Director, People and Business Partnerships

Xcel Energy, Inc.; Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory (MN); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Incentive Program

Long Term Incentive

Medical/Pharmacy Plan

Dental

Job summary

Xcel Energy, Inc. is seeking a Director of People & Business Partnership to lead HR strategy for a major portfolio, shaping workforce design, leadership capability, and organizational effectiveness.

You will partner with senior leaders to align people initiatives with business goals and drive transformation across the portfolio. The role guides workforce priorities, coaches executives, and steers enterprise talent governance, with a focus on building capacity and readiness for priority roles.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, business, or related field.
• 10+ years of senior experience in HR business partnership, workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, or related.
• Proven ability to shape workforce strategy and influence executive leaders.
• Track record building organizational capability and driving measurable business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Shape portfolio workforce strategy and long-term planning.
• Lead workforce transformation in response to technology, AI, automation, and growth.
• Partner with portfolio executives as senior people advisor and talent strategist.
• Coach senior leaders on leadership effectiveness, organization health, and change implications of business transformation.
• Lead the HRBP team and set portfolio priorities with consistent standards.
• Translate enterprise strategy into portfolio-specific solutions with data-driven insights.
• Identify workforce risks and opportunities and inform strategic workforce decisions.

Skills

Workforce strategy

Executive influence

HR leadership

Organizational change

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field

MBA or related advanced degree (preferred)

Job description

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.

Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.

Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs.

Position Summary

The Director, People & Business Partnership serves as the senior Human Resources leader for an assigned business portfolio and is accountable for the workforce, leadership, organizational effectiveness, and talent outcomes that enable business performance.

The role partners directly with executive leaders to shape business strategy through workforce strategy, organizational design, succession, leadership capability, culture, and change leadership. In addition to leading a team of HR Business Partners, the role influences enterprise workforce priorities, helps address future workforce risks and opportunities, and ensures the portfolio has the capabilities required to execute both current and future business objectives.

Essential Responsibilities

Portfolio Workforce Strategy

• Shape and lead the portfolio’s workforce strategy, including long-term workforce planning, organizational design, succession, and the capabilities needed to deliver business and enterprise priorities.
• Lead workforce transformation in response to technology, AI, automation, evolving workforce expectations, and business growth.

Executive Partnership and Strategic Advisory

• Serve as the senior people and organization advisor to the portfolio executive and leadership team.
• Bring workforce, organizational, talent, and leadership perspectives into business planning, transformation, investment, and operating-model decisions.
• Anticipate workforce risks and opportunities, challenge assumptions, and ensure the people strategy is integrated with the portfolio’s business strategy.
• Coach senior leaders on leadership effectiveness, organization health, talent decisions, and the people and change implications of business transformation.

HRBP Team Leadership and Capability

• Lead, align, coach, and develop the embedded HR Business Partner team.
• Set portfolio priorities, clarify roles and decision rights, establish consistent partnership and consulting standards, and hold the team accountable for high-quality outcomes.
• Build strategic capability, succession depth, and a strong internal pipeline for future HR leadership roles.

Enterprise Partnership and Workforce Insight

• Partner with Centers of Excellence, HR Operations, and Workforce Analytics to translate enterprise strategy into scalable, portfolio-specific solutions and bring portfolio insights forward to shape enterprise priorities.
• Leverage workforce and organizational data to identify emerging risks, assess capability needs, model future workforce scenarios, and inform strategic workforce decisions across the portfolio and enterprise.

Critical Talent and Leadership Pipeline

• Lead the portfolio’s approach to critical talent and leadership pipelines, including succession, talent reviews, and readiness for priority roles.

Enterprise Talent Governance

• Represent the portfolio in enterprise talent forums and decisions.
• Partner with the Talent Strategy team to translate enterprise talent priorities into business action, bring portfolio needs and insights forward, and strengthen the effectiveness of talent practices across the company.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10+ years of progressive, senior experience in Human Resources business partnership, workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, talent strategy, or related.
• Demonstrated ability to shape workforce strategy, influence executive leaders, lead strategic workforce initiatives, and develop high-performing HR teams.
• Track record building organizational capability and driving measurable business outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA or related).
• Experience in a large, regulated, or unionized enterprise; utility or industrial sector preferred.
• Senior HR certification (SPHR, SHRM-SCP, or equivalent).

Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.

Our Values

Connected, Committed, Trustworthy, Safe

Our Employee Commitments

• Work that makes a difference
• A team you can count of
• Opportunities to grow
• Rewards that help you thrive

Xcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form.

Non-Bargaining

The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $160,000.00 to $230,000.00 per year

This position is eligible for the following benefits:

• Annual Incentive Program
• Long Term Incentive
• Medical/Pharmacy Plan
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan)
• Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA)
• Transportation Reimbursement Account
• Short-term disability (STD)
• Long-term disability (LTD)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Transit programs
• Employee recognition program
• Pension
• 401(k) plan
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Holidays
• Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)
• Parental Leave

Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Deadline to Apply: 11/19/26

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Accessibility Statement

Xcel Energy endeavors to make https://www.xcelenergy.com and https://jobs.xcelenergy.com accessible to any and all users. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form. For any other application related questions, including application follow-ups or technical issues, please use our Recruiting Assistance, Electra, for assistance. Electra can be found in the lower right-hand corner of our Xcel Energy Careers site.