VELCO

Associate Legal Counsel | Full Time

Category: Legal Services

Location: 366 Pinnacle Ridge Road, Rutland, VT, USA

Why you should join our team

Vermont Electric Power Company, Inc. (VELCO) is looking for a lawyer to join our team as in-house Associate Counsel.  If you have a growth mind set, like to work collaboratively, enjoy challenge and learning, and want to play a meaningful part in the transformation of the energy grid, please read on!

How you will make an impact

• Provide legal counseling, including management of outside counsel, in state and federal regulatory proceedings and rulemakings. Develop mission-aligned legal strategies, build client consensus, draft, edit and file pleadings and public comments for regulatory proceedings and other entities.  Represent VELCO in proceedings before Vermont and federal regulatory agencies, including FERC and the Vermont Public Utility Commission.
• Keep the legal department and other internal clients abreast of relevant energy regulatory developments, proposed rulemakings, and policy shifts at the state, regional and federal level, and advise on a course of action.
• Actively collaborate with other Company leaders in the development of advocacy strategy.
• Actively develop meaningful stakeholder relationships- working with state, regional and federal regulators, NGOs and other entities find common ground and advance VELCO’s interests and mission.

Who you are

As a core member of a small legal department, the Associate Counsel will serve, support, and collaborate with a wide range of business areas.  The role embraces a full suite of regulatory and transactional work, primarily in the energy regulatory and policy arena (including FERC and NERC compliance and policy, project permitting, and finance/tariff compliance), but also in employment, tax, real estate and other areas.  The Associate Counsel will work closely in collaboration with the General Counsel to support the Company’s regulatory and compliance work, including FERC, NERC and ISO-NE requirements applicable to transmission companies.    The Associate Counsel will also contribute in the development of our state, regional and federal energy policy advocacy strategy.  This position will be a great fit for those who love to learn, enjoy a diverse menu of work, are undaunted by new opportunities, and are in search of an in-house legal career with room to grow.

A successful candidate will have at least four (4) years of experience as an attorney with a law firm, regulatory agency or in-house position with a concentration electric regulatory work, preferably with experience in FERC and/or public utility commission matters.

VELCO’s commitment to our employees

• Paid Time Off – Everyone needs time off to recharge. New employees are frontloaded with prorated time off dependent upon date of hire
• Sick Leave – We advocate for staying home when you are sick
• Paid Holidays – We observe 11 paid company holidays
• Medical – Select from two comprehensive health plans. Employees have access to a Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account. We allow documented Domestic Partners on our plans
• Dental & Vision – Offers a wide range of covered services
• Wellness Program – Allows you to receive up to $100 per year for reimbursement of approved wellness expenses
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – Aids with mental health, stress management, work-life balance, financial and legal matters, and much more
• 401K – We offer a very generous employer match and profit share contribution
• Short Term Incentive Bonus – VELCO proudly offers a yearly incentive bonus based on individual contributions and key performance indicators
• Life Insurance – VELCO paid life insurance and supplemental coverages are available

Important Considerations

• Starting pay will be determined at the time of offer based on the experience, education, and training of the successful candidate.
• Eligible applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.
• Any offer of employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background screening, drug test and pre-employment physical. Documentation of a Covid-19 vaccination is also required unless you qualify for an exemption.
• VELCO is an Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran
• This job posting does not list all responsibilities of the position. For the full job description, please make the request to Human Resources at HRGroup@velco.com
• VELCO has one open position for Legal Counsel that may be filled by an Associate or Senior level Counsel

The Fine Print

• Demonstrated, working acumen of state and federal energy regulation and policy. FERC experience is preferred. The ability to provide legal research and analysis to support the development and execution of strategies to advance energy policy with regulators and other stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills, along with the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing to all levels of the organization.
• Strong legal negotiating, diplomacy, and consensus-building.
• Ability to work independently with little or no supervision and the ability to work collaboratively with others.
• The ability and willingness to build the Company’s culture and support its diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging efforts.
• The ability to manage multiple assignments and produce accurate results in a high demand environment is central to the position.

Who VELCO is

Located in the heart of the Green Mountains, VELCO is the country’s first electric transmission-only company. We safely and reliably manage Vermont’s high voltage electric grid and continue to innovate in this space.  VELCO is a tightly knit, nimble group of 150 mission-driven employees working collectively to advance our vision of creating a more sustainable Vermont.  We pride ourselves in how we do our work: we strive to give life to our Trusted Partner mission—to be transparent, accurate, reliable, and accountable—in all our work and interactions, internally and externally.

VELCO is truly unique among investor-owned utilities.  We are financially structured to benefit electric customers, not unlike a cooperative.  Therefore, here, everyone’s work is driven equally by our duty to keep the lights on and our vision of delivering real, sustainable value to our fellow Vermonters.

We promote innovation, transparency, the importance of earning and building broad stakeholder trust, and transformational energy policy.  If you are searching for an opportunity to make a big difference in a small company on course to accelerate electric grid transformation, come see what we have to offer.

Deadline: April 30, 2023 12:00 am

To Apply:

Interested applicants, please submit your resume and cover letter at https://velco.breezy.hr/