Director, Commercial Communications

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.

Xcel Energy is seeking a highly strategic and proactive communications leader to drive enterprise-wide communications efforts supporting the company's rapidly growing large load customer (data centers, etc.) business. The Director, Commercial Communications will lead the development and execution of integrated communications strategies that enhance Xcel Energy's reputation as a trusted energy partner for large load customer development across its multi-state service territory.

This leader will serve as the primary communications strategist for one of the company's most important business opportunities, working across corporate, regulatory, government affairs, customer, community relations, economic development, and operational teams. The role requires a unique combination of strategic communications expertise, stakeholder engagement, issue and advocacy management, business acumen, and team leadership. The successful candidate will build and execute communications strategies that support large load customer development, strengthen relationships with customers, such as hyperscalers and data center developers, proactively manage emerging issues, and ensure coordinated messaging across state and enterprise-level priorities.

• Develop and lead a comprehensive enterprise communications strategy to support Xcel Energy's large load customer growth objectives.
• Create state-specific communication frameworks tailored to the unique regulatory, political, economic, media, and community environments within each jurisdiction.
• Position Xcel Energy as a leading energy partner for data center customers through strategic storytelling, media engagement, executive visibility, and stakeholder communications.
• Develop communication plans that support key customer projects, infrastructure investments, and economic development initiatives associated with data center growth.

• Establish trusted working relationships with large load owners, developers, hyperscale customers, site selectors, and industry partners.
• Partner with customers to identify and execute joint communications opportunities, including major project announcements, economic development initiatives, community engagement efforts, and thought leadership campaigns.
• Coordinate communication activities supporting customer acquisition and retention efforts.
• Serve as the communications advisor to business development leaders pursuing large load opportunities across the service territory, including development of local execution and stakeholder influence strategies that can be provided to state-level community teams and/or developers.
• Partner with state-level community teams in managing relationships with Economic Development Organizations and local NGOs.

• Design and manage a comprehensive monitoring and intelligence program focused on large load issues, stakeholder sentiment, public opinion, legislative activity, and media coverage.
• Develop systems and dashboards that provide regular insights to communications, business, and executive leadership teams.
• Identify emerging trends, risks, and opportunities related to data center growth, energy demand, economic development, water usage, transmission infrastructure, land use, and community…