Project Manager/Sr Project Manager, Market Research & Evaluation

Imagine working with a team that is as passionate about energy efficiency as you are. NEEA believes that each employee, at every level of the organization, makes a significant contribution to the Northwest. NEEA offers excellent career opportunities in energy efficiency. We invite you to join our team effort to make the Northwest a global leader in energy efficiency.

NEEA is an equal opportunity employer and appreciates your interest. NEEA is currently accepting applications for a Project Manager/Sr. Project Manager, Market Research & Evaluation

Position Summary:
The Project Manager/Sr. Project Manager will have lead responsibility for delivering objective, actionable market research and evaluations of NEEA initiatives. The incumbent will collaborate with the implementation team to plan appropriate evaluation and market research efforts, and will ensure that work products are delivered within budget and in a timely manner that supports organizational decision-making. The Project Manager is an integral part of an interdisciplinary team dedicated to bringing affordable energy efficient products and services to market in a sustainable manner.

The Project Manager is responsible for making financial and business decisions that can have a substantial impact on NEEA’s achievement of its organizational goals and objectives. The Project Manager also represents NEEA in front of key funders, its Board of Directors, and the energy efficiency community at large. This person will carry out his/her responsibilities with a minimum of supervision.

Reasonable Accommodations:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and physical demands satisfactorily with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Essential Functions:
• Lead the program planning and implementation team to develop metrics by which program success will be measured.
• Coordinate with project implementation staff to define evaluation priorities, approaches, budgets, and timing.
• Develop evaluation/market research plans that will provide data/analysis to support planning, implementation, and funding decisions.
• Develop requests for proposals, select, and manage the work of evaluation/market research contractors.
• Coordinate projects with relevant staff from stakeholder organizations as appropriate.
• Communicate evaluation and market research findings in a timely manner that supports decision-making and helps to guide project evolution to ensure achievement of project goals. Typical activities include: ongoing informal communication with planning and implementation managers; interim memos of findings; formal presentations.
• Deliver formal market progress evaluation reports annually for each active project.
• Keep abreast of evaluations and learning from related projects implemented by other energy efficiency organizations
• Coordinate with planning staff to ensure that key planning assumptions are updated per new evaluation findings.
• Develop/maintain up-to-date market characterizations for markets relevant to initiatives being evaluated.
•Fulfill ad hoc requests for market research and evaluation data/analysis, as needed to support planning, implementation, and communications
• Develop evaluation/market research budgets
• Provide guidance and training to other members of the evaluation team on an ad hoc basis
• Ensure that NEEA’s evaluation efforts are represented at conferences and public forums; actively seek out relevant speaking opportunities

Secondary Functions:
• Assist the Senior Manager of Evaluation and Market Research in establishing standard processes and tools for the business unit
• Other duties which may be necessary or desirable to support the organization’s success.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
This position is primarily an individual contributor. This position has no supervisory responsibilities over NEEA staff but provides guidance and leadership on specialized areas to internal clients, and to less experienced members of the work group. This position provides expert staff support to NEEA as needed.

Education and/or Experience; Certificates, Licenses, and Registrations:
• Master’s degree in economics, applied mathematics, decision sciences, biostatistics or other related fields required.
• At least 8 years experience conducting evaluation and/or market research projects.
• Experience with methodological design of evaluations/market research studies.
• Experience developing instruments for quantitative and qualitative data collection.
• Direct experience developing RFPs and managing contracts.
• An equivalent combination of educations, experience and training that would provide the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the successful performance of the essential job duties.

Necessary Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Analytical Knowledge: Understands how to synthesize complex or diverse information. Collects and researches data. Uses intuition and experience to complement data. Designs individual work flows and recommends procedures. Identifies stakeholder needs and recommends and develops actions/plans to meet those needs.
• Planning/Organizing Knowledge: Understands how to prioritize and plan work activities while remaining flexible and enthusiastic about supporting the team. Conducts oneself as a well-organized self-starter with the ability to multi-task and be proactive in a complex environment. Demonstrates a “can do” attitude.
• Survey Technique and Statistical Analysis Knowledge: Understands survey techniques, sample design, statistical analysis and data presentation.
• Problem Solving Skills: Ability to identify and resolve complex problems. Gathers and analyzes information skillfully. Develops alternative solutions. Works well in group problem solving situations.
• Communication Skills: Possesses exceptional communication skills with the ability to clearly communicate data interpretation and finds verbally and in written form. Listens and gets clarification. Responds well to questions. Demonstrates superb group presentation skills. Ability to vary communication style to meet needs.
• Team Skills: Proven success as a team builder, team player and a leader. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across multifunctional teams. Strong interpersonal and judgment skills required to influence internal and external teams to implement plans and meet deadlines. Must have the ability to energize people and teams, and make cross-functional cooperation happen.
• Technology Abilities: Possesses high expertise is Microsoft applications as demonstrated by a superb ability to manipulate spreadsheets, create summary tables and develop queries. Able to develop effective visual aids (PowerPoint) for use in a variety of presentations.
• Business Acumen: Top-notch analytical skills; experience with data analysis tools. Sound knowledge of applied statistics and sample design.
• Interpersonal Skills: Works closely with other functional areas of the organization, including planning and implementation staff, the Board of Directors, and key external stakeholders (including electric utilities, state and federal agencies, the Bonneville Power Administration, trade allies, and trade associations). Ability to work constructively with diverse people who may have divergent perspectives and interests. Proactive, well organized self-starter with the ability to multi-task.
• Project Management Ability: Strong project management skills, including work plan development and monitoring, and the ability to adapt plans during the course of a project.

Physical Demands/Work Environment:
• General office environment: Majority of work is completed in a general office environment with exposure to moderate levels of noise in a well-lit, well-ventilated and moderately paced environment. Continuously required to sit, hear and/or respond to verbal/audio cues, perform repetitive motions of hands and wrists, and read computer screen. Occasionally required to stand or walk. Rarely required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, twist, bend, or reach with hands and arms. Rarely required to push, pull and/or carry objects up to 10 pounds.

• Travel environment: Travel by car, train, or airplane required less than 10 percent of time. During travel may occasionally be required to stand, walk, sit, climb, balance, stoop, twist, bend or reach with hands and arms. May occasionally be required to push, pull and/or carry objects up to 50 pounds.

NEEA believes that each employee makes a significant contribution to our overall success. That contribution should not be limited by the assigned responsibilities. Therefore, this position description is designed to outline primary duties, qualifications and job scope, but not limit the incumbent or NEEA, to just the specific work identified. It is our expectation that each employee will offer his or her services wherever and whenever necessary to ensure the success of our endeavors.

To complete an application and obtain a more detailed description of this position, please go to http://neeajobs.iapplicants.com

NEEA is an Equal Opportunity Employer