Principal HR Planning and Enablement Consultant

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 Principal Consultant, HR Planning & Enablement serves as a strategic integrator for Human Resources + Employee Services (HR+ES), translating enterprise and workforce priorities into an integrated functional strategy, multi-year roadmap, operating plan, and coordinated portfolio of work.

The role leads planning, prioritization, governance, and executive decision support across HR Business Partners, Centers of Excellence, Shared Services, and other partners. It identifies dependencies, risks, sequencing, and resource implications so complex priorities move from strategy through execution with clear ownership and measurable outcomes. The role also serves as the HR+ES AI lead, connecting AI opportunities and priorities to the People Strategy and coordinating planning across the functions and stakeholders required to advance them.

Success comes from bringing clarity to competing priorities, connecting work across functions, strengthening the HR operating rhythm, and helping leaders turn decisions into scalable, sustainable action.

Essential Responsibilities

Integrated HR Strategy & Planning

• Own the integrated HR+ES portfolio and planning process to connect enterprise and workforce priorities to the broader People Strategy.
• Consolidate priorities and roadmaps across HRBPs, Centers of Excellence, HR Operations/Shared Services, and other functions.
• Identify conflicts, dependencies, gaps, and resource collisions to support enterprise-level sequencing and trade-off decisions.
• Maintain an integrated view of progress, risks, outcomes, and decisions so leaders can see how the portfolio is advancing.

Portfolio Prioritization & Governance

• Establish governance, standards, and decision routines that guide how cross-functional HR initiatives are prioritized, sequenced, deployed, and sustained.
• Surface dependencies, risks, capacity constraints, and trade-offs so leaders can make informed portfolio decisions.
• Clarify ownership, decision rights, and escalation paths to strengthen accountability across the portfolio.

Executive Decision Support & Operating Rhythm

• Lead the HR+ES leadership operating rhythm, including strategy sessions, Monthly Operating Reviews, quarterly business reviews, and priority-setting forums.
• Develop clear recommendations and executive-ready materials that connect priorities, performance, risks, and business outcomes.
• Track decisions, commitments, and actions to ensure they advance to completion.

Cross-Functional Integration & Enablement

• Serve as a strategic integrator across HRBPs, Centers of Excellence, Shared Services, Finance, Communications, Technology, and enterprise partners.
• Align implementation approaches and coordinate work across functions to support shared outcomes.
• Identify and remove barriers that create duplication, unnecessary complexity, or inconsistent execution.

Strategic Programs & Organization Enablement

• Lead governance and cross-functional integration for selected HR+ES priorities that span multiple functions.
• Connect approved organization design and effectiveness priorities to the integrated HR+ES portfolio and establish shared outcomes and decision rights.
• Align participating HR functions, sequence work, and ensure the appropriate capability owner is engaged.
• Maintain leadership visibility to dependencies, risks, resources, commitments, and implementation readiness through the HR+ES operating rhythm.

Executive Communications

• Create concise executive narratives, presentations, and leadership communications that connect priorities, decisions, progress, and business outcomes.
• Tailor complex information for senior leadership audiences to support clear decisions and coordinated action.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Organizational Effectiveness, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• At least 7 years of related experience in HR, strategic planning, portfolio or program management, business operations, consulting, organizational effectiveness, or executive support.
• Demonstrated success translating strategy into integrated plans, priorities, governance, and measurable outcomes.
• Experience advising senior leaders and leading work across multiple functions without direct authority.
• Strong business acumen, judgment, facilitation, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage ambiguity, competing priorities, dependencies, and complex stakeholder environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a large, complex, or regulated organization.
• HRBP, HR strategy, chief of staff, organization effectiveness, transformation, or management consulting experience.
• Experience leading enterprise planning, portfolio governance, executive forums, or cross-functional transformation programs.
• Advanced degree or relevant project, program, change, or continuous-improvement credential.

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-BargainingThe anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $112,000.00 to $175,000.00 per yearThis position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, 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: 11/21/26

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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.