Resource Planning Strategist

At Cleco, we're not just powering lives—we're powering a cleaner, smarter future for Louisiana. With bold investments in innovative energy solutions, we’re transforming how we power our communities: smarter, cleaner, and more sustainable. This is a long-term commitment to our people and our communities because our future—and the future of generations to come—depends on it. If you're ready to make an impact where it matters most, join us at Cleco—where we're Energizing Your Tomorrow.

The Resource Planning Strategist leads development and evaluation of Cleco’s resource portfolio strategy by building, coordinating, and stress-testing base case and alternative planning scenarios. This role integrates inputs across operations, transmission, fuels, markets, and corporate development to ensure portfolio options are feasible, aligned, and risk-informed. The Strategist ensures resource plans support load growth, regulatory requirements, and long-term system reliability while improving transparency, consistency, and speed of decision-making across the Resource Planning function.

Key Responsibilities

Champions a corporate culture that emphasizes transparency, integrity, safety, environmental responsibility, employee development, sense of belonging, customer service, and operational excellence.

Lead development and coordination of portfolio scenarios, including base case and sensitivities, to support IRP, regulatory filings, and strategic decisions.

Align cross-functional inputs (generation, transmission, fuels, markets, new customer loads) to ensure consistent assumptions and a single source of truth for planning.

Bridge near-term operational constraints with long-term planning to ensure portfolio options are feasible, operable, and compliant.

Quantify and communicate portfolio risks, including market, policy, accreditation, interconnection, fuel, and cost uncertainties.

Maintain and manage portfolio inputs, assumptions, and decision artifacts to enable consistent and transparent analysis.

Coordinate interconnection and deliverability strategy for new resources and large load additions, including queue risks and timing implications.

Evaluate emerging resource options and technologies to ensure assumptions reflect performance, siting, and system integration needs.

Track MISO market and policy developments and incorporate impacts into portfolio planning and scenario analysis.

Lead cross-functional planning efforts to align resource development with transmission strategy and project execution timelines.

Develop decision-ready materials linking scenario results to key drivers, risks, and tradeoffs for leadership and regulatory use.

Qualifications

Required Education, Skills & Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, Engineering, or related field

5+ years experience in one or more energy utility areas including operations, project management, engineering, analytics, and/or ISO portfolio management

Ability to negotiate and influence with a consultative approach

Strong knowledge of leading practices for their practice area with preference for experience in resource planning, ISO market, portfolio management, portfolio analysis and/or production cost modeling

Willingness and ability to learn new technologies on the job

Experienced and knowledgeable Excel user

Capable of learning third party modeling software and developing internal tools within Resource Planning org

Demonstrated ability to communicate complex results to technical and non-technical audiences, including developing reporting and presentations for Sr. management

Proficient at functioning effectively within a team environment, present ideas and opinions in a respective and collegial manner

Progression to this level is strictly restricted based on critical individual capabilities and business requirements; must be supported by market survey data

Key Competencies

BEHAVIORAL

Building Organizational Talent

Building Partnerships

Leading Teams

Business Acumen

Communication

Courage

Building Self-Insight

Building Talent

Driving for Results

Energizing the Organization

Driving Execution

Building Trusting Relationships

Driving Innovation

Planning and Organizing

Safety

Establishing Strategic Direction

TECHNICAL

Analytical skills, capable of risk analysis and quantifying scenarios supporting decisions and recommendations

ISO market function and design

Strategic planning within a regulated utility

Uses analytics tools (BI, statistical methods)

May perform other duties as needed.

Salary dependent on experience, skills, education, and training.