Wildfire Mitigation Project Manager

At PGE, our work involves dreaming about, planning for, and realizing a smarter, cleaner, more enduring Oregon neighborhood. Its core to our DNA and we haven’t stopped since we started in 1888. We energize lives, strengthen communities and drive advancements in energy that promote social, economic and environmental progress. We’re always on the lookout for people passionate about leading and being a part of teams that are advancing innovative clean energy solutions that are also affordable and accessible to all.

Summary

PGE’s Wildfire Mitigation Project Manager leads the planning, coordination, and execution of wildfire mitigation initiatives across the company. This role supports PGE’s evolving approach to wildfire risk reduction, integrating lessons from global wildfire events, regulatory guidance from the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC), and advancements in climate resilience. The Project Manager ensures compliance with Oregon’s wildfire mitigation requirements while driving efforts to mature enterprise wildfire programs by leveraging leading industry practices. Additionally, they collaborate with utility peers, and key stakeholders to continuously refine mitigation strategies based on emerging data and insights.

Career Level Summary

Enterprise Project Manager 6649

Grade 7

Career Level: P3

Career: Requires in-depth knowledge and experience

Uses best practices and knowledge of internal or external business issues to improve products or services

Solves complex problems; takes a new perspective using existing solutions

Works independently; receives minimal guidance

Acts as a resource for colleagues with less experience

Senior Enterprise Project Manager 6648

Grade 8

Career Level: P4

Specialist: Requires specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise

Interprets internal or external business issues and recommends best practices

Solves complex problems; takes a broad perspective to identify innovative solutions

Works independently, with guidance in only the most complex situations

May lead functional teams or projects

Key Responsibilities

Wildfire Mitigation Project Manager

Project Consultation and Planning

Leads a single moderate-sized or multiple smaller projects, including wildfire-related initiatives such as system or process improvements, departmental adjustments, or feasibility studies. Consults with operations managers to ensure wildfire mitigation projects are aligned strategically and cost-effective, mitigating customer and operational impacts. Assists in developing business case justifications and comprehensive project plans, including risks, dependencies, and resource requirements. Collaborates with internal stakeholders such as Supply Chain, Legal, and IT to support wildfire-related contract negotiations and project execution.

Team Leadership

Leads multiple project teams or one major team focused on wildfire mitigation or risk reduction. Facilitates team development, reinforces group norms, and supports productivity and performance. Ensures consistent application of project management standards and methodologies.

Project Controls

Establishes controls for managing wildfire mitigation project scope, schedule, quality, risks, and budget. Regularly updates project plans to reflect changing wildfire risk conditions or regulatory guidance.

Stakeholder Engagement

Develops and implements communication strategies related to wildfire-focused project work. Shares timely, accurate updates with internal and external stakeholders, helping ensure alignment with safety and emergency preparedness objectives.

Process Improvement

Leads business process improvement efforts related to wildfire resilience. Collaborate with subject matter experts to refine vegetation management processes, system hardening efforts, and emergency response protocols.

Project Reporting and Documentation

Ensures wildfire mitigation project documents, including lessons learned and compliance artifacts, are securely stored and accessible for future reference.

Internal Collaboration

Partners with other project managers and stakeholder teams to enhance wildfire mitigation approaches and align with PGE’s broader safety and resiliency goals.

Senior Wildfire Mitigation Project Manager

Project Consultation and Planning

Responsible for leading a single major project or multiple moderate projects related to wildfire mitigation, including business systems or process improvements, strategy implementation, training, feasibility studies, and pilots. Oversees projects supporting PGE’s Wildfire Mitigation Program, ensuring compliance with Oregon Administrative Rules governing wildfire mitigation plans and aligning with PGE’s strategy for reducing wildfire risk, improving system resilience, and mitigating customer impact. Consults with operations managers to ensure strategic alignment, cost-effectiveness, and mitigation of negative operational and/or customer impacts of wildfire-related initiatives and projects; works with project sponsors to develop objectives and scope; assists in or develops business case/justification. Develops or oversees the development of project plan(s) including WBS, schedule and cost baselines, dependencies, and project roles and resource requirements; identifies project risks and mitigation strategies. Partners and strategizes with Supply Chain, Legal, IT, and project sponsors on vendor contract negotiations to ensure wildfire mitigation projects align with regulatory requirements and operational goals.

Team Leadership

Leads multiple major projects/initiatives related to wildfire mitigation and grid resilience. Provides staff leadership to team members; facilitates team meetings, cultivates and reinforces group values, norms, and behaviors; provides guidance and motivation to the team on performance and productivity issues; ensures compliance with established project management methodologies and standards; takes corrective action as needed. Coordinates cross-functional teams involved in wildfire mitigation efforts, ensuring alignment with emergency response protocols, operational resilience strategies, and community safety initiatives.

Project Controls

Establishes and maintains formal controls to manage and monitor project budget, scope, quality, schedule, and risks to ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and effectively. Negotiates necessary project changes with project sponsors. Maintains, adjusts, and updates project plans as needed to reflect evolving wildfire mitigation needs, integrating new data, risk modeling, and regulatory updates.

Stakeholder Engagement

Develops communication plans and strategies; provides timely, accurate communication of project plans and status to stakeholders. Engages with Public Safety Partners, Tribes, local communities, and other key stakeholders to prioritize the safety of people, property, and public spaces. Coordinates wildfire mitigation efforts with emergency response organizations and regulatory bodies, including the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

Process Improvement

Leads and/or facilitates business process improvement (BPI) activities focused on wildfire mitigation strategies; assists managers and subject matter experts to identify, understand, and improve or revise processes, practices, and policies. Assists managers in establishing process controls to measure baseline and post-improvement performance to monitor success of mitigation initiatives. Acts as a change agent, systematically driving continuous improvement using lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement techniques. Supports continuous improvement of wildfire mitigation processes by integrating lessons learned from previous fire seasons, refining vegetation management strategies, and improving system-hardening measures.

Project Reporting and Documentation

Ensures all project documents related to wildfire mitigation are cataloged and archived in a secure and efficient manner; documents and files all “lessons learned” along with all project artifacts. Contributes to the ongoing refinement of wildfire mitigation reporting, ensuring alignment with regulatory reporting requirements and internal performance tracking.

Internal Collaboration

Develops and maintains key relationships across the business, including with senior executives; provides subject matter expertise for project management and/or process improvement. Collaborates with, mentors, and/or assists in training other PMs or leads to continually improve project standards and methodology. Works closely with PGE’s operations, emergency management, and grid resilience teams to integrate wildfire mitigation efforts with broader company initiatives focused on safety and reliability.

External Relationships

Actively partners and participates with other utilities to strengthen and create opportunities to share best practices in wildfire risk mitigation. Works closely with local and state emergency managers, the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Department of Forestry, Tribes, fire districts, and emergency responders to plan and coordinate wildfire prevention and response efforts. Supports industry collaboration on wildfire risk mitigation, leveraging shared knowledge and regulatory insights to enhance PGE’s approach to fire prevention and system resilience.

This role is pivotal in supporting PGE’s comprehensive, data-driven strategy to mitigate wildfire risks, ensuring the safety and resilience of the communities we serve.

Qualifications

Education/Experience/Certifications

Education Requires a bachelor’s degree in business, communications, psychology or computer science or other related field or equivalent experience.

Experience

Wildfire Mitigation Project Manager - Typically five or more years in project management or a related field

Senior Wildfire Mitigation Project Manager - Typically, eight or more years in project management or a related field.

Certifications, Licenses and Training PMP certification required for a Senior Wildfire Mitigation Project Manager

Valid driver’s license required.

Competencies

Functional Competencies (career/senior):

General Competencies (career/senior):

Physical, Schedule/Attendance and Cognitive Demands

Cognitive Level: Substantial: Consistent use of logic or scientific thinking to define problems, collect information, establish facts and draw valid conclusions (for example, engineer, HR director, plant manager, etc.).

Cognitive:

Schedule/Attendance:

Physical Capabilities:

Environment: Office Environment, Plant Environment, Field Environment

Compensation Range:

$89,175.00 - $178,375.00

Actual total compensation, including a performance based incentive bonus, is commensurate with experience, skills, qualifications, education, training, and internal equity. While we anticipate the selected candidate for this position will fall towards the middle or entry point of the compensation range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis.

PGE believes in rewarding dedicated performance. We provide a total rewards package that is designed to reward your contributions to the company, and, at the same time, support your well-being and professional development, both now and into the future. To find out more, click here.