Senior Operations Planner Lead - Strategy & Scheduling

Xcel Energy; Brush (CO); On-site; USD 51,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Xcel Energy in the United States is seeking an Operations Planner Team Lead to guide strategic scheduling, readiness, and coordination across regions. You will mentor planners, optimize resources, and ensure safety and regulatory compliance while partnering with field operations, design, and external stakeholders.

This role emphasizes operational excellence, process improvement, and strong customer focus, with accountability for timely job closeout, cost control, and meeting deadlines.

Qualifications

• Associate’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 8 years of experience in construction, design, maintenance, or operations (utility experience strongly preferred), with 3 years in a senior planning role (e.g. Sr Operations Work Coordinator).
• Demonstrated mastery in scheduling, planning, and operational coordination within utility or construction industries.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to lead teams, mentor staff, and manage complex work activities to meet operational deadlines and customer expectations.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to foster collaboration across teams and departments.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet tools.
• Knowledge of and ability to use a wide range of computer applications, including Microsoft products, work management, mapping, and scheduling/project management tools.
• Valid Driver’s License

Responsibilities

• Strategic Scheduling & Planning: Oversee development and maintenance of a rolling 0–12+ week schedule for designated regions or commodity areas, ensuring alignment with priorities, compliance, and resource availability.
• Identify gaps, resolve scheduling conflicts, and make recommendations for resource adjustments to optimize efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Facilitate quarterly planning meetings to forecast workload and resource needs.
• Operational Readiness & Coordination: Review all aspects of projects prior to assigning work, ensuring prerequisites (permits, locates, traffic control, vegetation management) are met.
• Coordinate equipment, materials, and third-party services to enable timely work execution.
• Maintain visibility into real-time work queues and manage exception work outside normal scheduling windows.
• Leadership & Mentorship: Mentor and train Operations Planners/Sr. Operations Planners and other team members, providing guidance on scheduling practices, system use, and operational standards.
• Set high performance standards and encourage continuous improvement across the team.
• Provide backup leadership to Operations Managers and act as a consultative resource for system improvements and process changes.
• Resource Management & Optimization: Monitor and forecast personnel, equipment, and material needs across multiple areas.
• Optimize allocation of contract and employee resources to minimize costs and maximize schedule adherence, safety, and compliance.
• Performance Analysis & Continuous Improvement: Analyze scheduling and work execution performance to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Facilitate monthly metric review meetings and lead process change initiatives to enhance operational efficiency.
• Drive adoption of standardized work practices and company initiatives for operational excellence.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Customer Focus: Build and maintain strong partnerships with supervisors, field leaders, and external stakeholders.
• Champion timely and professional communication with customers and stakeholders regarding scheduling and outages.
• Represent Distribution Operations in cross-functional meetings and negotiate adjustments to meet customer and compliance deadlines.
• Accountability for Results: Ensure timely job closeout, accurate documentation, and financial stewardship of O&M and capital work.
• Oversee emergency response and storm restoration efforts, prioritizing safety and service reliability.
• All other duties as assigned.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication

Organizational skills

Problem solving

Education

Associate’s degree

Equivalent experience

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Scheduling tools

Work management tools

Mapping tools

Job description

Xcel Energy in the United States is seeking an Operations Planner Team Lead to guide strategic scheduling, readiness, and coordination across regions. You will mentor planners, optimize resources, and ensure safety and regulatory compliance while partnering with field operations, design, and external stakeholders.

This role emphasizes operational excellence, process improvement, and strong customer focus, with accountability for timely job closeout, cost control, and meeting deadlines.