Senior Procurement Specialist
People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals. We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role!
American Water (NYSE : AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water's 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders. As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $40 to $42 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce, and strengthening communities.
Key Accountabilities
- Prepare bid packages, statement of work documents, and requests (RFP / RFI) according to specifications and business requirements while supporting business with all commercial needs including dispute resolution and contract interpretation.
- Build, lead, and maintain development of sourcing strategies from project identification through close-out including alternative sourcing options.
- Negotiate complex commercial agreements within assigned categories in partnership with internal stakeholders, including legal and risk departments.
- Build and maintain Supplier / Contractor relationships with the objective of reducing total costs, increasing productivity, and eliminating inefficiencies in the supply chain.
- Lead cross functional teams to develop and implement category and supplier initiatives resulting in process efficiencies, total cost of ownership (TCO) savings in line with business goals.
- Drive use of spend analytics and market research in order to develop profiles for assigned category(s).
- Drive development of KPI's for both supplier and category performance while using subject matter expertise and supplier industry knowledge to establish "should cost" models, identify opportunities, and drive supplier negotiations.
- Drive collaborative relationships with business, state leadership and business operations management in order to gather feedback, understand issues, recognize opportunities, and influence category strategies.
Knowledge / Skills
Analytical problem-solving skills to produce best product / service at lowest total cost of ownership within required time frames.Business acumen to analyze commercial business, procurement issues, and risk management issues with continuous improvement mindset.Experience negotiating commercial terms and conditions.Knowledge of sourcing strategies, and methodologies related to goods and services procurement.Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in written presentation form.Ability to work in a collaborative team environment within Supply Chain and with other internal stakeholders.Knowledge of SAP (Preferred)Extensive knowledge and experience in Microsoft Office ProductsUnderstanding of Lean / Six Sigma concepts and toolsAbility to work on multiple assignments effectively.Knowledge of relevant supply markets and understanding of sources of supply market intelligence.Experience analyzing industry trends and conditions to inform sourcing strategiesKnowledge and ability to utilize e-procurement tools effectively.Experience / Education
Minimum 6 years' total work experienceMinimum 4 years' of procurement or category management experience Utility procurement experience a plusExperience working in matrixed organizationsBachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Engineering or related disciplines or equivalent combination of education and experience.CPM or CPSM preferred - Other supply chain certifications a plusTravel Requirements
Travel Required 10-20%
Competencies
Champions safetyCustomer obsessedCultivates innovationNimble learningDrives ResultsCollaboratesJoin American Water...We Keep Life Flowing
American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.