customer experience, community engagement, public or governmental affairs, communications, utility operations, or a related field, including significant experience leading teams, organizational strategy, and complex cross-functional initiatives; or
• An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job.

REQUIRED CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

• Valid driver’s license.

LES BENEFITS Overview

LES is interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. LES is unable to sponsor employment-based immigrant or non-immigrant visas. This is not a remote position and requires residency within a reasonable commuting distance to LES in Lincoln, Nebraska.

EEO Minorities/Women/Disabled/Veterans