Senior Operations Analyst - Customer Rewards

NRG Energy; Princeton (NJ); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 102,000; Full time

Job summary

NRG Energy is seeking a Senior Operations Analyst - Customer Awards to own the execution of customer award fulfillment, incentive validation, file preparation, and vendor coordination. You will identify improvements, automate where possible, and ensure accurate data across internal and external partners.

The role requires strong analytical skills, ability to work with limited guidance, and collaboration with Customer Care, IT, and vendors to improve customer experience and controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 3-7+ years in operations, analytics, or a technical operations role.
• Advanced Excel skills with large datasets and validation experience.
• Experience documenting processes, decisions and controls.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day execution and oversight of customer award fulfillment processes.
• Research and resolve complex customer concerns within SLAs and tight timelines.
• Monitor outsourced teams and external vendors for timeliness, accuracy and procedures.
• Develop and maintain operational reporting, dashboards, and leadership updates.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts, including AI-enabled automation and data use.

Skills

Advanced Excel

SQL

Power BI

Salesforce

SAP

Vendor management

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business / Operations / Analytics / Information Systems

Tools

Salesforce

SAP

Job description

As an NRG employee, we encourage you to take charge of your career and development journey. We invite you to explore exciting opportunities across our businesses. You'll find that our dynamic work environment provides variety and challenge. Your growth is key to our ongoing success-take the lead in shaping your career development, goals and future!

Job Summary

The Senior Operations Analyst - Customer Awards owns critical processes that support customer incentive, reward, gift card, mileage, charitable donation, and partner-award fulfillment. This role combines operational execution, customer issue resolution, vendor oversight, quality controls, reporting, and process improvement. The successful candidate is highly analytical, self-motivated, comfortable making sound decisions with limited guidance, and able to manage time-sensitive work across internal teams, outsourced resources, and external vendors.

This analyst will also identify manual work that can be simplified or automated, translate business needs into practical solutions, and help build scalable, well-controlled processes that improve accuracy, speed, and the customer experience.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day execution and oversight of customer award fulfillment processes, including incentive validation, file preparation, reconciliation of internal data and vendor files, award reissues, and partner-related exceptions.
• Research and resolve complex customer concerns within established service levels and tight timelines, coordinating with Customer Care, escalation teams, vendors, and internal stakeholders through completion.
• Monitor work completed by outsourced teams and external vendors, including workload, timeliness, accuracy, and adherence to documented procedures.
• Perform and design quality and control processes, maintain evidence of key controls, identify defects or control gaps, and ensure corrective actions are completed.
• Develop and maintain operational reporting, dashboards, metrics, and leadership updates that provide visibility into customer issues, award fulfillment, vendor performance, risks, and trends.
• Analyze data from multiple systems to validate award accuracy, detect exceptions, identify root causes, and recommend preventative solutions.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts across the assigned scope, with emphasis on reducing manual activity through AI-enabled solutions, workflow automation, system enhancements, and better use of data.
• Gather, document, and validate business requirements for process or system changes; partner with technical teams through development, testing, implementation, and post-launch monitoring.
• Support Salesforce development and configuration efforts, including translating operational needs into user stories, testing changes, and improving case or workflow management.
• Create and maintain clear process documentation, control procedures, training materials, and knowledge resources for internal and outsourced teams.
• Manage recurring deadlines, certifications, reporting deliverables, and stakeholder communications with minimal oversight.
• Build productive relationships with award partners, fulfillment vendors, outsourced teams, Cybersecurity, IT, Regulatory, Customer Care, Finance, and other business partners.
• Ensure processes comply with applicable regulations, contractual requirements, privacy expectations, internal policies, and control standards, including appropriate handling of sensitive customer data.
• Communicate risks, dependencies, decisions, and recommended actions clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Own workforce productivity tracking and reporting, support workload planning efforts, and help teams transition work to the most effective support model.
• Provide backup coverage and perform other duties as needed to support Billing Operations and customer award programs.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Analytics, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 3-7+ years of experience in operations, analytics, business analysis, customer issue resolution, vendor management, or a technical operations role.
• Advanced Excel skills, including data analysis, validation, reconciliation, and troubleshooting across large datasets.
• Experience managing complex, deadline-driven processes with multiple stakeholders and limited day-to-day direction.
• Demonstrated ability to identify inefficiencies and implement measurable process improvements, controls, or automation solutions.
• Experience documenting processes, requirements, decisions, testing results, and control evidence.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong SQL skills and experience querying or validating data across relational databases.
• Experience with Power BI or similar reporting and visualization tools.
• Salesforce administration, development, workflow, or business-analysis experience.
• SAP experience, particularly researching transactions, payments, and exceptions.
• Experience supporting outsourced operations and monitoring vendor quality, productivity, and service-level performance.
• Experience working with external fulfillment, gift card, loyalty, mileage, or rewards partners.
• Energy or utility industry experience.
• Experience with AI-enabled tools, robotic process automation, workflow automation, or low-code solutions.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong analytical, quantitative, and root-cause problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently, apply sound judgment, and make timely decisions with limited guidance.
• Self-motivated, accountable, and comfortable taking ownership from issue identification through resolution.
• High attention to detail with a strong quality and controls mindset.
• Ability to balance recurring operational work, urgent customer issues, projects, and improvement initiatives.
• Ability to translate business problems into clear requirements and practical technical solutions.
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication with frontline teams, leaders, technical partners, and vendors.
• Ability to influence across teams, manage competing priorities and escalations appropriately.
• Commitment to customer experience, regulatory compliance, data privacy, and accurate execution.

Working Conditions

• Fast-paced, high-volume operational environment with recurring deadlines and time-sensitive customer concerns.
• Hybrid or remote work flexibility based on location and business needs.
• Occasional extended hours may be required to meet critical deadlines or resolve customer-impacting issues.
• Minimal travel may be required.

Physical Requirements

Work is primarily sedentary and performed at a desk using a computer and standard office technology.

NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol-free workplace. To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability. Level, Title and/or Salary may be adjusted based on the applicant's experience or skills.

Official description on file with Talent.

We support the use of AI tools to help you prepare for your interview (e.g., practicing responses, researching the role, or refining your resume). However, during interviews and assessments, we expect responses to reflect your own thinking, experience, and communication. Use of AI to generate or read answers in real time, complete assessments, or misrepresent your qualifications is not permitted and may impact your candidacy.

The base salary range for this position is: $84,640 - $101,900* *The base salary range above represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of the total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include annual bonus, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards. In addition the position may be eligible to participate in the benefits program which include, but are not limited to, medical, vision, dental, 401K, and flexible spending accounts.