Description

MINNKOTA POWER COOPERATIVE
Senior Regulatory Counsel
 

Minnkota Power Cooperative is seeking applicants for the position of Senior Regulatory Counsel in our Legal Department at our headquarters in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The Senior Regulatory Counsel is focused on helping Minnkota navigate the highly complex federal and state regulatory landscape for wholesale electric power generation and transmission. The role provides strategic legal guidance to internal teams and executive leadership, advancing regulatory outcomes, mitigating risk, and supporting long-term system reliability, affordability, and cooperative success. 

The pay range for this position begins at $180,178 per year. Appropriate compensation will be determined based on a candidate's skills, education, and any previous relevant experience. 

Reporting Relationships

Reports to: VP, External & Regulatory Affairs
Supervises: Legal Assistant

Essential Responsibilities

Departmental Supervisory Responsibilities

• Responsible for supporting their assigned areas’ short- and long-term initiatives
• Provide support to the development of employees within their assigned area(s)
• Assist with goals, monitors work, and helps evaluate results to ensure that departmental and organizational objectives and operating requirements are met and are in line with the needs and mission of the organization
• Oversees assigned area(s) and employees for budgeting, expense accounting, and payroll processes

Regulatory Legal Counsel

• Provide legal and strategic counsel on federal, state and local regulatory matters affecting wholesale power generation and transmission, including environmental and siting/permitting frameworks for energy infrastructure projects, and related litigation.
• Monitor and analyze regulatory and policy developments, independently assess their impact on Minnkota, and assist in developing policy positions.
• Translate highly complex regulatory and legal requirements into practical guidance for internal stakeholder teams, exercising judgment to support decisions critical to Minnkota operations.
• Assist in developing regulatory advocacy strategies and policy recommendations, in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.

Proceedings and Filings

• Lead or support regulatory proceedings and filings before local, state and federal agencies, including utility commissions, environmental, permitting authorities and reliability/operating organizations such as NERC, FERC, MRO and MISO.
• Coordinate regulatory positions and filings with outside counsel, consultants, and technical experts.

Regulatory Reporting

• Prepare briefing materials, presentations, and internal guidance for executive leadership and the Board of Directors on regulatory risks, opportunities, and trends.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
   

Organizational Competencies

• Safety
• Integrity
• Teamwork
• Innovation
• Reliability

Job Competencies

• Strategic Agility
• Organizational Agility
• Political Savvy
• Decision Quality
• Problem Solving
   

Goals and Objectives

An employee filling this role is expected to meet changing and unique goals and objectives, as established by their supervisor, related to the broader external, regulatory, and compliance environment impacting the cooperative. Key objectives include:

• Strengthening regulatory and permitting outcomes for major projects and operations
• Proactively identifying and mitigating regulatory risk
• Improving internal coordination on regulatory strategy
• Supporting long-term system reliability, affordability, and cooperative autonomy
   

Job Qualification Standards

Education and Training

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Admission to practice law in North Dakota and Minnesota.
• Must have valid driver's license

Experience and Abilities

• Minimum of 8 years of diversified legal experience with strong preference for experience supporting regulatory matters across multiple jurisdictions (federal, state, local and/or multi-state), including coordination of regulatory strategy, filings, or compliance activities involving more than one regulatory authority.
• Strong background in legal research, writing, and advocacy skills.
• Experience coordinating regulatory matters with outside counsel, consultants, and internal subject-matter experts.
• Strong organizational and project-management skills with the ability to manage multiple matters and deadlines simultaneously.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with executives, technical staff, regulators, and external stakeholders.
• High degree of professional judgment, integrity, and discretion
   

Physical and Mental Demands

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the position.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands:  While performing the duties of this position, the incumbent is primarily required to sit, stand, walk, stoop, bend and frequently utilize a keyboard/computer. Specific vision abilities include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Mental demands: While performing the duties of this position, the incumbent will be required to problem solve, read, write and analyze data, work under schedules and deadline pressure, present information to others, work independently and use discretion and judgment for confidential or sensitive projects/issues.

Work Environment: While performing the duties of this position, the employee is exposed to an office environment indoors, and will travel outdoors to multiple locations dependent on work.

Benefits 

Minnkota Power Cooperative supports employees through a strong total compensation package that includes a competitive pay and benefits package, along with career growth opportunities. The cooperative offers: 

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401(k)
• Pension plan
• Life insurance and AD&D
• Disability insurance
• Paid leave: Holidays and floating holidays, Vacation, Sick leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Spending Accounts for dependent care
• Educational assistance
• Membership in select professional organizations
   

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.