Dakota Electric Association is a member-owned, member-focused electric distribution cooperative, striving to exceed our member’s energy expectations in a changing world. We are an equal opportunity employer and we believe that diversity of ideas, perspectives and backgrounds are essential to our business. As a Dakota Electric employee you would be an essential worker that would have a hand in serving our members. For additional information about Dakota Electric please visit: dakotaelectric.com.

Dakota Electric offers an extensive benefits package:

• Hybrid work schedule
• 401(k) and Roth 401(k) with an employer contribution of 6% of an employee's base wage, plus matching contribution up to 4%
• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• HSA and FSA
• Employer-paid life insurance and long-term disability
• Short-term disability and other voluntary benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• Wellness reimbursement
• Vacation, sick and personal leave

Principal Data Analyst Summary:

The Principal Data Analyst position is responsible for conceptualizing analytic approaches, developing key analytics, and executing complex advanced analytics services. The employee must work well within a team environment as the position will work closely with each of Dakota Electric’s internal departments and IT teams to turn data into critical information and knowledge that can be used to make sound business decisions. The employee will educate and train others to use the data as an analytical tool, displaying the information in new forms and content for the purpose of analysis and option exploration. This includes working with business and development teams to design, and document dashboards, alerts, and reports.

The Principal Data Analyst will build an understanding of the business at a level of detail that enables them to identify and address critical issues. The incumbent will understand how data is turned into information, and how that information supports and enables key business processes. The employee must have an interest in going beyond the obvious, to delve into the foundational roots of a data element to create new insights and information for the organization.

This position will work with Dakota Electric’s major business systems and support staff, such as: Customer Information Systems/Billing (CIS/UMAX), Cost Accounting and Financial Systems, Automated Meter Information (AMI), Load Management (LM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Meter Data Management (MDM); Outage Management Systems (OMS), Work Management Systems (WMS). Therefore, the incumbent must have sufficient understanding of/proficiency with the hardware, software, and functionality of these systems.

Off-hours support of systems is required, and the incumbent will participate in a rotating after hours on-call program. (On-call for approx. 4 weeks per year)

Responsibilities:

The key responsibility of this position is leading modeling and analytic processes to ensure high quality information is available to support decisions for management and optimization of Dakota Electric’s assets.

• Comply with established Dakota Electric Association safety and operating rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines. Be responsible for reporting any un-safe practices and/or hazards to a supervisor, manager, or Vice President. Be committed to and actively involved in Dakota Electric’s safety programs, initiatives, and performance measures.
• Work with Dakota Electric’s internal departments, business partners, vendors, and other cooperatives to identify and support opportunities for leveraging data analytics.
• Perform as principal resource for one of the following areas, and secondary resource for the other:

• AGi-centric: Work with the primary users of Dakota Electric’s Meter Data Management (MDM) system to ensure business needs are met, such as: establishing Validation, Estimation & Editing (VEE) routines; interpreting and organizing data repositories/data modeling; planning, organizing and coordinating meter data projects; providing information for various engineering studies/analysis; and developing various reports and studies as needed.
• ERP-centric: Manage Dakota Electric’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and Data Lake environment, interpret and organize data repositories/data models; provide information for and coordinate various data projects/analyses/reports; developing various data views, reports and studies as needed.
• Elicit, analyze, document, and communicate existing and emerging business information needs to ensure that the right information is available for making business decisions.
• Develop and create data models by applying formal data modeling techniques. Create predictive models to understand likely future outcomes and create proof of concept to test prescriptive actions.
• Establish and maintain data analysis processes and best practices to improve data analysis capabilities throughout the organization.
• Stay abreast of related new technology and industry standards. Explore and evaluate new technologies which may benefit Dakota Electric’s operations. Coordinate the identification, acquisition, and implementation of new or upgraded hardware and software, and software development/productivity tools. Test new or demonstration products. Apply standards to existing systems.
• Develop and deliver various training sessions for Dakota Electric and others as required to help get the personnel up to speed on new equipment and/or practices.
• Provide second-level support to assist customers with solutions to hardware and software application problems.
• Support special project needs by performing assigned project tasks according to the project schedule and assisting the project manager and team with the development of the project plan. As a project leader, directs and delegates tasks as needed.
• Prepare a monthly activity report for their supervisor by the 1st of each month. Assist with annual budget and long-range plans and activities for the Information Services department and make recommendations to their supervisor.
• Represents Dakota Electric on various Great River Energy, PUC, IEEE, University of Minnesota & MREA Committees, and teams. This position also will be periodically called upon to provide papers and presentations to other groups.
• Off-hours support of systems and participation in a rotating after hours on-call program. (On-call for approx. 4 weeks per year)
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in business, mathematics, statistics, computer science, decision sciences or another related field. Three to five years of work experience which provides the skills and abilities to perform a job of this nature. Equivalent combinations of education and experience will also be considered.

(All duties should be considered essential functions per the Americans with Disabilities Act.)