Market Operator

Overview

SONI is Northern Ireland’s Transmission System Operator. We are the people behind Northern Ireland’s electricity grid. We make sure that every home, business, school, hospital, factory and farm has power - when and where they need it.

Role

Title:

Market Operator

Reports to: Market Operator Manager

Location: Belfast

SONI is Northern Ireland’s Transmission System Operator. We are the people behind Northern Ireland’s electricity grid. We make sure that every home, business, school, hospital, factory and farm has power - when and where they need it. And that’s just the beginning of our story. We have a critical role to play in delivering a cleaner, cheaper more secure energy future for everyone living in Northern Ireland.

Our focus is on safety, security and reliability. Our work environment is challenging, fast-moving, collaborative and team orientated. Our culture is driven by continual development, knowledge and teamwork. Our people are committed to reducing Northern Ireland’s reliance on fossil fuels and transforming the energy system to make decarbonisation a reality – while providing a safe and reliable electricity supply in a way that secures the future for those who follow us.

The work you will deliver with us here at SONI matters. Join a great and supportive team and be part of the transformation.

The Market Operations Function is responsible for operating and enhancing the European integrated Single Electricity Market across the island of Ireland that allows generators and supply companies to buy and sell electricity ahead of the delivery date and subsequently the calculation of prices that apply for the real time balancing of supply and demand. This includes the operation of the day-ahead and intraday markets and the Balancing Market Operations.

Analysing market behaviour is a significant activity, given the scale of money being transacted, ~ €5bn per annum, and the size of datasets generated. The markets operate on a 365-day basis and generate significant datasets down to five-minute resolution. The Market Operations Function want to recruit individuals who are interested in advancing their career in the energy industry. The critical nature of the work we do, and the experience it offers, provides exciting career opportunity.

The Market Operator plays a key role in delivery of the full range of work within the Market Operations team, which includes operating and monitoring the trading desk on a shift rota arrangement 1 week in every 4-6 weeks. Upon joining a comprehensive 3-month training programme is provided to become licensed and following completion of the training, the Market Operator is certified to operate the electricity market auctions as part of the trading desk team.

During electricity market auctions the trading team have specific tasks that need to be completed within pre-determined timelines and the team work to deadlines which can be in real-time, daily, weekly, monthly. As a result, the Market Operator needs to work closely with the other team members to ensure the appropriate support and backup is available within this fast-paced environment.

The Market Operator works closely with service providers to operate and verify the results from the various wholesale markets. The Market Operator must maintain oversight of all market operations auction activities during the auctions and liaise closely with stakeholders to resolve operational issues, typically to very tight deadlines. These stakeholders include the National Control Centre, Market Operations management and internal IT, in addition to interacting with external parties including service providers, traders, the UK system operator, interconnector owners and other European/UK market operators.

When the Market Operator is not working on the trading desk, the role involves a blend of responsibilities for projects, system release testing, service changes, market analysis, training and process improvement.

When on the trading desk, responsibilities will include:

• Monitor key market activities such as market inputs, auctions, validations and publication of reports to ensure accuracy and…