Recruitment posting
Alberta Utilities Commission
Competition #: 320
Ministry : Energy
Opening Date : 2016/10/03
closing Date : 2016/10/17
Role : Full-time and Acting Commission Members of the Alberta Utilities Commission
It is recognized in Alberta as a fundamental principle and as a matter of public policy that all persons are equal. Diversity and inclusion are valued and supported on the boards of Alberta's public agencies.
**NOTE: This opportunity was posted on the Government of Alberta On-line Job board under Competition Number 1036585 and has been re-posted on this site. If you have applied on this opportunity via the GOA On-line Job Board, you DO NOT need to apply on this site. Applications received from both sites will be fully considered. **
The Minister of Energy is seeking applications from individuals interested in serving as full-time and acting Commission members of the Alberta Utilities Commission. The Commission is not a board of directors.
The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) is an independent, quasi-judicial agency of the Government of Alberta. It regulates various aspects of the utilities sector, natural gas and electricity markets to protect social, economic and environmental interests of Alberta where competitive market forces are not sufficient to do so. The AUC employs fair, open and transparent regulatory processes and makes sound principled decisions based on the evidence before it and in accordance with its statutory mandate.
As a Commission Member, you will participate in collaborative, multi-disciplinary decision making processes and issue sound, principled decisions on the outcome of applications following oral or written public proceedings. You will promote teamwork, support achievement of regulatory efficiencies, and facilitate innovative communication processes.
Full-time Commission Members This is a full time position with significant demands and responsibilities, including some travel within the province. The Commission is not a board of directors. The Commission receives, reviews and adjudicates over one thousand applications of varying levels of complexity per year and initiates a number of its own processes in pursuit of its regulatory mandate. Commission members must act honestly, in good faith and in the public interest in the discharge of their duties.
Acting Commission members: From time to time, you may be called on to act as a Commission member in a proceeding so that you can contribute unique perspectives gained from your professional experience and/or knowledge of a particular subject area in the review of an application.
Key responsibilities
• The consideration and determination of rate, facility and market related applications in a fair and impartial manner including the conduct of oral and written proceedings.
• Making timely and principled rate, facility and market decisions in accordance with the specific legislative requirements set out in the AUC’s enabling legislation.
• Introducing regulatory efficiencies, promoting teamwork and facilitating innovative communication processes.
The Minister is looking for full-time and acting Commission Members with:
• Senior decision-making experience in complex multi-disciplinary and collaborative environments in the electricity, natural gas, utilities or other network industry sectors.
• Knowledge of the principles of fair hearing and natural justice.
• Understanding of, or the capacity to understand, Alberta’s utilities regulatory system including the interaction of the utilities industry with various government agencies and departments each with their own public interest mandates.
• Ability to participate as a decision maker in complex and challenging administrative hearings.
• Ability and skills to respond to a heavy case load, shifting priorities, divergent interests and unexpected challenges.
• Strong interpersonal, collaborative and decision-making abilities with well-developed verbal and written communication skills.
• Familiarity with the principles and concepts that underlie the following subject areas will contribute to success in this role;
- economic regulation, competition law, industrial organization theory and commodity markets,
- construction and siting of utility facilities and other public infrastructure,
- electricity transmission and distribution planning, engineering, operation, reliability,
- natural gas and water system planning, engineering, operation, safety, and
- public hearing processes and the conduct of quasi-judicial decision makers and the ability to chair related public hearings.
Academic Background
A university degree (preferably a graduate degree or a bachelor’s degree with a professional designation) is required, in law, engineering, economics, finance, business, accounting, environmental studies or other related fields.
Acting Commission Members
In addition to having a university degree, your background and experience may come from a diversity of professions or subject areas that include (but are not limited to): farming and agriculture, construction, medicine, veterinary medicine, municipal or regional government.
Currently all full-time Commission Members are remunerated through Schedule 2, Senior Officials Schedule (O.C. 1/2016) effective April 1, 2015.
Standard remuneration for acting Commission members is:
- $1000.00 per hearing day,
- $125.00 per hour for preparation, review and writing, including decision writing, (maximum of eight hours per day) and
- $62.50 per hour for travel time on non-hearing days.
Full-time Commission Members are required to work full-time hours and can expect a significant time commitment to meet the demands of this role.
Acting Commission Members are required to work when called upon by the Chair and can expect a significant time commitment to meet the demands of this role during the period they are working
To explore this opportunity, please call 403-410-6700 or submit your resume and supporting documentation to opportunities@boyden.com
Carefully read the Recruitment Posting and the Position Profile to ensure this is an appropriate opportunity for you. Applicants are advised to provide information that clearly and concisely demonstrates how their qualifications meet the advertised requirements.
Online applications are preferred. To apply, click on the 'apply' button, create or sign into your account in the ePAAS system; upload your resume, view the listing under Current Opportunities and click on 'submit application'. The uploaded resume will be automatically attached.
Provide a short (maximum 200 words) biography using the Biography template found under additional documents section. Your biography should contain general information about your education, experience, community involvement, skills, etc. Please note that biographies may be edited for length and clarity.
Once your biography and other required form(s) are completed, save it to your PC. When you hit 'submit application', you will be prompted to upload additional documents. Drag and drop (or upload) your completed cover letter, biography and other form(s) into the 'Drop files below or click to upload' section before clicking the 'apply' button.
If you are unable to apply online, please submit a cover letter and resume, quoting the recruitment posting competition number, to the contact provided on the posting. We thank all applicants for their interest. All applications will be reviewed to assess which candidates' qualifications most closely match the agency's requirements. Only those selected for interviews will be contacted to advance to the next step in the appointment process. You can check the status of each competition on-line at https://www.alberta.ca/public-agencies.cfm.
All potential candidates will be screened for potential conflicts of interest. Please Note: Successful applicants will have the following information about them made publicly available on the Public Agency Secretariat Website: name,biography, public agency, position appointed to.