Business Analyst 3

Business Analyst 3

This full-time contract Business Analyst 3 assignment will provide data and research expertise and assistance to the delivery & Performance group, a part of the Internal Operations Management Office (TOI) organization of the Transmission (T) business line at BPA. This assignment will work with the TOII Project Manager (PM) and a variety of subject matter experts (SMEs) to assist BPA with verifying that all applicable regulatory requirements are met and projects with potential impacts to the grid are successfully managed to allow the safe and reliable operation of BPA's Transmission grid. This BA position is regularly assigned multiple projects related to changing or adding new systems or equipment which will be integrated into BPA's transmission grid. It is anticipated that critical, highly visible projects will be coming through the queue including many generation interconnection efforts in the next 1-3 years.

Organization TOII is a support organization for System Operations. The TOII office is responsible for planning, managing, and leading programs, systems, and work processes critical to the operational performance of day-to-day System Operations (TO) activities. The office ensures regulatory compliance in support of overall organizational program delivery related to North American Electric Reliability Council – Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC-CIP), Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), BPA and a variety of other national, state and local regulations and standards affecting Transmission System Operations.

Successful candidates will need to have a service-oriented approach to their work, possess demonstrated experience and proficiency in data analysis and research, experience in facilitation of project team activities, process development and project and compliance documentation. Candidates should also be adaptive to all kinds of working environments (office, field locations, and substations). Knowledge of electrical utility processes and practices would be a plus.

Assignment Responsibilities

Note: All official drafts, documents and recommendations, as listed below, must be reviewed, finalized and approved / accepted by appropriate BPA manager or other federal personnel with the authority to do so. Support and facilitate BPA manager-assigned project or multiple projects, relating primarily to operational requirements for Transmission Grid changes, from beginning to end in collaboration with senior management, external industry entities, subject matter experts, and stakeholders by:

• Analyze existing data across multiple data sources and update source systems for energization date changes.
• Collect, compile and report on data discrepancies from multiple data sources.
• Research business intelligence reporting output and relate it to design and construction milestones for in-flight capital projects.
• Facilitate working sessions, collaborate, document, and participate in discussions with various groups within the Control Center, Transmission Technology, Asset Management, the Outage Office, project management team, and other interested parties to gather project requirements (and comments), develop and recommend project work plans, schedules, milestones, deliverables, etc.
• Facilitate and maintain consistent communication with the project sponsor, performance managers, subject matter experts, and clients on the progress of projects versus the plans.
• Manage and maintain tools to track project progress and task completion to support control center activities with design, construction, and system / equipment testing schedules when projects are placed into the work plan.
• Coordinate, arrange, facilitate, and document business requirements gathering sessions; conduct needs analysis from various stakeholder perspectives; work with SMEs and the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) to review, draft and recommend project specifications.
• Research, collect, and document project documents, drawings, relevant links and modeling information to support the needs of control center Energy Management Systems (EMS) programmers and System Administrators.
• Ability to review and analyze standard engineering drawings and project explanations, similar to Project Requirements Documents (PRD), to coordinate whether or not there are control center impacts related to the projects.
• Update project specific data with input from project SMEs to determine/update project specific data, including due dates, and other critical project milestones.
• Interface with other organizations within BPA to evaluate Transmission project needs for System Operations, and to validate requirements and tasks on projects are properly identified, tracked, and completed; alert BPA personnel of any issues or concerns, provide mitigation recommendations; implement BPA approved mitigation actions.
• Verify Control Center activities are coordinated with other BPA project teams to maintain schedules; alert BPA manager / personnel of any issues or concerns, provide mitigation recommendations; implement BPA management approved mitigation actions.
• Track construction status from an operations perspective, both for Control Center progress and for field/external progress that impacts the Control Center; alert BPA manager of any issues or concerns, providing mitigation recommendations; and implement approved mitigation actions.
• Provide support to develop and track targets; and update project milestone documentation as needed.
• Assist BPA management to define, draft, and recommend project success criteria and disseminate to involved parties; monitor and track progress, update stakeholders, sponsors, customers, etc. throughout the project lifecycle.
• Alert the BPA manager of and obtain appropriate authorization for any potential changes to project cost, schedule or performance.
• Coordinate and support the following functions:
• Facilitate the Bi-Weekly Control Center / Field Project Coordination team meeting.
• Coordinate and facilitate Project Team(s), including milestone management and communication of deliverables across multiple projects.
• Facilitate as needed GRDT monthly meetings with Power Services Support development of written and verbal sponsor and stakeholder communication Scope definition, tracking, and management.
• Facilitate "kick off" and other project meetings with managers, sponsors, stakeholders, and partners; validate approval/buy in of project plans and commitment of resources.
• Schedule and facilitate project team meetings and coordinate activities of sub-teams.
• Coordinate with the Transmission Technology and Internal Operations Management organizations to verify operational and data requirements to support the safe and reliable operation of the Bulk Electric System (BES).
• Mark documents and maintain filing system(s), files, emails, and records in accordance with compliance requirements.
• Share and disperse documents only to appropriate personnel (those with a Lawful Government Purpose (LGP) to know).
• Mark and maintain all official records in accordance with the Information Security (INFOSEC) and Information Governance & Lifecycle Management (IGLM) standards and procedures. Validate official records are accurately maintained for auditing purposes.

Requirements

Education & Corresponding Experience (required on matrix) A degree in Business Administration, Management, Accounting, Computer Science, Engineering, Business Management, Organizational Development, or a closely related discipline is preferred. With an applicable Bachelor's degree, 8 years of experience is required. With an applicable Associate's degree, 10 years of experience is required. Without an applicable degree, 12 years of experience is required. Experience should be consistent with the specific requirements of business analysis and progressively more technical in nature.

Required Technical Skills & Experience (required on matrix) Direct work experience and knowledge of data management principles and methodologies with a solid understanding of how a capital program and processes are executed and how data flows through the various operational systems Experience in strong written and verbal communication to disseminate electrical information to various audiences Technical interview skills sufficient to facilitate group process design/requirements gathering sessions in a business environment. Intermediate proficiency in Visio (flowcharts), MS Project, Access, and SharePoint (or similar software)

Preferred Skills & Experience (optional on matrix) Experience with the following: Implementing asset strategies and developing related asset plans. Planning, implementation and/or operation of Control Center systems (SCADA, AGC, ICCP). Knowledge of the NERC & WECC Planning Standards as they apply to Power Systems Control (PSC) equipment Knowledge of Reliability Coordinator requirements for modeling compliance Knowledge of transmission and operational power systems controls and equipment Knowledge of SharePoint automation tools (e.g., NINTEX) Knowledge of and skill in the following: Communication network operation concepts, methods, performance and planning Communication network architecture principles and concepts Planning of communications, control and data systems for network transmission, network interconnections and customer service projects

Additional Requirements (not required on matrix) Valid U.S. Driver's License is required. PPE Requirements White Hard Hat Eye Protection Hand protection (gloves) Hearing Protection Footwear: ASTM F 2413-11 with an EH Rating or ASTM F2413-18 with an I/C/EH Rating. Footwear must lace up over the ankle and have a rigid sole and heel. The exterior of the boot must be made entirely of natural materials (all leather or leather and rubber combination) to conform to Arc-Flash requirements. Electrical and Arc-Flash protective clothing and PPE as required by OSHA and consistent with BPA Safety and Health Policy for work on or near an energized facility.