Senior IT Portfolio Lead, Intake & Planning

Are you looking for an exciting job where you can put your skills and talents to work at a company you can feel proud to be a part of? Do you want a workplace that will challenge you and offer you opportunities to learn and grow?  A  position at Xcel Energy could be just what you’re looking for.

Position Summary

The Sr. IT Portfolio Lead is responsible for developing, managing and improving key functions in support of Project Portfolio Management (PPM) processes using advanced techniques and best practices. They leverage expert Utility industry knowledge and/or technical skills to establish and execute management of IT investment processes, including financials and other IT Services. They provide consultation to ensure alignment and achievement of strategic objectives to run the business of IT. They will establish and maintain policies, tools, and processes to drive standard and lean practices across the portfolio leveraging industry best practices. The Sr. IT Portfolio Lead develops tools and executes analysis and risk assessment of portfolios and/or business operations, and provides recommendations for improvement. They partner with internal and external stakeholders to deliver impactful and measurable business outcomes. Working cross-organizationally, they drive increased business acumen amongst stakeholders and help the IT portfolio adhere to external standards and policies while delivering results. They will lead a variety of key initiatives and special programs on is support of the IT portfolio.

Focus areas in this role are:

• Accountable for managing intake demand (e.g., evaluating new software requests, limiting capability duplication, managing annual intake process) and maintaining accurate application spend forecasts (e.g., forecasting new application spend, renewals, true-ups).
• Governs intake for new software requests across the portfolio and leads demand planning and intake prioritization for new applications.
• Develops forward-looking software spend forecasts and planning assumptions, and partners with application owners and finance during annual planning cycle. 

Essential Responsibilities

• Operational Excellence: Identifies, initiates, and implements changes and/or approaches that support Xcel Energy's success (streamlined processes, new techniques, etc.); champions change to others. Maintains high professional standards for the quantity and quality of products and services provided. Focuses effort and energy on the most important work to Xcel Energy by correctly prioritizing the most efficient and effective way to get results. Consistently demonstrates Xcel Energy's values.
• Job and Business Expertise: Understands the industry. Aligns decisions based on how they impact the business area and Company goals. Able to make connections between customer and other stakeholder needs to make better overall decisions. Demonstrates mastery of the technical skills, knowledge, and tasks associated with his/her job. Seeks opportunities to transfer knowledge and share technical expertise with others.
• Training/Communications: Provides training and communications as needed to ensure user understanding of processes, policies and procedures. Establishes effective stakeholder feedback mechanisms that drive improvements. Leads the development and tracking of process and results metrics.
• Relationship Management: Serve as the primary contact for users on respective owned processes. Breaks down silos between departments or business areas to work as a larger team and support the goals of Xcel Energy. Consistently acts as a true partner with stakeholders; builds trust and seeks to drive win-win outcomes for stakeholders.

Minimum Requirements

• Ten years of related functional experience with a Bachelor's degree in Technology, Science, Business or related field, or 6 years of experience in IT, Supply Chain or Finance.
• Excellent communication skills, effective with varying organizational levels and skill sets, and able to translate between strategic and technical concepts.
• Excellent relationship management and collaboration skills, with a strong track record of working cross-organizationally to drive innovation and business results.
• Advanced proficiency in portfolio management techniques, including financials, value recognition, prioritization and performance measurement.
• Demonstrated expertise in solving complex problems and implementing solutions to drive performance improvement.
• Expertise in policy and regulation compliance.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a diverse, regulated and rapidly changing business environment.
• Proven ability to lean processes and cut waste and continuously improve solutions.
• Demonstrated pro