Sr. Director, Outage & Work Management

NRG Energy, Inc.

Houston, TX

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JOB DETAILS

LOCATION

Houston, TX

POSTED

Today

Welcome to the intersection of energy and home services. At NRG, we’re all about propelling the next generation of leaders forward. We are driven by our passion to create a smarter, cleaner and more connected future. We deliver innovative solutions that make our customers’ lives easier—helping them power, protect, and intelligently manage their homes and businesses. To do this, we need creative and talented people to join our company.

We offer a dynamic work environment and a unified and inclusive culture. NRG fosters a strong sense of belonging that leads to better collaboration and business performance. Our company programs are designed to help employees develop the skills they need for success now and in the future. In everything we do, we aim to champion our employees and bring value to our customers, investors and society.

More information is available at www.nrg.com. Connect with NRG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

Job Summary

The Senior Director, Outage and Work Management provides enterprise leadership for the planning, governance, and execution of outages and day-to-day work management across a multi-plant power generation fleet operating in both union and non-union environments.

This role is accountable for safe, on-schedule, and on-budget outage delivery; standardized planning and scheduling practices; accurate work and cost tracking; and continuous improvement of maintenance and asset reliability programs. The Senior Director also provides training support—partnering with Learning & Development and plant leadership to build capability in outage leadership, planning/scheduling, contractor management, and work management fundamentals—to ensure consistent, repeatable performance across sites.

Scope and Span of Control

+ Fleet-wide governance for planned, forced, and emergent outages, including major maintenance and capital work.

+ Standardization and performance of work management processes (planning, scheduling, execution, and closeout).

+ Oversight of KPIs, analytics, and reporting to drive schedule adherence, cost control, backlog health, quality/rework, and reliability outcomes.

+ Training support: curriculum input, qualification standards, and effectiveness checks for outage and work management roles (in partnership with L&D).

Key Responsibilities

+ Outage Management – Enterprise Governance and Delivery

+ Establish and lead outage strategy, standards, and governance across all generation assets.

+ Approve outage scope, integrated schedules, budgets, and resource plans balancing risk, cost, and performance.

+ Lead phase-gate readiness reviews, daily field oversight routines, and post-outage lessons learned to improve duration, quality, and repeatability.

+ Serve as senior escalation point for outage-related risks, safety concerns, labor issues, and execution challenges.

+ Work Management – Standardization and Reliability

+ Develop, implement, and monitor best-in-class work management practices including planning, scheduling, execution, and work closeout.

+ Standardize work order coding, prioritization, backlog management, and equipment cost tracking across the fleet to identify maintenance drivers.

+ Monitor emergent and break-in work levels; implement constraint, escalation, and mitigation strategies to protect schedule and reliability.

+ Drive continuous improvement through best-practice sharing, extent-of-condition reviews, SOPs, and process optimization.

+ Training Support – Capability Building and Governance

+ Partner with Learning & Development to define role-based curricula (planner/scheduler, outage lead, contractor coordinator) and qualification standards.

+ Provide SMEs to develop training materials, simulations, and job aids; align content with regulatory and company standards.

+ Establish effectiveness checks (participation, proficiency, field validation) and support audit readiness for outage/work management competencies.

+ Sponsor communities of practice and coaching programs to build capability and ensure knowledge transfer across sites.

+ Union and Non-Union Workforce Leadership

+ Lead work and outage execution in both union and non-union environments in compliance with collective bargaining agreements and company policies.

+ Partner with Labor Relations and plant leadership on workforce planning, jurisdictional alignment, and issue resolution.

+ Foster collaborative relationships with union leadership, contractors, and salaried employees.

+ Safety, Regulatory, and Environmental Compliance

+ Champion a strong safety culture and personal accountability across all work and outage activities.

+ Ensure compliance with OSHA, environmental permits, NERC requirements, and internal safety and quality standards.

+ Sponsor pre-job risk assessments, readiness reviews, and field verifications.

+ Financial and Performance Management

+ Own enterprise outage and maintenance budgets, forecasts, and financial controls, including contractor cost management.

+ Define, monitor, and communicate KPIs related to cost, schedule adherence, backlog health, quality/rework, and reliability.

+ Drive cost optimization while maintaining safety, compliance, and asset performance.

+ Systems, Standardization, and Analytics

+ Ensure effective utilization of CMMS and scheduling tools (e.g., SAP, Maximo, TRACK, Primavera P6) and alignment of master data and work standards.

+ Lead data quality, reporting, and analytics efforts (e.g., Power BI) to enable transparent, evidence-based decisions.

+ Support system enhancements, integrations, M&A data conversion, and post-implementation stabilization with IT/OT and Cybersecurity.

+ Cross-Functional Collaboration and Communication

+ Coordinate with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Supply Chain/Procurement, IT, Finance, and Project Management to deliver integrated outcomes.

+ Oversee contractor strategy, onboarding, performance management, and demobilization; ensure clear scopes and accountability.

+ Provide executive-level status, risk, and performance communications; align priorities with business objectives.

+ Leadership and Talent Development

+ Lead and develop distributed teams of outage leaders, planners/schedulers, and training SMEs across multiple sites.

+ Build capability and succession through coaching, mentoring, SMART goal setting, and performance management.

+ Set expectations for accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

+ Proven leader of cross-functional, multi-site teams in industrial or power generation environments.

+ Deep knowledge of power plant systems, maintenance, operations, and TPM/RCM principles.

+ Expertise in outage planning/execution, work management, contractor oversight, and labor relations in union/non-union settings.

+ Advanced analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills; excellent written and verbal communication across all levels.

+ Proficiency with SAP/Maximo CMMS, TRACK, Primavera P6, MS Project, Power BI; familiarity with plant historians and SCADA/DCS.

Required Qualifications

+ Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technical, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).

+ 15+ years of progressive experience across power generation maintenance, work management, and outage management; 5+ years leading multi-site teams.

+ 5+ years working with SAP or other CMMS platforms and project planning/scheduling tools.

+ Demonstrated experience building or governing fleetwide standards and training programs.

+ Ability to travel up to 50% to plant locations and work extended/irregular hours during outages.

Preferred Qualifications

+ Advanced degree or certifications (PMP, CMRP, PE, Six Sigma).

+ Fleet-level oversight experience across multiple generation technologies (fossil, combined cycle, renewable, nuclear).

+ Experience designing KPI frameworks and dashboards to drive performance improvement.

Physical and Travel Requirements

+ Ability to access industrial environments including stairs, ladders, confined spaces, and elevated work areas.

+ Ability to wear required PPE and meet site access requirements.

+ Travel up to 40–50% with overnight stays as required; extended/irregular hours during outages.

Additional Information

Salary will be commensurate with education and experience and consistent with market pay rates for the job location.

NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol-free workplace. To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. EOE AA M/F/Protected Veteran Status/Disability. Level, Title and/or Salary may be adjusted based on the applicant's experience or skills.

EEO is the Law Poster (The poster can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf)

Official description on file with Talent.

About the Company

NRG Energy, Inc.

In Princeton, NJ—just 20 miles south of Thomas Edison's home—lies the headquarters of NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 company thatowns and operates one of the country's largest power generation and retail electricity businesses. NRG sells electricity directly to morethan 2 million customers through our retail businesses, Energy Plus, Green Mountain Energy Company, Independence Energy and Reliant,and is capable of generating enough electricity from our power plants to supply more than 20 million homes. NRG is at the forefront of changing how people think about and use energy. We are pioneers in developing cleaner and smarter energy choices for our customers: whether as one of the largest solar power developers in the country, or by building the first privately funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure or by giving customers thelatest smart energy solutions to better manage their energy use. With renewable energy development, electric vehicle support and smart grid technology, NRG delivers innovative solutions that help people, businesses and communities build a sustainable future. For more information, visit nrgenergy.com.

COMPANY SIZE

5,000 to 9,999 employees

INDUSTRY

Energy and Utilities

FOUNDED

1989

WEBSITE

http://www.nrgenergy.com