Director Customer Programs and Solutions - Customer Policy & Solutions - Akron FirstEnergy Headquart

JOB DESCRIPTION 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 one of the FirstEnergy locations in: Akron, OH; Greensburg, PA, Reading, PA; Holmdel, NJ, Fairmont, WV and Frederick, MD. This position is within the FE Pennsylvania organization and reports to the President, FE Pennsylvania. Key responsibilities include: Strategic Leadership * Develop and execute FirstEnergy's enterprise strategy for customer programs, distributed energy resources (DERs), electrification, virtual power plants (VPPs), demand flexibility, and emerging customer energy solutions. * Identify opportunities to leverage customer participation to support grid reliability, affordability, resiliency, peak demand management, and evolving system needs. * Serve as the company's business lead for customer-facing grid modernization initiatives, ensuring alignment between customer needs, regulatory requirements, and utility operational objectives. * Build a multi-state roadmap for customer program expansion across FirstEnergy's operating companies. Regulatory Strategy & Program Development * Lead development of regulatory filings, business cases, testimony support, and stakeholder engagement associated with customer programs and grid flexibility initiatives. * Partner with Regulatory Affairs, Rates, Legal, Engineering, Operations, and State Leadership teams to secure program approvals and cost recovery mechanisms. * Represent FirstEnergy before public utility commissions, state agencies, consumer advocates, legislators, and industry stakeholders. * Monitor evolving state and federal policies affecting electrification, DERs, demand response, customer affordability, and grid modernization. Virtual Power Plants & Grid Flexibility * Lead strategy, design, procurement, implementation, and evaluation of virtual power plant (VPP) programs and customer flexibility initiatives. * Develop frameworks for utilizing customer assets, including thermostats, electric vehicles, batteries, solar, and smart appliances, to provide grid value. * Collaborate with Transmission, Distribution, and Planning organizations to identify opportunities where customer programs can support reliability, congestion relief, peak demand reduction, and infrastructure optimization. * Establish methodologies to evaluate customer flexibility performance and program value. Electrification & Transportation Programs * Lead customer electrification strategies including electric vehicles, managed charging, fleet electrification, school bus initiatives, and other beneficial electrification programs. * Oversee design and delivery of EV customer programs across residential, c