Program Manager - Electric Distribution
Location: Akron, OH
Job Type: Full-time
Work Environment: On-Site / Client-Facing
Travel: Periodic travel to utility and project locations as required
About Us
CARIAN is a purpose-driven, woman-owned consulting and advisory firm dedicated exclusively to the power sector. We partner with leading electric and gas utilities to provide strategic advisory and disciplined execution across program management, business intelligence, and field execution oversight. Guided by integrity, trust, excellence, and accountability, our team helps deliver complex capital programs and build the resilient energy infrastructure that communities depend on.
Position Overview
CARIAN is seeking an experienced Program Manager - Electric Distribution to support the delivery of a major electric utility capital program.
This senior leadership role will be responsible for coordinating and driving program execution across a portfolio of electric distribution projects from planning and development through engineering, construction, closeout, and turnover. The Program Manager will work directly with utility leadership, project managers, engineers, project controls, construction teams, contractors, and other stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered safely, consistently, and in alignment with program objectives.
The ideal candidate has significant experience leading large utility or infrastructure capital programs, strong knowledge of electric distribution project delivery, and the ability to manage multiple workstreams, teams, risks, budgets, schedules, and stakeholders within a complex program environment.
Key Responsibilities
· Lead overall execution of a major electric distribution capital program and support achievement of program goals, priorities, and performance objectives.
· Develop and implement program execution strategies, processes, procedures, governance, and delivery plans.
· Provide leadership and coordination across a multidisciplinary team of project managers, engineers, project controls professionals, construction personnel, contractors, and other program resources.
· Work directly with utility leadership and key stakeholders to communicate program status, priorities, risks, issues, decisions, and required actions.
· Oversee delivery of multiple concurrent electric distribution capital projects from planning and project development through engineering, procurement, construction, closeout, and turnover.
· Coordinate resource planning and deployment across the program to support project priorities and delivery requirements.
· Monitor program budgets, forecasts, schedules, milestones, risks, and overall performance.
· Partner with project controls teams to maintain consistent cost, schedule, forecasting, and performance-management practices across the program.
· Establish and maintain effective program reporting, dashboards, data-management processes, and performance metrics to support management decision-making.
· Identify program-level risks, constraints, dependencies, and emerging issues and drive timely resolution and escalation.
· Coordinate across engineering, project management, construction, operations, planning, procurement, permitting, real estate, environmental, outage coordination, and other functions as required.
· Support development and maintenance of integrated program schedules, capital plans, resource plans, and delivery forecasts.
· Drive consistent project-management practices, documentation standards, reporting requirements, and governance across the program.
· Review project and program performance to identify trends, delivery risks, process gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
· Support resolution of complex scope, cost, schedule, contractor, engineering, and stakeholder issues.
· Maintain strong alignment between program leadership, project teams, utility stakeholders, and external partners.
· Support quality assurance and quality control requirements and reinforce compliance with applicable client, company, and site safety requirements.
· Lead continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen program execution, reporting, controls, coordination, and overall delivery performance.
Qualifications
· Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Project Management, or a related discipline from an accredited institution.
· 10+ years of relevant experience in utility, engineering, construction, infrastructure, consulting, project management, or program management environments.
· Significant experience managing large, complex capital projects or programs involving multiple projects, stakeholders, disciplines, and delivery teams.
· Strong understanding of electric utility capital-project delivery, preferably within electric distribution.
· Demonstrated experience with program planning, project execution, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, risk management, project controls, and performance reporting.
· Experience leading and coordinating multidisciplinary project and program teams.
· Ability to work directly with senior client leadership and communicate complex program information clearly and effectively.
· Strong leadership, facilitation, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
· Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, resolve issues, and drive accountability across multiple workstreams.
· Strong written and verbal communication skills.
· Working knowledge of project-management methodologies, project controls practices, and program-management tools.
· Proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with scheduling, reporting, project-management, or portfolio-management systems.
· Ability to travel to client, project, and utility locations as required.
Preferred Experience
· Experience managing electric distribution capital programs for an investor-owned utility, electric utility, engineering firm, or utility consulting organization.
· Experience leading programs or portfolios with capital investment exceeding $250 million.
· Experience with distribution substations, feeders, transformers, system reliability, capacity upgrades, asset replacement, grid modernization, or related distribution infrastructure.
· Experience overseeing projects through planning, engineering, procurement, permitting, construction, commissioning, and closeout.
· Experience with integrated cost and schedule controls, forecasting, performance metrics, dashboards, and executive reporting.
· Experience coordinating engineering firms, construction contractors, vendors, and utility operating organizations.
· Experience implementing standardized processes, procedures, governance, and project-management tools across large capital programs.
· Familiarity with Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, or similar scheduling and project-management tools.
· PMP or other recognized project/program management certification preferred.
Why CARIAN
Purpose-driven work – Help deliver infrastructure that powers communities
Industry reputation – Trusted by leading utilities for our reliability and results
Career growth – Help build CARIAN's commercial organization and play a direct role in the company's continued expansion
Collaborative culture – Join a team that values delivery excellence and long-term relationships
Competitive total rewards – Strong compensation, full benefits, 401(k) match, and meaningful work
Equal Employment Opportunity
CARIAN is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We hire and develop talent based on qualifications, performance, and business needs. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. As a woman-owned firm dedicated to the power sector, we are committed to building a team that reflects professionalism, expertise, and integrity at every level.