Senior Director, Business Area Finance

Xcel Energy•Minneapolis, MN

About The Position

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 Senior Director, Business Area Finance is an enterprise finance leader responsible for driving financial performance and shaping long‑term strategy across multiple business areas with diverse operating models, cost structures, and regulatory environments. The role serves as a trusted strategic advisor to Executive Management and Business Area Presidents, influencing enterprise decision‑making through integrated financial insight, rigorous governance, and forward‑looking analysis. The Senior Director oversees complex financial planning, performance management, and capital and cost governance while building and leading a high‑performing finance organization capable of supporting large‑scale, multi-business-area operations. This role is central to advancing financial discipline, enabling transformation, and strengthening the organization’s ability to deliver sustainable results in a highly regulated, capital‑intensive environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related business field required; MBA, CPA, or equivalent advanced credential strongly preferred.
Minimum of 10 years progressive financial leadership experience, including significant experience at the senior leadership or executive level.
Minimum of 7–10 years of people leadership experience, including leading managers and complex organizations.
Demonstrated expert-level knowledge of GAAP, regulated utility finance, Sarbanes Oxley compliance, enterprise financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and executive reporting.
Proven ability to design and govern enterprise scale financial policies, controls, and business processes.
Demonstrated enterprise business acumen with the ability to influence, advise, and challenge senior executives through clear, concise, and credible communication.

Responsibilities

Financial Leadership & Strategic Partnership: Acts as the senior-most financial leader for the Business Area, partnering with the Business Area President, Vice Presidents, and enterprise leadership to shape strategy, evaluate tradeoffs, and drive long-term value creation. Influences strategic and operational decisions through disciplined financial insight, scenario analysis, and enterprise perspective. Leads proactive, enterprise-minded financial stewardship across the business area, embedding value creation, commercial rigor, and disciplined capital and O&M decision-making into all major initiatives. Serves as a trusted executive advisor, fostering credibility and influence through deep business understanding, sound judgment, and transparent communication.
Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting: Directs, governs, and approves multi year financial plans, annual budgets, rolling forecasts, and long range outlooks, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy and regulatory expectations. Establishes and continuously improves enterprise grade financial planning processes, including dynamic resource allocation across O&M and Capital Expenditures, to optimize financial performance and risk management. Holds accountability for forecast integrity, transparency, and executive level readiness, enabling informed decision making by senior leadership and governing bodies. Provides executive level leadership for regulatory strategy, cost of service support, and expert testimony, ensuring defensible, compliant, and strategically aligned regulatory outcomes.
Financial Analysis & Reporting: Leads enterprise scale financial performance management, integrating operational, financial, and risk insights to support executive and Board level decision making. Oversees comprehensive performance reporting, variance analysis, and trend identification, translating complex financial data into clear, actionable executive insights. Communicates financial results, risks, opportunities, and business drivers with clarity and authority to Executive Leadership, Financial Performance leadership, and enterprise governance forums, including Operations Council and OPCo Presidents.
Financial Reporting & Compliance: Serves as the senior fiduciary authority for the Business Area, ensuring strong financial governance, internal controls, and compliance with corporate policy, regulatory requirements, and ethical standards. Provides executive oversight of financial operations, financial statement impacts, SOX compliance, and regulatory adherence, proactively identifying and mitigating financial and operational risk.
People Leadership & Organizational Capability: Leads and develops a high performing finance leadership team, setting clear expectations, modeling enterprise leadership behaviors, and building organizational capability. Champions a culture of continuous improvement, talent development, and succession planning aligned with enterprise objectives. Ensures rigorous performance management, coaching, and accountability processes that reinforce results, leadership effectiveness, and professional growth.