Sr. Specialist Operational Assessments MTI

INDEPENDENT ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OPERATOR (IESO)

Why join us? 

You’ve got great skills. And you want to use them in an organization where you know what you do every day matters. We get that.
We also know that ensuring Ontarians have access to affordable and reliable power doesn’t happen by accident. So we give you the tools, flexibility and support you need to achieve your goals, and development opportunities to help you grow. You’ll thrive in a collaborative, team-based environment that values your unique skills and experiences – and recognizes that when you do better, we become even better too.  

Who we are 

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) works at the centre of the province’s power system, ensuring Ontarians have access to reliable and cost-effective electricity when and where they need it. We operate the province’s electricity grid 24/7, design, run and oversee the wholesale electricity markets, and plan and prepare to meet Ontario’s electricity needs – now and into the future.

 

The opportunity

Providing team leadership in the undertaking of Operations support activities which may include:  

• Supporting Market Operations with respect to problems associated with processes and procedures;
• Providing a consultative service to other departments and/or business units on matters related to reliability support, and system and market operations;
• Providing a leadership role in conducting specialized studies to support event analysis and reporting;
  Establishing and maintaining documents and procedures in support of Market Operations; and
• Providing a leadership role in compliance monitoring, assessment, and reporting.

Providing guidance and mentorship to other members of the group, including problem resolution, training and quality checks.

What you'll do

• Develop appropriate processes to support Market Operations activities. Identify the objectives of business processes, assess the risk of not meeting those objectives and identify and document process controls to mitigate risk as appropriate. Document process objectives, tasks, risks and controls in summary documentation (e.g. risk-control matrices).
• Provide guidance and mentorship to other members of the group.  This may include problem resolution, training, and quality checks.
• Review and assess operational and market performance, identify and make recommendations to help resolve associated issues.  
• Initiate and/or facilitate changes to associated processes and procedures.
• Perform and provide leadership regarding reporting of operational issues to governing bodies.
• Review and/or work with subject matter experts (including society and management staff) to produce business process documentations including but not limited to, procedural instructions for Operations activities. Ensure that the documentation is consistent with NERC standards, NPCC criteria, the market rules, relevant government regulations and other industry standards, and is consistent with IESO processes for managing controlled documents. Ensure that the documentation is appropriate for the audience (e.g. internal vs external manuals) and contains the appropriate level of detail. 
• Liaise with Operations staff (including but not limited to Markets & Reliability staff and Information Technology staff to understand issues with the performance of existing tools, and follow-up with Information Technology to facilitate their resolution.
• Work with SMEs within and outside Operations as necessary to integrate new technology/market design into IESO Operations by: 
  •  Determining different stakeholders impacted and coordinate development of appropriate processes, tools and procedures to enable seamless integration
  •  Managing risks by developing proper controls and monitoring to ensure that processes/tools are functioning as designed
• Undertake studies for the analysis of customer betterments, the formation of functional specifications, and the development of complete information solutions (including impacting areas of software, hardware, communications, or business processes as they relate to individual contributors or project management).
• Manage the evolution of existing complex advanced information systems and tools related to the market operation, supply, security and settlement services related to the management of the power system by devising/implementing enhancements to provide additional functionality, improved reliability and or maintainability and problem correction.
• Participate in customer and team meetings to support various tasks including design and review, technical and solution development roadmap, production troubleshooting.  Assess the maturity of the IESO development platforms and recommend actions to improve development efficiency and productivity.  
• Identify opportunities for information solutions that will provide substantial benefits for customers.  Address the total solution in terms of quality, communications, data sources, software tools, integration with existing functions, user interfaces, application security, algorithms etc.  
• Coordinate closely with project teams, Product Owners and Scrum Masters to ensure user story alignment and implementation to customer use cases, and to actively mitigate and manage technical and solution challenges, risks and issues.  Provide technical leadership and guidance on projects including design and code review, mentorship, and solution-specific knowledge. 
• Establish and enhance development policies, guidelines, procedures, and standards.  Maintain implementation consistency, and adherence to best practices.  Influence the team members to innovate and improve product capabilities. 
• Research and identify solution alternatives to meet new business needs or solve existing business concerns, i.e. improving customer experience, operational efficiency, performance and cost-effectiveness.  Works collaboratively with Solution Architecture and Design team to develop and maintain the catalogue of solution and integration patterns.
• Maintain a current knowledge of Operations processes (including but not limited to day-ahead scheduling, control room procedures, real-time scheduling) for the purposes of interpreting and assessing the priority of issues regarding Operations tools and processes.
• Contribute to, lead and manage internal and external working groups (for example, the Interjurisdictional Trading Standing Committee) focused on the improvement of the operation of the IESO administered markets.
• Assess the effectiveness of new programs and potential solutions to operational and market inefficiencies.
• Support, as required, specialized system studies.
• Provide support, as required to other business units, agencies, and market participants to fulfill strategic plans.
• Perform other duties as required.

What you need to succeed

• Education:
  Requires an engineering knowledge of electrical theory, power system analysis and control, mathematics, computer science and other specialty related courses to undertake engineering, economic or analytical studies related to the management and control of the bulk power system.  Requires knowledge of technical writing to prepare effective reports.
• This knowledge is considered to be normally acquired, either through the successful completion of a four-year university education in an appropriate field/discipline or by having the equivalent education.

Experience:
Requires significant exposure to the overall power system operation.  Requires an overall understanding of the IESO-Administered Markets, their operation and the characteristic of the interconnected systems to support the activities of the IESO.  Requires specific experience as applicable to the particular specialty of the group including that of encompassing a leadership role in the undertaking of studies or investigations.  Experience will be related to the fields of:

• secure operation of the IESO Administered Markets and interconnected power system operations
• reliability
• NERC, NPCC and IESO Market Rules compliance assessments

Background experience will include:

• electrical engineering design concepts as they relate to the functions and characteristics of power system components
• familiarity with power system operation, practices, and policies
• familiarity with electric energy and transmission rights market operations, practices, policies, and Market Rules
• competitive market operations
• provincial operating and system requirements
• particulars of power system operation, including technical features of generation and transmission equipment and facilities, system interconnection 
• A period of over 8 years, up to and including 10 years is considered necessary to gain this experience.

What’s in it for you

• A comprehensive total rewards program, including best-in-class benefits and a flexible workplace 
• A challenging, fast-paced and collaborative team environment, where your perspectives and experiences matter 
• Leaders who support your growth and success through regular feedback and coaching 
• The opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the industry 
   

Deadline: July 8, 2025 

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

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 thank you for your interest in a career at the IESO, but we will only contact those candidates selected for an interview. 

Note: The successful candidate must be eligible to work in Canada and will be subject to a background check.

The IESO offers a hybrid work model program to most of our employees, based on business needs. Individuals participating in the program can work an average of three days per week remotely within Ontario. It also offers three flex weeks when individuals can work remotely within Ontario . When working in the office, you will be located at our Mississauga, Toronto, or Oakville location.

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Sign up for talent community; stay in touch, find out about new opportunities – and discover how you can make a difference. Discover how we use our expertise and commitment to deliver reliable and affordable electricity to Ontario’s businesses and communities, and how we’re innovating to secure a stronger energy future for all Ontarians. Visit Careers at IESO and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

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