Director, Enterprise Strategy - Little Rock - SPP Corp

Description

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is about more than power. We're about the power of relationships. Our employees have the opportunity to work together to ensure electricity is delivered reliably and affordably to the millions of people living in our service territory. We have been voted one of Arkansas' Best Places to work by Arkansas Business and we are looking for a member of our team who is passionate about our mission to keep the lights on

We have a core ideology here at SPP that we stand by: Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.

We believe in supporting our employees through a fantastic benefits package:

• Competitive and transparent pay with bonus opportunities
• Excellent insurance package including three great medical plans to choose from, employer-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance
• Relocation bonus (if applicable)
• Hybrid working environment for positions that are eligible
• Fantastic contributions to your retirement through a 401(k) savings plan with employer-match benefits and a pension (defined benefit plan) fully funded by SPP

PLEASE NOTE: SPP is not able to sponsor employment visas or student-work authorizations (STEM OPT) for this position. Please ensure you are eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship prior to applying.

COMPENSATION INFORMATION
The salary range(s) represents our good faith estimate for the role at this time. While we strive to provide competitive and transparent compensation, there may be circumstances where an offer is above or outside of the listed range. We are open to discussing salary expectations with qualified candidates considering factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, experience and geographic location will all be considered during the hiring process.

Dir. Enterprise Strategy | Pay Range : $151, $196,975.00

Overview:

The Director of Enterprise Strategy is responsible for leading the development, execution, and governance of SPP's corporate strategy and enterprise performance management systems. This role oversees the implementation of SPP's strategic plan, facilitates strategic alignment across business divisions, and ensures accountability through corporate scorecards, dashboards, and performance reviews. The Director champions the integration of AI and emerging technologies to enhance strategic planning, performance analytics, and data-driven decision-making across the enterprise. The Director also plays a critical role as a strategic internal partner, ensuring that planning tools, scorecards, and insights are delivered with clarity, timeliness, and a strong service orientation to meet the evolving needs of business units and executive leadership. This position serves as a trusted advisor to the executive team and Board of Directors, delivering high-impact insights, strategic initiatives, and corporate performance metrics that enhance SPP's effectiveness, stakeholder value, and organizational agility in an increasingly digital and technology-driven utility landscape.

Essential Functions:

Strategic Planning and Facilitation

• Lead the ongoing evolution and execution of the ASPIRE 2026 strategy and subsequent strategic planning cycles.
• Facilitate annual and quarterly strategy refresh processes, ensuring alignment with regulatory, market, technological, and stakeholder developments.
• Partner with executive and divisional leaders to translate strategic themes into actionable objectives, initiatives, and key results (OKRs).
• Ensure accountability for the execution of strategic initiatives by facilitating progress monitoring, risk mitigation, and resource alignment.
• Integrate risk considerations into strategic planning and performance reviews, ensuring resiliency and adaptability.

Performance Management and Scorecards

• Develop and maintain enterprise-wide and divisional balanced scorecards that track strategic, operational, and affordability performance
• Establish threshold, target, stretch, and superior targets across key metrics (e.g., reliability, stakeholder satisfaction, cost- effectiveness, innovation).
• Drive monthly and quarterly performance reviews with senior leadership and the Board, integrating narrative context with quantitative dashboards.
• Ensure scorecards and dashboards are intuitively designed and actionable for internal users, with regular updates based on feedback from business unit leaders.

Enterprise Strategy Enablement:

• Identify, prioritize, and manage strategic initiatives and special projects across business units.
• Balances high standards of accuracy with agile execution in cross-functional settings.
• Serve as internal strategy consultant, supporting business case development, strategic initiative framing, and cross-functional alignment.
• Deliver tools, frameworks, and facilitation with a customer-service orientation, ensuring internal partners are supported, understood, and enabled. -
• Collaborate with Communications, Human Resources, Regulatory, External Affairs, and Stakeholder Relations to ensure clear messaging of strategic objectives to internal and external audiences

Data-Driven Insights and Decision Support:

• Partner with IT, Finance, and Operations to ensure accurate data flows into strategic dashboards and decision-making frameworks.
• Provide ad hoc executive analysis, KPI deep-dives, and scenario modeling for priority topics.
• Elevate enterprise visibility of trends and partner with Enterprise Risk Management to anticipate and identify strategic risks through dynamic tools and presentations.

All Strategy and Digital Transformation

• Lead integration of AI and emerging technologies into strategic planning, performance management, and decision-making processes.
• Identify and evaluate AI opportunities to enhance operational efficiency, predictive analytics, and strategic foresight across the enterprise.
• Partner with IT and business units to develop AI-enabled tools for performance monitoring, scenario modeling, and real-time insights.

Board of Directors and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Prepare strategic planning updates and performance reports for the SPP Board of Directors, Members Committee, and stakeholder working groups.
• Ensure transparency and traceability of corporate priorities, progress, and performance metrics to members and regulators.
• Support Board priorities with iterative updates, gap closure strategies, and clear action plans.

Team Leadership and Development:

• Manage and mentor a high-performing team of strategy analysts and performance professionals.
• Model and cultivate a culture of internal service excellence, with responsiveness, proactive communication, and commitment to stakeholder success.
• Build a culture of curiosity, data fluency, business acumen, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Oversee consultant partnerships, technology vendors, and process improvement initiatives related to strategic enablement.

The statements contained herein describe the scope of the responsibility and essential functions of this position, but should not be considered to be an all-inclusive listing of work duties and responsibilities. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned including work in other areas to cover absences, or relief to equalize peak work periods or otherwise balance the workload.

Qualifications:

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Public Policy, Engineering, Data Science or a related field.

Experience Requirements:

• Minimum of 12 years of relevant experience in strategic planning, performance management, management consulting, or utility/energy sector roles.

Required:

• Strong knowledge of RTO/ISO operations, regulatory environments, and market structures.
• Proven ability to develop and operationalize strategy, scorecards, and cross-departmental initiatives.
• Executive presence and outstanding communication skills (written, verbal, and visual).
• Must demonstrate discretion, executive judgment, and confidentiality regarding sensitive strategy discussions.
• Demonstrated understanding of AI applications, digital transformation principles, and emerging technology trends in the utility/energy sector.

Preferred:

• Master's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, or Energy-related field.
• Prior experience working with a Board of Directors or executive leadership team.
• Familiarity with SPP processes (e.g., ITP planning, FERC filings, stakeholder governance, etc.).
• Advanced Excel, Power BI/Tableau, or performance dashboarding tool expertise and experience with AI-powered analytics, automation tools, or predictive modeling platforms.
• Experience leading or supporting digital transformation or technology adoption initiatives.

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment.

Position Type, Location, and Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time, hybrid onsite position based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The standard schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with occasional extended hours as needed.

Travel Requirement:

This position requires minimal travel (approximately 20%).

SPP is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans and is committed to excellence. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us at and let us know the nature of your request. We will only respond to messages left that involve a request for a reasonable accommodation in the application process. We will accommodate the needs of any qualified candidate who requests a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

At SPP we believe in a culture of belonging. Learn more here: Culture of Belonging - Southwest Power Pool.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.