Director Ethics & Compliance - Ethics & Compliance - Akron FirstEnergy Headquarters

FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to 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 generating fleet with a total capacity of more than 5,000 megawatts.

About the Opportunity

The position is within the Ethics & Compliance group and reports to the VP and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. The Director, Ethics and Compliance provides strategic leadership and day-to-day oversight for key elements of the company’s ethics and compliance program, including corporate investigations, corporate compliance, anti-bribery and political compliance, and FERC and state compliance. It is located in Akron, OH, with travel as needed.

The Ethics & Compliance group works to strengthen the company’s ethics and compliance function for FirstEnergy’s operating companies. The team partners with Legal, Human Resources, Audit, Public Affairs, Regulatory, business units, and other stakeholders to

promote trust and respect, manage ethics and compliance risks, promote ethical business conduct, develop policies, procedures, and controls, and manage complaints and concerns. The team also performs risk assessments, conducts and oversees investigations, coordinates training, supports regulatory compliance obligations, and manages ethics and compliance communications. This position will be expected to interact with all levels of the organization and exercise sound judgment, discretion, and executive presence on sensitive matters.

This position is located at the FirstEnergy Headquarters in Akron, OH

Responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic and day-to-day leadership for Ethics & Compliance initiatives, program governance, and continuous improvement, including oversight of corporate investigations, corporate compliance, anti-bribery and political compliance, and FERC and state compliance.

  • Overseeing the intake, triage, assignment, investigation, documentation, reporting, and remediation of ethics and compliance concerns, including matters involving potential violations of company policies, the Code of Conduct, laws, regulations, or other obligations.

  • Leading or advising on sensitive, complex, or high-risk investigations; ensuring investigations are timely, objective, well-documented, and conducted with appropriate confidentiality, non-retaliation safeguards, and coordination with Legal, Human Resources, Audit, Security, and other functions as needed.

  • Identifying investigation trends, root causes, control gaps, and remediation opportunities; reporting themes, metrics, and recommendations to management and other stakeholders, as appropriate.

  • Overseeing corporate compliance processes related to gifts and business courtesies, pre-approvals, conflicts of interest, policy acknowledgments, employee inquiries, and related controls.

  • Providing guidance to employees and leaders on ethics and compliance policies, procedures, standards, and decision-making, including appropriate escalation to management, Legal, Public Affairs, Regulatory, or other functional areas.

  • Overseeing anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and political compliance controls, including due diligence, approvals, monitoring, communications, training, and coordination with Legal and Public Affairs on applicable requirements.

  • Providing oversight of FERC and state compliance activities, including coordination with appropriate business units to track, implement, and document required regulatory obligations, commitments, controls, and mitigation activities.

  • Monitoring business activities, compliance data, and activity reports to identify potential instances of inappropriate conduct, regulatory risk, or control weaknesses.

  • Leading or supporting internal and external reviews, audits, and assessments of business practices and compliance activities; tracking action items and assisting business functions with implementing mitigation strategies.

  • Overseeing ethics and compliance training, communications, and awareness campaigns, including advising on training strategy and content needs, managing execution, course assignments, completion tracking, communications, and reporting.

  • Ensuring compliance procedures, investigation protocols, regulatory obligations, approvals, acknowledgments, metrics, and other program documentation are accurate, complete, and maintained in accordance with company requirements.

• Representing Ethics & Compliance in tracking, interpreting, and implementing applicable legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements, with assistance from Legal, Public Affairs, Regulatory, and other subject matter experts, while assessing enforcement trends and developments.

  • Reviewing, updating, archiving, and publishing company policies, standards, procedures, and guidance related to the areas of oversight.

  • Coordinating the drafting and dissemination of compliance-related communications to employees, contractors, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

• Advising on ethics and compliance strategic direction and contributing to program enhancements that promote trust, respect, transparency, accountability, and a strong speak-up culture.

Qualifications include:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, law, accounting, finance, public policy, regulatory affairs, or a related field required; Juris Doctor degree preferred.
• Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in ethics and compliance, corporate investigations, legal, audit, regulatory compliance, risk management, internal controls, or a related function required.
• Minimum of three to five years of leadership experience managing teams, programs, projects, or cross-functional initiatives in a corporate, legal, regulatory, audit, or compliance environment required.
• Experience leading or overseeing sensitive, complex, or high-risk investigations, including intake, triage, evidence review, interviews, documentation, root-cause analysis, remediation, and reporting preferred.
• Experience with corporate compliance processes, including gifts and business courtesies, pre-approvals, conflicts of interest, policy acknowledgments, employee inquiries, controls, monitoring, and reporting preferred.
• Knowledge of, or experience with, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, political compliance, lobbying, campaign finance, due diligence, and related approval and monitoring processes preferred.
• Experience with FERC, state regulatory compliance, utility operations, electric industry requirements, or regulated energy-sector compliance preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, implement, assess, and continuously improve ethics and compliance programs, policies, procedures, controls, training, communications, and reporting mechanisms.
• Strong judgment, discretion, professionalism, and ability to handle confidential and sensitive matters with integrity, objectivity, and appropriate escalation.
• Executive presence and credibility as a trusted advisor, with the ability to communicate clearly and effectively with senior leaders, business partners, employees, regulators, auditors, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to build strong cross-functional relationships, influence without direct authority, manage conflict, and work collaboratively with Legal, Human Resources, Audit, Public Affairs, Regulatory, Security, and business units.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving, project management, written communication, presentation, and reporting skills, including the ability to identify trends, assess risks, and recommend practical mitigation strategies.
• Demonstrated leadership style that promotes transparency, accountability, inclusion, trust, respect, ethical decision-making, and a strong speak-up culture.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, make or recommend sound strategic decisions, deliver results, and lead complex initiatives across the organization.
• Professional certification such as Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Public Accountant, or similar credential preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and ability to use data, dashboards, or reporting tools to support compliance oversight and decision-making.
• Willingness to travel throughout the organization and service territory and work extended hours, as required.

Benefits, Compensation & Workforce Diversity
At FirstEnergy, employees are key to our success. We depend on their talents to meet the challenges of our changing business environment. We are committed to rewarding individual and team efforts through our total rewards philosophy which includes competitive pay plus incentive compensation, a company-sponsored pension plan, 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution, a choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs, as well as skills development training with tuition reimbursement. Please visit our website at www.firstenergycorp.com to learn more about all of our employee rewards programs. FirstEnergy proudly supports workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with a disability. No recruiters or agencies without a previously signed contract. Unable to sponsor or transfer H-1B visas at this time.
Safety
Safety is a core value for FirstEnergy and is essential to all of our business activities. We ensure employees have the tools, information, and processes to perform their duties in a manner that assures safety for themselves, their co-workers, our customers and the public. Our goals are to provide a safe work environment, to maintain an accident-free, injury-free workplace, and to promote and maintain public safety. To meet these goals, we dedicate ourselves to achieving world-class safety standards.
Position Classification
Exempt
FirstEnergy Human Resources Team
FirstEnergy takes a market-based approach to pay, which may vary depending on your location. In addition, your actual base salary will depend on various factors such as your skills, qualifications, and experience.

This is a full-time, on-site position located in Akron, OH at the FirstEnergy Headquarters.

FirstEnergy takes a market-based approach to pay, which may vary depending on your location.  In addition, your actual base salary will depend on various factors such as your skills, qualifications, and experience.