Contracts Agent - Power Delivery

Employer description

SCM Contracts Agent, Power Delivery

Supply Chain Management Contracts Team

JOB SUMMARY

This position provides daily contracting and sourcing support—including requests for proposals, contract development, negotiations, risk mitigation, tracking, and analysis—to meet the service and material sourcing needs of our Power Delivery business partners, including Transmission, Substation, Distribution, Vegetation Management, and others. The position also works closely with category management teams to develop contracts that support category management strategies and system-wide contracting requirements.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Management, Finance, Law or other relevant technical disciplines preferred 

Formal education in contract language and law is preferred

Experience:

Experience in procurement or contracts is preferred; experience in contract sourcing and development, including direct experience with negotiating contract terms and conditions for services contracts, is strongly preferred

Experience in contract drafting, contract language and law is preferred

Construction contract experience is a plus

Electric utility experience is a plus

Experience with Maximo, GEP, and other SCM technology is preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Knowledge and understanding of contract law, contracts, contract negotiations, contract preparation, drafting, and legal and commercial negotiations

Thorough understanding of contract procurement and administration controls

Must be able to negotiate contracts that maximize business financial results, minimize business risk, and achieve internal client satisfaction

Self-motivated and ability to work with minimal supervision

Strong customer focus and customer service skills, with ability to build and maintain relationships with internal customers, suppliers, contractors and other key stakeholders at all levels

Ability and determination to effectively handle tight deadlines, large workloads, and multiple projects with positive enthusiasm

Superior written and oral communication, to successfully negotiate contract terms and write such contracts in a clear, logical and concise manner

Strategic focus on problem-solving

Excellent organizational skills are required to plan and manage assigned workload and customer expectations effectively to meet internal business unit requirements

Ability to think strategically and apply broad seasoned judgment to decisions

Analytical and interpersonal skills

Ability to effectively work and participate in cross-functional and cross-company teams at all levels in the organization to ensure buy-in by multiple companies when working on system projects

Knowledge of company structure and organizations with general understanding of business unit operations

Attention to detail is critical

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Duties will include the daily support of all sourcing & contracting activities “from cradle to grave”, including advising customers on Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) preparation, lead pre-bid meetings, review of offers upon receipt from bidders, cost & price analysis, negotiations, risk assessment, preparing contract documents and agreements; assists in contract administration, incorporation of changes, expediting & follow-up, disposition of claims, and contract closeout.

Champion the adoption of AI and other digital technologies within the contracting function by promoting best practices, identifying process improvement opportunities, and applying AI-enabled solutions to reduce manual effort, enhance contract lifecycle management, improve data quality, and support strategic sourcing and supplier management objectives

Expectations include outstanding oral and written communications with ability to excel in high-level communications with Management at multiple levels.

Develop the sourcing strategy for low to high-risk services.  A typical agent will support multiple active projects concurrently with defined turnaround parameters (Target Days) for all contract related documents (RFPs, Master Agreements, Non-Disclosure, Amendments, Service Orders, Statements of Work, etc.) throughout the year.

Manage relationships with the company’s vendors and ensure efficient and transparent contracting and negotiation process to reduce costs, improve commercial terms and reduce duplication of efforts.

Work cross functionally to improve and streamline processes.

Ensure that overall risk is properly controlled and mitigated. 

Develop a detailed knowledge of the Southern Company and Operating Company procurement policies/procedures and have the capability to become a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

Expected to build and maintain a detailed knowledge and understanding of essential legal provisions, contract common law, contract formation issues, data security issues, remedies, liquidated damages, litigation avoidance, and dispute resolution.

Ensure all required terms and conditions are included in procurement documents and work with legal, risk management and financial services (accounting) to resolve contractor exceptions and issues in a timely manner.

Draft contract language, including special conditions for complex, non-standard purchases.

Identify and evaluate new sources of supply, domestic and globally, when necessary to meet customer needs, including performing market research and analysis.

Build and maintain a fundamental to proficient knowledge of our contracting systems utilized in daily support.

Conflict Resolution, the ability to engage and fix identified issues.

Maintain the primary interface with contractors in an ethical and respectful manner while protecting the company’s interests.

Behavioral Attributes

Must demonstrate behaviors consistent with the Southern Company values of Safety First, Intentional Inclusion, Act with Integrity, and Superior Performance

Self-motivated

Proactive

Strategic Problem Solver

Customer focused

Strong Communicator

Strong work ethic

Exhibits a strong sense of urgency 

Promotes teamwork

Practices ethical behavior

Displays creativity, initiative, and flexibility

Learns from and utilizes experience

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Available to travel (occasionally) as needed which may require an overnight stay

The incumbent will be required to be in an office location four days per week in Atlanta