Utility Accounts Supervisor

Position Description

Seattle City Light, a department of the City of Seattle, is one of the nation’s largest municipally owned utilities in terms of the number of customers served. Over the years we have worked very hard to keep Seattle's electricity affordable, reliable, and environmentally sound. Today, City Light is a recognized national leader in energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.

In this position, you will supervise a large group of employees responsible for back office billing and payment transactions, and account maintenance for residential and non-residential accounts (including large key customer accounts). Depending on assignment, this may include payment reconciliation, starting and stopping customer accounts, account auditing, validation and correction of billing exceptions, energy consumption reporting, responding to public data requests and subpoenas, and integrating new software solutions into your work flows. These actions lead to cash flow integrity and customer satisfaction.

You will also be responsible for responding to complex customer inquiries or complaints regarding utility billings, while keeping customer service as the focus at all times. Rectifying these issues requires interaction with other teams and may lead to leadership or participation in cross functional process improvement initiatives. This position reports to the Customer Accounts Manager.

Job Responsibilities

Here Is More About What You’ll Be Doing

• Supervise a team of employees responsible for performing a large range of utility billing functions. May supervise additional temporary employees in performing the same body of work.
• Plan, organize and direct the work of the unit and monitor workload to ensure timely and accurate billing to customers. Ensure continuous process improvements throughout the division while providing leadership and motivation to staff.
• Assist with preparation of unit budgets.
• Support the utility's mission, vision and values.
• Exercise good judgment at all times.
• Train employees, evaluate work products, and resolve personnel and work issues.
• Interpret departmental policies and practices, make recommendations, document, and implement business processes to improve efficiencies in the unit.
• Prioritize and work with internal and external customers regularly to respond to billing inquiries promptly and thoroughly, obtain or provide information, and resolve billing or other customer issues.
• Investigate and research problem accounts or records to identify anomalies or to ensure accuracy of records/accounts.
  
  

Qualifications

Required Qualifications: In addition to the skills and experience mentioned below, a successful applicant will have experience that reflects a commitment to creating fair and equitable outcomes and has:

Requires three years' experience in utility billing including one year in a lead capacity (or a combination of education and/or training and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class).

Desired Qualifications - You will be successful if you have the following experience, skills, and abilities:

• Customer-centric focus, strong customer communication skills, and ability to develop an empathetic Customer Service team.
• Strong analytical, mathematical, deductive reasoning, communication, technical, leadership, workload and time management, and customer service skills.
• Thoroughly proficient with the utility billing and support system (Oracle CCB), City Light's policies and procedures, the Industrial Commercial Subsidiary Billing (ICSB) billing system, Meter Data Management (MSCS) and Bill presentment and payment systems (Kubra and Storm).
• Ability to take on assignments with minimal supervision
• Ability to defuse conflict, build working relationships within the group and across work teams, Units and Division
• Lead multiple teams while building and mentoring skills and knowledge within those teams
• Strong experience with workload planning on a large scale, and with business process development and implementation
• Familiarity with supervising unionized employees
  
  

Please note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Additional Information

The full salary range for this position is $39.22 to $45.71 per hour.

Application Process

Please Submit The Following With Your Online Application

• A cover letter in which you clearly describe how your knowledge, experience, skills, and abilities prepare you for the job responsibilities and qualifications outlined in the job announcement
• A current resume of your educational and professional work experience.
  
  

Incomplete applications may not be accepted.

Who May Apply: This position is open to all candidates that meet the qualifications. Seattle City Light values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Seattle City Light encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experiences.

Job offers are contingent on the verification of credentials and other information required by the employment process, including the completion of a background check. The background check will involve a criminal history check, which includes conviction and arrest records in compliance with the Seattle’s Fair Chance Employment Ordinance, SMC 14.17 and the City of Seattle Personnel Rule 10.3. A driving history review may be conducted in compliance with SMC 4.79.020. Applicants will be provided an opportunity to explain or correct background information.

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits/employees-and-covered-family-members/most-employees-plans.

Want to know more about Seattle City Light? Check out our web page: https://www.seattle.gov/city-light/about-us/careers.