Senior Counsel or Assistant General Counsel - San Diego Community Power

OPEN POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT!

Senior Counsel or Assistant General Counsel

Open until filled.

Posted 8/7/2024 San Diego County – hybrid work schedule set by SDCP

About the role: Community Power's Legal Department is seeking an attorney to serve as an Assistant General Counsel or Senior Counsel, based on experience, to work under the direction of the General Counsel. The position provides legal advice and information to the agency to inform business decisions that follow local, state, and federal law. Key areas of responsibility are public procurement and contract law, energy law, municipal law (Brown Act, Public Records Act, Conflicts of Interest), and employment law. The position provides written and verbal advice to agency staff, engages with external stakeholders and outside counsel, and provides advice to the Board of Directors as backup to the General Counsel. 

WHO IS SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY POWER?

San Diego Community Power is a community-driven, not-for-profit public agency providing cleaner energy to the San Diego region.Formed in 2019, Community Power is the second largest Community Choice Aggregator (CCA)in California, servingnearly 1 million customer accounts across its member agencies: the Cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and National City, as well as the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.  

OUR HISTORY

San Diego Community Power was formed in 2019 as a public, not-for-profit community choice aggregator (CCA) in the San Diego region. We began electric service in 2021 and now serve seven member agencies: the Cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and National City, as well as the unincorporated communities of San Diego County. San Diego Community Power was formed to bring local control and customer choice to San Diego while also providing clean and renewable energy at competitive rates. We are the second largest CCA in California, serving nearly 1 million customers. For more information, please visit SDCommunityPower.org.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

At SDCP, we value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We represent a diverse customer base and hope to hire employees that reflect our communities. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITES

• Provide legal support for SDCP's finance, operations, and customer programs contract and solicitation management processes, including reviewing, evaluating, negotiating, and finalizing various contracts and solicitation materials.
• Review, provide input, assist in negotiating, and work with outside counsel on energy-related contracts, including Power Purchase Agreements.
• Provide input and guidance on legal issues affecting the agency, such as Brown Act, California Public Records Act, Conflicts of Interest, employment law, public procurement and contracting, regulatory compliance, and energy-related contracting.
• Identify, develop, organize, and deliver necessary legal-related briefings and trainings, and reinforce all legal-related communications in a wide range of areas.
• Oversee the response to California Public Records Act requests, including review of documents related to such requests.
• Advise on customer privacy law including around customer data and data aggregation and related cybersecurity requirements.
• Advise on regulations established by the California Public Utilities Commission affecting SDCP.
• Advise on SDCP's internal and external compliance obligations.
• Provide support to General Counsel on advising the Board of Directors and Committee members and attending public meetings.
• Assist with the implementation of SDCP's strategic direction.
• Assist with creating and updating policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITES

• Strong work ethic and comfortable taking initiative in a fast-paced environment that is transitioning from start-up to steady-state operations.
• Superior legal research skills and the ability to translate research and provide direction to SDCP non-legal staff through both orally and in writing.
• Enjoy engaging with passionate internal and external stakeholders.
• High tolerance for navigating through uncertainty by bringing issues to resolution.
• Work well with diverse teams of varying skill levels, experience, and backgrounds.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Superior time management skills and situational awareness to handle multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and escalate key issues.
• Willingness to work with hybrid teams in both in-office and remote locations.
• Maturity of judgement and integrity.
• Professional communications skills, in writing and verbally, as this role works in collaboration with the SDCP Board of Directors, Committees, staff, and external SDCP contacts.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Word, Excel and PowerPoint and ability to use virtual meeting and calendaring applications.

QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Senior Counsel Candidates must have:

• A law degree (J.D.) from an accredited law school and must be admitted to the California State Bar to practice law.

• At least 5 years of legal experience, with contracting, public agency, or energy law experience preferred.

Assistant General Counsel Candidates must have:

• A law degree (J.D.) from an accredited law school and must be admitted to the California State Bar to practice law.

• At least 10 years of legal experience, with contracting, public agency, or energy law experience preferred.

WORK ENVIROMENT & CONDITIONS

Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. The position requires occasional carrying, lifting and/or moving objects up to 15 pounds. 

Occasional local travel required, and reliable transportation is expected to be able to attend SDCP events, meetings, and workshops as needed is expected. 

At SDCP we work in the communities we serve and in the office. SDCP works to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for employees and in our communities. SDCP requires employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Exemptions to the vaccine requirement will be considered for individuals with medical conditions that prevent them from being vaccinated and for individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs that prohibit them from being vaccinated, consistent with governing labor laws.

SDCP is an agency required to adopt and promulgate a Conflict-of-Interest Code ("COI"). The COI code requires employees in designated positions, including those identified under the interim disclosure process, to file a Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) on an annual basis.ASuccessfulcandidateacceptingthispositionmayberequiredtofileConflictofInterest forms subject to the regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission. 

Compensation:

Salary Range:The position salary range for Senior Counsel is: $169,600 to $288,300 or Assistant General Counsel salary range is $204,400 - $ 367,900; with exact compensation to be determined by SDCP, depending upon experience. 

Benefits: Standard benefits package including but not limited to:

Insurance: SDCP offers group health benefits, including medical, vision, and dental insurance, for eligible FT employees. Also provided is a $100,000 Life & AD&D policy, STD and LTD coverage that is 100% paid by SDCP.

Retirement: SDCP offers a 457(b) plan for employee contributions and contributes 10% of eligible compensation to the employee's Money Purchase Plan.

Paid Time Off: 11 holidays per year + paid winter holiday (between 12/24-12/31), 160 hours of accrued paid time off per year (increases with time in service), and 96 hours per year of accrued paid sick leave.

This job description may not be inclusive of all assigned duties, responsibilities, or aspects of the job described, and may be amended at the discretion of SDCP as needed.