Director Business Transformation Analytics and Automation - Business Transformation - Akron FirstEnergy Headquarters

The Director, Business Transformation Analytics & Automation reports to the VP of Business Transformation Travel to work locations across the territory is required on an as-needed basis.

The role leads a team of individual contributors across two disciplines. The Data & Analytics discipline provides the analytical foundation the organization relies on to make and evaluate decisions. The Automation & AI discipline determines where technology can perform work currently done manually.

Business Transformation identifies, assesses, and designs solutions; implementation and long-term ownership reside with the business unit. The Director partners with IT on tooling, platform decisions, and build delivery, and partners with relevant stakeholders on the enterprise standards that govern how FirstEnergy uses AI., * Lead and develop a team of individual contributors across data & analytics and automation & AI.

• Set the methods, standards, and quality expectations for both disciplines, and review work to confirm it meets them before it reaches the business unit.
• Allocate specialist capacity across business units according to portfolio prioritization and resolve competing demand with the business unit Portfolio Managers.
• Confirm the analytical basis of value sizing at intake and realized benefit at close, so portfolio prioritization and value reporting rest on defensible numbers.
• Own and manage the relationship with IT covering tooling evaluation, data platform decisions, build delivery, handoff of scoped automation specifications, and related activities.
• Represent both disciplines to executive leadership and steering committees, including defending methodology and recommendations under challenge.
• Identify and diagnose enterprise data gaps, quality defects, and architecture constraints that limit decision-making, and make the case for resolving them.
• Maintain a forward view of the automation and AI opportunity across the enterprise - assessing feasibility, sequencing, and cost-to-achieve - rather than responding only to requests.
• Partner with IT, Risk, Legal, and Compliance on responsible AI standards, model risk controls, and data governance, so AI-enabled work is adopted safely and within regulatory expectations.
• Build analytics and automation literacy across the business, so business units become better consumers and eventual owners of what the team delivers.
• Manage third-party analytics, automation, and platform partners, including scope, deliverable quality, and value delivered relative to spend.
• Contribute to Business Transformation strategy, portfolio governance, and capability planning as a member of the leadership team.
• Select and/or develop, implement, and continuously improve the data & analytics and automation & AI tooling and templates the organization relies on., * Influence without authority. Earns agreement from business unit leaders who do not report to this role and holds a position when a recommendation is unpopular.
• Executive communication and storytelling. Moves fluidly between technical detail and a three-slide executive narrative; defends methodology and numbers under challenge from senior leadership.
• Financial literacy. Frames every recommendation in terms of earnings, capital efficiency, cost-to-achieve, and payback.
• Talent building. Recruits, develops, and retains scarce specialist skills; builds bench strength rather than becoming the single point of expertise.
• Safety-first mindset. Champions FirstEnergy’s safety culture and ensures transformation work never compromises safe operations.
• Bias to outcomes. Measures success by whether the business operates differently, not by initiatives launched or deliverables produced.

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months

• A defensible analytical standard behind every value estimate entering the portfolio, accepted by Finance and by the business.
• A prioritized, feasibility-tested automation and AI pipeline with quantified opportunity size.
• A working operating rhythm with IT covering tooling, platform, and build handoff - with clear decision rights.
• Named, documented enterprise data gaps with a funded or sequenced path to resolution.

Working Arrangements & Requirements

• This position reports to the Vice President, Business Transformation and may be located anywhere within the FirstEnergy service territory, with a hybrid schedule anchored at FirstEnergy Headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Travel to work locations across the territory is required on an as-needed basis.
• Participation in storm restoration or emergency response duties as assigned may be required.

• Bachelor’s degree in data science, analytics, engineering, information systems, business, or a related discipline, plus a minimum of 10 years of leadership experience and 8 years of relevant functional/technical work experience. Master’s degree preferred.
• Relevant functional/technical work experience includes leading data, analytics, automation, or technology delivery work.
• Working knowledge of both best-in-class analytics practices and automation and AI capabilities, with the ability to set direction and evaluate quality in each.
• Demonstrated experience establishing methods, standards, or quality controls that others apply consistently, with particular focus on data and AI controls.
• Experience leading and developing a team of technical individual contributors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical work into business and financial terms for senior leaders.
• Ability to manage a portfolio of concurrent initiatives across multiple business units and deliver quality work within established deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience establishing or scaling analytics, automation, or digital capability from an early stage.
• Experience developing AI governance, responsible AI standards, model risk controls, or comparable frameworks.
• Hands-on practitioner background in data or automation - a leader who can still read the model and review the code.
• Familiarity with next-generation AI development tooling and with enterprise automation platforms.
• Prior experience in the electric utility industry or another regulated operating environment.
• Experience partnering with an IT organization across the boundary between business-led design and IT-governed build., Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship

The market rate for this role is: $ 202,000. Certain locations, including the state of New Jersey and Washington DC, include a 20% differential to account for an increased cost of living, making the pay range for NJ/DC (only) $ 181,000 - 242,000.

Benefits, Compensation & Workforce Diversity

At FirstEnergy, employees are key to our success. We depend on their talents to meet the challenges of our changing business environment. We are committed to rewarding individual and team efforts through our total rewards philosophy which includes competitive pay plus incentive compensation, a company-sponsored pension plan, 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution, a choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs, as well as skills development training with tuition reimbursement. Please visit our website at www.firstenergycorp.com to learn more about all of our employee rewards programs. FirstEnergy proudly supports workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with a disability. No recruiters or agencies without a previously signed contract. Unable to sponsor or transfer H-1B visas at this time.

FirstEnergy takes a market-based approach to pay, which may vary depending on your location. In addition, your actual base salary will depend on various factors such as your skills, qualifications, and experience.

FirstEnergy at a Glance

We are a forward-thinking electric utility powered by a diverse team of employees committed to making customers’ lives brighter, the environment better and our communities stronger.

FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, FirstEnergy includes one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, and a regulated generating fleet with a total capacity of more than 3,500 megawatts.

About the Opportunity

This is an open position with FirstEnergy Service Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp.

This is a full-time, 4-days a week on-site position located in an office anywhere within the FirstEnergy service territory locations of: OH, PA, NJ, WV/MD or Washington, DC.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability, and operational excellence. Our Business Transformation function exists to change how the enterprise operates - not simply to make existing processes marginally faster. We are building a small, senior team that identifies the largest value opportunities across our utilities, builds the business case, and drives the change through to a durable result.