Manager, Benefits Administration / HR Operations

About the role

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

Manage the day-to-day HR operational service delivery, ensuring timely, accurate, consistent, high-quality HR processes and employee support. Ensure reliable HR services are delivered in a shared services model. Manage benefits administration, HR vendor file integrations, HR vendor relationship management, HR special projects, optimizing HR processes, ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal laws & regulations, and driving operational excellence in administering HR processes.

Essential Responsibilities

HR Administration & Service Delivery - Oversee and manage HR operations, including benefits administration, annual benefits enrollment, time away from work policies, I-9 verification, and other employee lifecycle processes. Develop, maintain, and enforce HR standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists, job aids, templates, and knowledge base content to support service delivery. Ensure HR transactions are executed accurately and consistently in the HRIS and related systems. Champion a proactive approach to scaling and streamlining HR administrative tasks, driving operational excellence.

Shared Services Collaboration - Serve as the point of contact for HR Operations workflows and Shared Services coordination. Collaborate with HR Service Center, Benefits, HR Technology, Payroll, Compensation, Talent Acquisition, Workforce Relations, Legal, and other functions to ensure HR Operations tasks are performed seamlessly. Support the resolution of HR Service Center escalations. Identify opportunities to streamline, standardize, and automate HR administrative processes. Lead process improvement initiatives to enhance HR service delivery and efficiency.

• Vendor Management - Develop and maintain a close working relationship with vendors for HR services to ensure efficient delivery of services.
• Meet with vendors to review performance metrics and take corrective action when needed.
• Ensure accurate and timely data transmission.
• Review and approve vendor invoices for payment.

Process Governance, Compliance, & Controls - Ensure HR administration practices comply with federal, state, and local laws, company policies, collective bargaining agreements, and audit needs. Identify HR operational risks and implement preventive controls. Maintain appropriate internal controls for sensitive HR data, documentation retention, and data accuracy. Implement corrective action when necessary.

• Partnership with HR Technology - Partner with HRIS and IT to maintain data integrity, troubleshoot issues, and improve HR system workflows and user experience.
• Provide operational requirements and test scenarios for HR operational changes to be implemented.
• Coordinate testing, data validation, and change management for HR system updates impacting HR operations.

Metrics - Develop dashboards, operational reporting, and metrics for HR Operations. Regularly review and analyze data to inform continuous improvement opportunities.

• Leadership & Team Development - Lead, coach, and develop the HR Operations staff.
• Foster a positive employee experience and continuous improvement mindset with the team.
• Manage workload distribution, capacity planning, and cross-training to meet project due dates and SLAs.
• Monitor and manage the budget for the department.
• Stay current on HR trends, best practices, and legislative changes affecting HR Operations.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field.
• At least eight years of progressive HR experience, with at least 2 years of leadership experience (may include demonstrated ability to lead through influence in an HR operations environment).
• Strong working knowledge of HR processes, policies, federal/state laws & regulations, HR compliance, data governance, and internal controls.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, analyze operational data, and drive process improvements.
• Demonstrated experience with HRIS systems (e.g. Workday, UKG, ServiceNow, etc.) and proficient in MS Office tools, with advanced Excel skills.
• Strong attention to detail, along with excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and team-building skills. Ability to handle sensitive information appropriately.

Preferred Requirements

• Master's degree in HR, Business Administration, or closely related field.
• HR certification (PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP).
• Experience building or scaling HR shared services delivery models.
• Experience supporting geographically dispersed employee populations across different states.
• Broad HR administrative experience, including supporting a large organization with a wide range of benefit program offerings across union and non-union populations.

Additional information

Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.

Our Employee Commitments

• Work that makes a difference
• A team you can count of
• Opportunities to grow
• Rewards that help you thrive

Non-Bargaining

The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $97,600.00 to $138,600.00 per year

Benefits

This 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: 11/30/26

All Xcel Energy employees and contractors share responsibility for protecting the company's information and systems by adhering to cybersecurity policies, standards, and best practices, recognizing that cybersecurity is everyone's responsibility.

Accessibility Statement

• Xcel Energy endeavors to make and 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.