Operations Planner Team Lead - Northern

Xcel Energy•Arvada, CO

About The Position

The Operations Planner Team Lead serves as the subject matter expert and leader for planning, scheduling, and coordinating operational work across multiple functional areas and regions. This role provides strategic oversight of multi-week scheduling and daily coordination activities, ensuring operational readiness, resource optimization, and compliance with safety and regulatory standards. The Team Lead mentors and develops planners, drives process improvements, and acts as a key liaison between field operations leadership, design, and external stakeholders. This position sets high standards for operational excellence and customer satisfaction while fostering collaboration and accountability across teams.

Requirements

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 5 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; ability to retrieve and manipulate data from reporting 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

Nice To Haves

Openness to travel within area assigned
Willing to work extended hours as needed

Responsibilities

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.