About:
Western Power is a Western Australian State Government-owned corporation that plays a vital role in delivering electricity to 2.3 million customers across the region. With a legacy spanning over 70 years, it is responsible for building, maintaining, and operating an extensive transmission and distribution network that connects homes, businesses, and essential infrastructure to both traditional and renewable energy sources. The corporation is deeply committed to providing safe, reliable, and efficient energy, supporting the dynamic lifestyle and economic growth of Western Australia.
At the forefront of innovation in the energy sector, Western Power is actively shaping the grid of the future by integrating cutting-edge technologies such as microgrids and battery storage solutions. These advancements are part of a broader strategy to create a cleaner, more resilient energy system that meets the evolving needs of the community and supports the transition to a sustainable energy mix. Through its forward-thinking approach and dedicated workforce, Western Power continues to lead the way in powering a brighter future for generations to come.
Challenge:
The Planning Engineer position at Western Power is a critical technical role that directly influences the safety, reliability, and affordability of the transmission and distribution networks across Western Australia. This an extremely niche skillset to have and the person is responsible for conducting complex power system studies—spanning steady state, dynamic, transient, power quality, and small signal performance—and translating these into actionable planning reports and investment proposals. This role is pivotal in enabling load growth, integrating new customer and generator connections, and ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks.
Given its strategic impact, the role demands a rare blend of deep technical expertise, commercial acumen, stakeholder engagement skills, and a strong alignment with Western Power’s values. With the Perth market being in shortage vs the east coast and the rapid growth or Western Powers Planning team, it was a challenge to scale up the business so urgently.
Solutions:
- Leveraged a Broad Professional Network Across and Beyond Perth To address Western Power’s hiring challenges amid rapid growth, I tapped into my extensive network of industry professionals both within Perth and nationally. This included reaching out to passive candidates, former colleagues, and contacts in adjacent sectors who might be open to new opportunities
- Engaged Previous Placements to Refine the Employer Value Proposition I proactively connected with individuals I had previously placed at Western Power to gain firsthand insights into what made the company attractive to candidates. Their feedback helped me shape a compelling narrative around the business’s growth trajectory, culture, and career development opportunities. This allowed me to better “sell” the role to prospective candidates and target outreach efforts toward communities and platforms where similar talent could be found.
- Collaborated Closely with Internal Talent and Engineering Teams for Seamless Execution Throughout the process, I maintained tight alignment with Western Power’s internal talent acquisition and engineering stakeholders. This ensured that the hiring process was not only efficient but also deeply informed by the technical requirements and team dynamics. Together, we built a structured and transparent recruitment workflow.
Outcome, Timeline and Benefits:
- Shortlist of five candidates, three from main competitors
- 4 face to face interviews scheduled
- 3 to final stage
- 1 offer – 4 weeks process from shortlisting to offer accept
As Western Power’s Transmission team entered a pivotal phase of network expansion and internal restructuring, they faced an urgent need for experienced planning talent to support their growing portfolio of infrastructure projects. Having JD Ross partnered with Western Power over several years and successfully placed multiple professionals across their Transmission and broader engineering teams, I had developed a deep understanding of their operational challenges, team culture, and technical requirements and this is why it was a smooth process to hire this planning engineer. JD Ross are a preferred partner when it comes to scaling up the engineering team as the quality, professionalism and feedback.
Conclusion:
The successful hire has empowered Western Power to proactively manage load growth, facilitate renewable integration, and maintain system reliability in a rapidly changing grid environment. The partnership with JD Ross Energy has laid the foundation for future workforce scaling—demonstrating that with the right recruitment partner, even the most niche and urgent hiring challenges can be met with precision and speed.