Community Energy Planner

The Community Energy Planner leads planning, project management and strategy implementation for individual communities participating in Xcel Energy’s Partners in Energy offering. Partners in Energy works with local governments and other community entities to create energy plans tailored to local communities’ needs and provides targeted assistance with the implementation of these plans.

The Community Energy Planner oversees a portfolio 3-6 of communities at a given time, with responsibilities that include managing local stakeholder input through a series of planning workshops, coordinating between community and utility points of contact, supporting community-led implementation strategies, and analyzing data to measure progress toward community goals. In addition, the planner supports CEE’s Community Energy Consulting projects with facilitation, data analysis, and planning.  The Community Energy Planner has no direct reports and reports directly to the Senior Manager of Community Planning.

This is a regular, full-time position that provides a wide range of benefits including Paid Time Off (PTO), medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance and retirement plan.

Background:

CEE is a community-based clean energy nonprofit with offices in the North Loop of Minneapolis and St. Paul's Midway. We provide practical energy solutions for homes, businesses, and communities to cut energy waste and harmful emissions. We collaborate regularly with field peers and partners and employ curious people who enjoy learning and contributing to Minnesota's quality of life and economy. Our workplace invites open door communications, respect for diverse backgrounds and points of view, and an emphasis on work-life balance.

Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with CEE staff to deliver high-quality program services
• Manage project-level tasks and budgets to ensure they are on track and within scope
• Manage relationships with both internal and external stakeholders to uphold/maintain CEE’s strategic position within the project team
• Serve as project lead on community intake and planning

• • Conduct background research, including interpretation of demographic and energy use data
  • Plan and facilitate community stakeholder meetings and workshops, including managing all meeting logistics, making presentations, facilitating group decision making, and coordinating all follow-up activities (e.g. notes, recording attendance, community portal updates)
  • Coordinate the ongoing participation of utility, local government, business and community stakeholders in the planning and implementation phases
  • Conduct data analysis for assigned communities to facilitate data-informed decisions by the community, upholding privacy considerations
  • Write community Energy Action Plans, including documentation of planning process and workshop outcomes. Shepherd plans through review and approval process
  • Design planning budget for each assigned community
• Manage implementation support provided to communities
  • Design implementation plan and budget for each assigned community
  • Provide overall project management for strategies identified as part of planning process
  • Facilitate design of community based social marketing campaigns, including effective messaging, communication tactics, and outreach volunteer training
  • Develop content for communications pieces, including website and marketing materials for communities
  • Manage internal and external resources to achieve identified goals and targets
  • Interpret data for assigned communities to monitor implementation progress and tell success stories
• Identify and manage available CEE, utility and other resources; Effectively connect communities to the right resources at the right time
• Use established systems to create work plans, track milestones, and report progress; help develop systems and processes where none currently exist
• Follow up with community stakeholders, hold them accountable for achieving established goals and milestones
• Recognize and uphold established program standards to deliver consistent work products, including attention to branding and communications protocol
• Effectively manage strategic relationship with Xcel Energy staff and programs
• Schedule and attend meetings with both internal and external stakeholders
• Must be able to work nights and weekends, as needed
• Other tasks as assigned or apparent