(Project Leads) Operations Advisor & Senior Operations Advisor

Date October 20, 2025

Location Mississauga, Ontario

Requisition ID 20656

Status Regular

Business Unit Markets and Reliability

Why join us?

The IESO is committed to ensuring Ontario’s electricity system meets the province’s needs today and into the future. We are charged with purpose, delivering reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity for homes, businesses, and communities across the province. We are energized to grow, embracing opportunities to shape the future of a dynamic and evolving energy sector while advancing our careers. We are powered by teamwork, supported by diverse and passionate colleagues who foster respect, celebrate successes, and thrive on shared achievements. At the IESO, it’s not just what we do—it’s who we are! 

Who we are

Our central role includes managing the provincial power grid in real-time, overseeing and evolving Ontario’s electricity market, engaging with government, municipalities and Indigenous communities, and planning for Ontario’s future electricity needs. Our employees play a key role in driving grid innovation, protecting the system from threats, advancing the province’s energy conservation programs, and forecasting and procuring the electricity resources we’ll need in the decades to come. 

This role is a part of the Operations Readiness department in Markets & Reliability and is unionized.

The Operations Readiness group plays a critical role within Operations and across the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) by effectively integrating power system changes and managing key operations projects. Central to this mandate is the application of structured project and change management practices to ensure that initiatives are delivered with clear accountability, strong governance, and effective risk mitigation. Through coordination and oversight, Operations Readiness enables the IESO to manage operational complexity and maintain system reliability.

This position is responsible for providing project management and coordination to operations projects, with a particular emphasis on changes to the grid. In addition, this position provides support to external organizations going through the connection process. The role requires close coordination between external stakeholders and internal IESO teams to align connection activities with project milestones, operational timelines, and regulatory requirements.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of project management principles and their application in operational and technical environments. They will have demonstrated experience in coordinating and managing cross-functional initiatives and operational change projects. Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple timelines, deliverables, and stakeholders are essential. A solid understanding of IESO operational processes, Control Room impacts, and market participation requirements is required, along with excellent communication, reporting, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Please note: This job posting encompasses current and anticipated vacancies at the MP4 and MP5 levels that will support and advance the work outlined below. The final classification—Senior Operations Advisor (MP5) or Operations Advisor (MP4)—will be determined based on the selected candidate’s experience, qualifications, and demonstrated capabilities.

Current Available Vacancies (subject to change):

MP4 – Temporary (up to 18 months)

MP5 – Regular (3 positions)

What makes this role exciting

The energy sector is rapidly evolving, offering exciting new opportunities for those who want to make a difference.

As Ontario’s energy landscape evolves, the IESO is taking bold steps to modernize how major projects, from data centres to battery storage facilities and electric arc furnaces, connect to the grid. The IESO is launching a new Project Management Framework bring greater rigour, accountability, and customer focus to the connection process. This shift is about more than executing a process, it’s about supporting customers, enabling innovation and ensuring continued reliability, while delivering important economic growth within the province.  If you thrive on leading complex projects, tackling meaningful challenges, and want to help shape the future of Ontario’s energy infrastructure, this is your opportunity to make a real impact.

• Shape the future of Ontario’s grid by driving complex, high-impact projects from concept to implementation, turning strategic priorities into tangible operational outcomes that advance the energy transition.
• Collaborate with some of the brightest minds across engineering, operations, IT, and market development to align decisions, remove barriers, and keep major initiatives moving forward.
• Influence real change in real time by applying disciplined project leadership, seeing your work directly shape how new technologies, market rules, and grid connections come online.
• Own the momentum; lead critical conversations, navigate complexity, and make decisions that enable Ontario’s evolving energy system to stay reliable, resilient, and ready for what’s next.

What you’ll do
In this role, you’ll make a meaningful impact by contributing to the IESO team and supporting the electricity needs of the province through:

In this role as a Senior Operations Advisor, you’ll make a meaningful impact by contributing to the IESO team and supporting the electricity needs of the province through:

1. Manage the overall authorization process for participation in IESO-administered markets and/or programs with internal IESO business units and organizations seeking such participation.

2. Manage the overall “facility registration lifecycle” with internal IESO business units and external participants. This responsibility includes:

• • Facilitate the registration, maintenance and de-registration of physical facilities for IESO-administered markets or programs.
  • Review connection assessment documentation, market rules, market manuals and converse with subject matter experts to develop registration requirements for facilities.
  • Following up customer issues to expedite their resolution within the IESO.  Deal with subject matter experts and customers to achieve an acceptable resolution.  

3. Lead and maintain the registration system, resolving issues related to registered data, specifying tool enhancements, and championing its role as the central master data library for the IESO.

4. Maintain knowledge of market rules for the purposes of identifying the obligations.  Provide customers and others in the IESO with updates, interpretations and impacts as needed.

5. Issue approval documentation to the participant and within the IESO on recommended decisions pertaining to participation or physical facilities.

6. Provide coordination, technical leadership and business systems expertise to internal and external customers regarding, generally more complex, projects and system changes.

• • Represent Operations for items arising from IT change and release management.
  • Identify the objectives of business processes, assess the risk of not meeting those objectives and identify process controls to mitigate risk as appropriate.
  • Document process objectives, tasks, risks and controls in summary documentation (e.g. risk-control matrices).
  • Make recommendations and implement changes on streamlining tasks and procedures. Contribute to the enhancement/development of existing/new business processes, training packages or guides for participants.
  • Lead and support the Control Room with respect to changes or problems associated with infrastructure or real-time applications

7. Lead and support process improvements and execution in Operations. Prepare and maintain guides and procedures to support the processes consistent with business needs, market rules or other IESO-controlled documents.

8. Deliver new or revised IESO-controlled documents in accordance with the IESO baseline process. Maintain an inventory of Operations controlled documentation. Facilitate the baseline process for Operations documents.

9. Exercise limited/periodic supervision over assigned staff, in addition to training to staff as needed.

10. Provide support to reliability organizations (NERC and NPCC).

11. Perform other duties as required.

In a typical day, you will:

• Lead the planning and delivery of complex, cross-functional initiatives impacting Operations, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and system reliability objectives.
• Manage structured project execution through clear governance, defined scope, proactive risk identification and mitigation, and disciplined delivery practices that strengthen operational readiness.
• Guide and empower cross-functional teams and advisors by setting direction, integrating technical and operational requirements, and ensuring accountability throughout all project stages.
• Champion effective stakeholder engagement, change management strategies, and communications to enable seamless implementation and adoption of operational initiatives.
• Drive the enhancement of project management practices, tools, and frameworks within Operations Integration to continuously strengthen delivery excellence and integration capabilities.
• Lead risk escalation and issue resolution by identifying emerging challenges, facilitating timely cross-functional alignment, and sustaining momentum to ensure the successful execution of critical projects and initiatives.

In this role as an Operations Advisor, you’ll make a meaningful impact by contributing to the IESO team and supporting the electricity needs of the province through:

1. Coordinate the overall authorization process for participation in IESO-administered markets and/or programs with internal IESO business units and organizations seeking such participation.

2. Coordinate the overall “facility registration lifecycle” with internal IESO business units and external participants. This responsibility includes:

• • Facilitate the registration, maintenance and de-registration of physical facilities for IESO-administered markets or programs.
  • Review connection assessment documentation, market rules, market manuals and converse with subject matter experts to develop registration requirements for facilities.
  • Following up customer issues to expedite their resolution within the IESO.  Engage with subject matter experts and customers to achieve an acceptable resolution.  

3. Support system operations by managing and maintaining the registration system, resolving issues related to registered data, and coordinating master data as a centralized resource for the IESO. Provide specifications for tool enhancements to ensure data accuracy and operational readiness.

4. Maintain knowledge of market rules for the purposes of identifying the obligations.  Provide customers and others in the IESO with updates, interpretations and impacts as needed.

5. Issue approval documentation to the participant and within the IESO on recommended decisions pertaining to participation or physical facilities.

6. Provide coordination, technical leadership and business systems expertise to internal and external customer projects and system changes.

• • Represent Operations for items arising from IT change and release management.
  • Identify the objectives of business processes, assess the risk of not meeting those objectives and identify process controls to mitigate risk as appropriate.
  • Document process objectives, tasks, risks and controls in summary documentation (e.g. risk-control matrices).
  • Make recommendations and implement changes on streamlining tasks and procedures. Contribute to the enhancement/development of existing/new business processes, training packages or guides for participants.

7. Support process improvements and document management within Operations by preparing, maintaining, and delivering guides and IESO-controlled documents in alignment with business needs and regulatory requirements. Facilitate the baseline process and maintain an inventory of Operations documentation.

8. Exercise informal  resource management over assigned staff and provide  limited training to staff as needed.

9. Provide support to reliability organizations (NERC and NPCC).

10. Perform other duties as required

In a typical day, you will:

• • Coordinate the planning and delivery of complex, cross-functional initiatives impacting Operations, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and system reliability objectives.
  • Drive structured project execution through clear governance, defined scope, risk management, and disciplined delivery practices that support operational readiness.
  • Guide cross-functional teams and advisors by providing direction, integrating technical and operational requirements, and ensuring accountability across all project stages.
  • Champion effective stakeholder engagement and change management strategies to enable seamless implementation and adoption of operational changes.
  • Enhance project management practices, tools, and frameworks within Operations Integration to continuously strengthen delivery and integration capabilities.

Role Requirements
Our team consists of experts from diverse backgrounds, each bringing their unique perspectives and skills.
To succeed in either roleseither role, you’ll need:

• Academic training in business, commerce, information technology, or engineering to understand and apply the technical/business/legislative parameters governing the energy industry and market place.
• Knowledge of communication techniques and theories at a level to develop comprehensive instructions, policies, practices, and procedures for effective communication to customers in relation to the complaints, inquiries, advice and guidance on Market Participant requirements.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

This knowledge is considered to be normally acquired through the successful completion of 4 year university education or by having an equivalent level of experience.

Background experience will include:

• Lengthy exposure to the overall power system operation through progressive training in an appropriate technical field. 
• Electrical equipment design concepts as they relate to the functions and characteristics of power system components
• Familiarity with power system and market operation, practices, and policies
• Familiarity with IESO’s markets, practices, policies, and market rules
• Project Management

Requires experience:

• in dealing with customers (internal & external to the IESO) in a professional and service focused environment to effectively deal with complex inquiries as well as sensitive situations leading to a positive resolution. 
• in methods of discovery and or investigation, which involves having good analytical, reasoning and customer relations skills to resolve related problems or sensitive questions.
• in a customer service environment.  Should be familiar with various customer-service related responsibilities, functions and their interrelationships, and with the contacts and sources of information involved.
• in project management to successfully manage registration requirements.

A period of over 6 years and up to and including 10 years is considered necessary to gain this experience.

A Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent training and experience in project management will be considered a strong asset.

How We Support You

From a comprehensive total rewards program to dynamic learning and development opportunities—including job rotations to broaden your expertise—we empower you to define and shape your own success. When you join the IESO, here’s what you can expect:

• Best-in-class benefits and long-term support in the form of a defined benefit pension plan. 
• A commitment to flexibility as we currently support a hybrid model where applicable, that supports a blend of remote and in-office work based on business needs. Participating employees typically work in-office a minimum of four days and work remotely up to six days over a two-week period with a goal of maximizing in-office time through the use of established team days. 
• Work in a dynamic and evolving sector that offers exciting opportunities and the chance to explore new career paths.
• Leadership that values meaningful discussions, welcomes feedback, and prioritizes career development. 
• A strong, inclusive culture and a collaborative team environment with a shared passion for impactful work.
• Compensation packages that are regularly reviewed to remain competitive and to best accommodate the diverse needs of our employees. 

For future reference, please save a copy of the job posting as it will no longer be available once the posting closes.

Thank you for your interest in a career at the IESO. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Please note that the successful candidate must be legally eligible to work in Canada and will be subject to applicable background checks. 

IESO will not conduct interviews or offer positions via online, text, chat or social media platforms. We will not gather personal information directly from candidates or potential candidates. Selected candidates will work with our Talent Acquisition team to ensure their application is processed.  

We believe in opportunities for everyone.  At the IESO, we know that achieving great results depends on embracing diversity by attracting, developing, and retaining people from a wide variety of backgrounds. We do this by ensuring our recruitment and advancement policies are fair and equitable, and by creating an accessible and inclusive environment—one that values every team member’s unique skills and experiences and ensures they have the support they need to achieve their potential. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please let us know.  

We’re proud to say we’ve been recognized as a supportive, inclusive employer.