Director, Annual Planning, Lean & CI

CenterPoint Energy; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Paid training

Benefits starts day one

Flexible work schedule

On-site wellness center — Houston HQ

Tuition reimbursement

401(k) company match 6%

Job summary

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. in Houston seeks a Director, Annual Planning, Lean & Continuous Improvement to lead enterprise planning, Lean/CI practices, and execution of strategic initiatives across the utility.

You will partner with the CEO, CFO and senior leaders to drive governance, value realization, and disciplined execution while developing the CI team and improving safety, reliability, and efficiency in a regulated environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in operational excellence/continuous improvement, operations, or strategy execution.
• Experience leading enterprise annual planning (end-to-end process design, governance, and execution) across multiple functions.
• Proven track record delivering measurable improvements using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
• Strong business and operational acumen to identify obstacles and translate strategy into practical execution.
• Ability to work effectively with varied leadership styles and influence without authority across corporate and field organizations.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end enterprise annual planning, governance, cadence, and executive reviews.
• Coach leaders to build clear, measurable plans with defined initiatives, resources, risks, and accountabilities.
• Set CI operating model, standards, and training; drive end-to-end improvements across operations and corporate functions.
• Oversee improvements to financial processes to deliver accurate management reporting.
• Govern cross-functional initiatives with a formal benefits-tracking, cadence, and executive reporting.
• Partner with operations and shared services to remove barriers and deliver enterprise priorities.
• Drive change management and adoption with HR and Communications as needed.
• Embed safety, controls, and compliance into planning and improvement work.

Skills

Lean / CI

Strategic planning

Governance

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MS Excel

Job description

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CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years.

Our Vision: Our vision is to become the most admired utility in the United States through the execution of our long-term growth strategy. We have an unwavering commitment to safely and reliably deliver electricity and natural gas to millions of people.

Our Commitment: CenterPoint Energy is committed to creating an inclusive work environment where business results are achieved through the skills, abilities and talents of our diverse workforce.

At CenterPoint Energy, individuals are respected for their contributions toward our company objectives. We strive for an inclusive work environment across all levels that is reflective of the available workforce in the communities we serve.

Job Summary

The Director, Annual Planning, Lean & Continuous Improvement leads the company’s operational excellence strategy—including strategic enterprise annual planning, Lean/Continuous Improvement, and disciplined execution of transformational initiatives—within a regulated electric and gas utility environment. This role advances Lean practices enterprise-wide and partners with the CEO, CFO, and senior leaders to set priorities, translate strategy into actionable plans, and cascade goals through all business units (utility operations and corporate functions). The Director ensures the Continuous Improvement team delivers high-quality support and measurable improvements in safety, reliability, system integrity, cost, and customer outcomes, and strengthens performance management and reporting through improved planning, analytics, governance, and benefits realization.

Essential Functions

• Enterprise annual planning: Lead the end-to-end annual planning operating system (process, governance, cadence, and executive reviews) to align priorities, resources, and commitments.
• Business unit plan quality: Coach leaders to build clear, measurable plans with defined initiatives, resources, risks, and accountabilities; ensure goals cascade across levels.
• Lean & Continuous Improvement (CI) and process excellence: Set the CI operating model, standards, and training, and lead end-to-end process improvements across operations and corporate functions to increase safety, reliability, quality, and efficiency.
• Financial process and analysis processes: Evaluate, recommend and oversee improvements to current processes in order to deliver more accurate and timely management reporting to senior leaders.
• Enterprise governance, operating cadence & value capture: Govern cross-functional initiatives by defining outcomes and benefit owners, tracking realization through sustainment, and driving an enterprise operating cadence (scorecards, operating reviews, variance-to-plan, and action tracking) with progress communicated through established executive forums and standard reporting.
• Enterprise partnership across business units: Partner across operations and shared services (e.g., Safety, Customer, HR, Supply Chain, IT/Digital, Finance, Regulatory, Legal) to remove barriers and deliver enterprise priorities.
• Change management and adoption: Build alignment, communications, and training to drive adoption and sustain new ways of working; partner with HR and Communications as needed.
• Risk, compliance, and safety integration: Embed safety, controls, and compliance requirements into planning and improvement work to support audit readiness and regulated commitments.
• People leadership: Lead and develop the CI team by setting priorities, coaching capability, and managing capacity to meet enterprise needs. Lead managers with direct reports by setting expectations, establishing team rhythms, and ensuring consistent coaching, accountability, and succession planning.

Education Description

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience).

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive experience in operational excellence/continuous improvement, operations, or strategy execution.
• Demonstrated ability to lead enterprise annual planning (end-to-end process design, governance, and execution) across multiple functions.
• Proven track record delivering measurable improvements using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
• Strong business and operational acumen to identify obstacles and translate strategy into practical execution.
• Ability to work effectively with varied leadership styles and influence without authority across corporate and field organizations.
• High professionalism, sound judgment, and steadiness under pressure; able to manage competing priorities and sensitive stakeholder dynamics.
• Experience leading a CI/operational excellence function, including setting the delivery model and managing portfolio capacity across competing enterprise priorities.
• Experience leading an enterprise transformation portfolio, including prioritization, resource trade-offs, and delivery management across multiple initiatives.
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal) with the ability to simplify complex topics and drive stakeholder understanding across diverse audiences.
• Experience within a regulated utility, energy, or capital-intensive industrial environment.

We want you to know
Being a part of the CenterPoint Energy team is more than a career alone. It's an opportunity to make a positive impact. You will be an integral part of enabling everyday life and the pursuit of possibilities for the customers we serve and the communities we share. The vital services we provide are at the core of making our world work, and by sharing your energy with us, we'll create a better tomorrow together.

What we bring to you

• Competitive pay
• Paid training
• Benefits eligibility begins on your first day
• Flexible work schedule, paid holidays and paid time off
• Access to discounts at fitness clubs and an on-site wellness center at our headquarters in Houston
• Professional growth and development programs including tuition reimbursement
• 401(k) Savings Plan featuring a company match dollar-for-dollar up to 6% and a company contribution of 3% regardless of your contribution

Job Type:Full Time
Posting Start Date: 11/03/2026
Posting End Date: 11/17/2026

This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR §§ 60-1.4(a), 60-300.5(a), and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability.