Lea County Electric Cooperative- Chief Operating Officer
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Job Location:
Lovington, NM - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
9 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Chief Operating Officer
Lea County Electric Cooperative Lovington NM
Lea County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) in Lovington NM is hiring a collaborative results-driven leader for their Chief Operating Officer (COO). This key member of the leadership team will play a critical role in aligning strategy with execution strengthening organizational culture and ensuring operational excellence across the cooperative.
The COO will operate as the General Managers principal partner with full authority to act in their absence. The COO is expected to lead decisively move the organization with urgency and deliver measurable results across a complex electric system.
This role is being created to support ongoing growth in capital projects and to address an increasingly complex and evolving regulatory addition it will play a critical role in ensuring continuity of leadership and institutional knowledge as the organization prepares for a significant wave of upcoming retirements strengthening succession planning and reinforcing a resilient future-ready organizational structure.
LCEC has retained NRECA Executive Search to facilitate the search process for this newly created position.
About Lea County Electric Cooperative
Established in 1949 Lea County Electric Cooperative in headquartered in Lovington New Mexico. The cooperative plays a vital role in powering communities across Southeast New Mexico and West Texas encompassing portions of Chaves Eddy and Lea Counties in New Mexico as well as Cochran Gaines and Yoakum Counties in Texas. Our dedicated team of nine trustees in collaboration with our skilled management and workforce has successfully navigated through periods of change and expansion.Key Statistics about LCEC
- 230 MW system peak
- 1.4 billion kWh annual sales
- Over 4300 miles of energized line
- 53 owned substations switch stations and transmission interchange stations
- 70 MW renewable portfolio
- $100M annual revenue
- $300M total utility plant
- Full transmission and distribution operations
- Central operations hub with multiple satellite locations
The cooperative has a full requirements contract with its G & T - Western Farmers Electric Cooperative located in Anadarko Oklahoma.
The COO position
Reporting directly to the Executive Vice President and General Manager the Chief Operating Officer will drive organization-wide performance against strategic and financial targets by aligning all functions to clear metrics timelines and the General Managers absence the COO will have decision-making authority while promoting strong operational discipline and eliminating silos to ensure cohesive execution across the cooperative.
This role serves as the bridge between strategic vision and day-to-day execution ensuring that organizational priorities are effectively implemented across departments.
The COO also plays a key leadership role in fostering a culture of accountability collaboration and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Operations Reliability & Risk
- Lead electric operations with an uncompromising focus on reliability safety and cost control
- Own system performance across T&D infrastructure
- Ensure compliance in a regulated high-stakes environment
- Oversee system resilience as a core operational priority
- Convert strategy into executable capital plansand deliver them without excuses
- Ensure projects are completed on time on budget and to standard
- Maintain real-time visibility into operational and financial performance
- Partner on long-term system planning and grid modernization
- Build a performance-driven accountable organization
- Lead teams/departments with authority and influence-not consensus alone
- Develop the next generation of leadership and strengthen bench depth
- Set the tone: high expectations clear standards no ambiguity
- Oversight of Safety Buildings and Grounds
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the General Manager and Board
- Represent the cooperative with credibility and command
- Engage directly with Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) markets including Southwest Power Pool (SPP)
- Navigate regulatory member and industry relationships with confidence
The Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate will be a well-rounded senior level leader with strong operational expertise and a demonstrated ability to lead people and drive results.
This is a true C-suite role with enterprise-wide impact.
Leadership Competencies
- Ability to lead change and manage risk: Identifies and actively manages change and risk throughout the organization.
- Vision and Strategic Orientation: Takes a broad scale long-term view that focuses on the future needs of the organization and members industry.
- Analytical Thinking and Decision Making: Thinks systematically conceptually and analytically to determine effective solutions that will enable the co-op to achieve desired goals.
- Results Driven: Achieves results by establishing and maintaining focus on challenging goals and measuring organizational performance against those goals and standards.
- Process Management: Develops and monitors processes and organizes resources to achieve desired results.
- Exceptional communication skills both formally and informally: Listens relates and expresses oneself in a manner that is effective while supporting mutual understanding.
- Relationship and Team Building: Creates and fosters constructive working relationships and cohesive teams.
- Commitment to safety integrity and cooperatives values
Experience and Expertise
- Bachelors degree in engineering business or related field
- At least 5 years of progressive leadership experience
- At least 10 years of electric utility experience
- Strong operational and project management background
- Electric cooperative or public power experience strongly preferred
- Advanced degree (MBA or related)
- Experience working with Boards regulators and community stakeholders
- Experience with Southwest Power Pool (SPP) strongly preferred
- Deep Expertise in transmission and distribution operations
- MIP graduate is desired
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is a plus
- NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) experience
- Direct experience in Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) environments
Our Location
With a population of around 11000 Lovington offers the charm of a tight-knit community while staying connected to larger nearby hubs. Residents benefit from an affordable cost of living light traffic and a slower more relaxed lifestyle. At the same time theyre just a short drive from Hobbs (about 20 minutes away population 50000) for additional shopping dining and entertainment and within roughly 90 minutes of Lubbock (population 280000) which provides access to advanced healthcare and a wider range of cultural and professional opportunities. This balance makes Lovington an appealing choice for those who want affordability and a strong sense of community without giving up access to urban amenities.Nearby regional airports are Hobbs NM; Roswell NM; Lubbock TX and Midland TX.
Our Benefits
LCEC offers an excellent comprehensive benefit package including medical dental and vision coverage life insurance long term disability 401 k and employer funded pension (NRECA R&S Plan).Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.
Lea County Electric Cooperative is an EEO/Affirmative Action employer. Race color religion sex age national origin disability military veteran status gender identity sexual orientation genetic information or any other applicable status protected by Federal State or Local law are not taken into account in any employment decision. Learn more about us at to ApplyIf interested please apply at with the following: 1) Cover letter 2) resume and 3) contact information (including emails) for 3 professional references. Applications must be received byJune 12 2026. If you have any questions please contactLeigh TaylorNRECA Executive Search emailprotected.
All replies are confidential.
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