Director, Joint Ventures

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, on-site position located in Akron, OH.

Position Summary

FirstEnergy Transmission’s Director, Joint Ventures is responsible for leading the operational, financial, regulatory, and governance management of FirstEnergy’s interests in electric transmission joint ventures and partnerships. This role is responsible for stewarding the company’s investment in assigned partnerships by ensuring strong financial and operational performance as well as transparent communication among owners and external stakeholders. This position is also responsible for facilitating alignment among FirstEnergy senior leadership, JV board of managers, and JV officers in addition to coordinating with cross-functional teams in matrix organizations to effectively accomplish shared objectives. The director oversees overall JV business planning and performance and manages a team to ensure compliance with governance agreements, regulatory obligations, operational standards, and financial expectations.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Alignment

• Translate enterprise transmission strategy into specific, measurable, and actionable plans for joint-venture entities.
• Ensure activities, investments, and performance objectives for established joint ventures and partnerships align with parent company expectations and regulatory frameworks.
• Support senior leadership by developing strategic recommendations on JV structure, growth opportunities, and long-term portfolio positioning.
• Monitor industry, regulatory, and market developments to identify emerging risks and opportunities relevant to JV operations and competitive transmission development.

Governance Management & Board Support

• Serve as the primary coordinator for all JV governance requirements, ensuring adherence to operating agreements, policies, and corporate standards.
• Prepare, review, and deliver Board and committee materials for JV entities, including financial updates, project status, risk summaries, and strategic discussions.
• Support effective Board meetings by ensuring timely communication, clarity of decision requests, and accurate documentation.

Owner & Stakeholder Relationships

• Build and maintain trust-based relationships with JV owners, representing the company as a credible and responsive business partner.
• Facilitate alignment across owners with differing priorities or perspectives while protecting organizational interests and ensuring JV effectiveness.
• Engage owners on topics such as strategic direction, regulatory impacts, financial performance, and risk considerations.
• Serve as a liaison between internal senior leadership and JV partners.

Financial Oversight & Business Planning

• Lead financial planning, forecasting, and performance tracking for JV entities, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and timely reporting.
• Assess financial health of JV portfolios, recommend capital allocation strategies, and support cost recovery processes.
• Coordinate with regulatory, finance, and accounting teams to ensure compliance with rate structures, cost allocation, and regulatory filings.
• Support JV investment evaluations, including project economics, risk assessments, and funding strategies.

Project Performance & Operational Coordination

• Work across disciplines to plan activities and resolve issues impacting JV operations, whether financial, regulatory, operational, or compliance-related.
• Identify and lead organizational change management activities as needed to successfully integrate JV business activities into FirstEnergy operations.
• Oversee JV capital project reporting, ensuring schedule, budget, quality, and compliance expectations are met.
• Coordinate across engineering, operations, and project delivery teams to ensure project transparency and risk mitigation.
• Track operational performance indicators, reliability metrics, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder commitments for each JV.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives to enhance JV effectiveness, governance maturity, and operational outcomes.

Regulatory & Stakeholder Engagement

• Identify, scope, and strategically plan state and federal regulatory filings, ensuring required authorizations are acquired to meet project deadlines and deliverables.
• Monitor key regulatory developments impacting JV assets and support owners in aligning positions.
• Represent JV interests in discussions with regulators, regional planning entities, and external stakeholders as appropriate.
• Support collaborative regulatory strategy development on transmission planning and RTO policy initiatives affecting JV operations.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Identify, assess, communicate and actively manage project development, construction, operational, financial, and regulatory risks associated with JV activities.
• Provide clear visibility into risks for executive leadership and JV boards, including recommended mitigation strategies, and ensure risk mitigation activities are closely managed.
• Ensure internal controls, audit findings, and compliance requirements are addressed for each JV entity.
• Maintain governance documentation, agreements, and compliance records in alignment with corporate standards.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Finance, Public Policy, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in transmission, utilities, energy, or a closely related industry.
• Proven leadership experience managing and developing teams, including the ability to motivate, coach, and hold team members accountable while fostering a culture of collaboration, transparency, and high performance.
• Ability to build strong relationships, drive clarity, and secure resources across a matrixed organization, aligning cross-functional contributors, and guiding teams through complex, multi stakeholder work.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex issues for executive and Board audiences.
• Demonstrated experience with joint ventures, corporate governance, regulatory environments, or complex stakeholder management.
• Strong financial acumen and ability to interpret capital plans, operating budgets, and investment cases.

Preferred

• Advanced degree (MBA, MPA, JD, or related).
• Experience working with utility regulators, RTOs/ISOs.
• Background in partnership management, corporate strategy, or regulatory affairs.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams in a matrixed organization.

Competencies

• Strategic thinking and systems-level perspective
• Executive presence and relationship management
• Strong analytical and business judgment
• Effective communicator across technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and complex stakeholder environments
• High integrity, collaboration, and accountability

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.

Safety

Safety is a core value for FirstEnergy and is essential to all of our business activities. We ensure employees have the tools, information, and processes to perform their duties in a manner that assures safety for themselves, their co-workers, our customers and the public. Our goals are to provide a safe work environment, to maintain an accident-free, injury-free workplace, and to promote and maintain public safety. To meet these goals, we dedicate ourselves to achieving world-class safety standards.

Position Classification

Exempt

FirstEnergy Human Resources Team