Director, Annual Planning, Lean & CI

Date: Nov 3, 2026 Location: Houston, TX, US, 77002 Company: CenterPoint Energy CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. Our Vision: Our vision is to become the most admired utility in the United States through the execution of our long-term growth strategy. We have an unwavering commitment to safely and reliably deliver electricity and natural gas to millions of people. Our Commitment: CenterPoint Energy is committed to creating an inclusive work environment where business results are achieved through the skills, abilities and talents of our diverse workforce. At CenterPoint Energy, individuals are respected for their contributions toward our company objectives. We strive for an inclusive work environment across all levels that is reflective of the available workforce in the communities we serve. Job Summary The Director, Annual Planning, Lean & Continuous Improvement leads the company’s operational excellence strategy—including strategic enterprise annual planning, Lean/Continuous Improvement, and disciplined execution of transformational initiatives—within a regulated electric and gas utility environment. This role advances Lean practices enterprise-wide and partners with the CEO, CFO, and senior leaders to set priorities, translate strategy into actionable plans, and cascade goals through all business units (utility operations and corporate functions). The Director ensures the Continuous Improvement team delivers high-quality support and measurable improvements in safety, reliability, system integrity, cost, and customer outcomes, and strengthens performance management and reporting through improved planning, analytics, governance, and benefits realization. Essential Functions Enterprise annual planning: Lead the end-to-end annual planning operating system (process, governance, cadence, and executive reviews) to align priorities, resources, and commitments. Business unit plan quality: Coach leaders to build clear, measurable plans with defined initiatives, resources, risks, and accountabilities; ensure goals cascade across levels. Lean & Continuous Improvement (CI) and process excellence: Set the CI operating model, standards, and training, and lead end-to-end process improvements across operations and corporate functions to increase safety, reliability, quality, and efficiency. Financial process and analysis processes: Evaluate, recommend and oversee improvements to current processes in order to deliver more accurate and timely management reporting to senior leaders. Enterprise governance, operating cadence & value capture: Govern cross-functional initiatives by defining outcomes and benefit owners, tracking realization through sustainment, and driving an enterprise operating cadence (scorecards, operating reviews, variance-to-plan, and action tracking) with progress communicated through established executive forums and standard reporting. Enterprise partnership across business units: Partner across operations and shared services (e.g., Safety, Customer, HR, Supply Chain, IT/Digital, Finance, Regulatory, Legal) to remove barriers and deliver enterprise priorities. Change management and adoption: Build alignment, communications, and training to drive adoption and sustain new ways of working; partner with HR and Communications as needed. Risk, compliance, and safety integration: Embed safety, controls, and compliance requirements into planning and improvement work to support audit readiness and regulated commitments. People leadership: Lead and develop the CI team by setting priorities, coaching capability, and managing capacity to meet enterprise needs. Lead managers with direct reports by setting expectations, establishing team rhythms, and ensuring consistent coaching, accountability, and succession planning. Education Description Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experie…

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