Materials Procurement - Associate, Specialist or Senior

Position Description

Procures materials and services tied to a material acquisition by planning, processing requisitions, interpreting Material Requirements Planning (MRP), preparing and publishing solicitations, reviewing requirements, conducting pre-bid and pre-proposal conferences, overseeing meetings, interviews, demonstrations and inspections, writing, negotiating and analyzing contracts, developing and reviewing statements of work specific to the acquisition of materials, monitoring supplier performance and mitigating claims and disputes.

Ensures maximum value for expenditures by maintaining appropriate inventory levels, preparing and negotiating contracts, conducting market research, providing cost and price analysis, adhering to corporate policy and documenting contract activity.

Position-Related Responsibilities

Procurement Associate:

This is an entry level procurement position.  Develops, coordinates and implements basic procurement contracts for inventory and non-inventory materials, and services specific to a materials acquisition. Acts as a liaison between Procurement personnel, business areas and suppliers

·         Reviews purchase requisitions for content accuracy and ensures that proper documentation (e.g. Quotation, Contract, Specification, Single Source Justification) is attached. Reaches out to purchase requestor with questions and/or clarifications, and requests additional documentation, if necessary.

·         Issues purchase orders to suppliers for materials and services tied to the acquisition of material necessary to support the Companies operations and maintenance activities within policy and procedure

·         Develop, review and approve SOWs and Amendments specific to a materials acquisition with guidance from Supervisor (or delegate) that are low risk.

·         Create and submit RFQs to viable suppliers for required inventory and non-inventory materials. Works with business areas to evaluate quotes for conformity to specification and business needs.

·         Understand MRP to ensure acceptable material fill rates and inventory turns.

·         Verify timely receipt of purchased material and initiates action plans for expediting overdue material and material delivered not to specifications.

·         Make recommendations to business areas for updates to everyday safety stock and item settings. Processes inventory item master updates and requests in ERP system.

·         May manage supply chain activities between operating areas and basic and straightforward alliance suppliers that provide materials and services tied to the material in order to maximize the value of those activities and perform an analysis of the risk exposures, metrics to determine relationship health, and actions that might need to be taken.

·         Conducts quarterly or mid-year meetings with assigned alliance suppliers to review delivery performance, quality assurance, cost savings and topics that benefit the alliance. Facilitates discussion during the meeting.

·         Oversees the planning of the annual alliance meeting by collecting performance feedback from company business areas and supplier. Creates presentation documents with the assistance of the Procurement and Contracts Administrative Support staff. Presents feedback and facilitates discussion during the meeting.

·         Responsible for communicating to supervision various supply chain and procurement issues for assigned material categories as well as working with end users, warehouse operations and accounts payable.

·         Reviews overall supplier activity and performance to ensure contract compliance. Works with supervision to mitigate contract claims and disputes, assess supplier problem areas and implements appropriate action plans.

·         Works collaboratively with the warehouse, receiving and accounts payable with matters concerning the receipt and/or invoicing of materials or services tied to a material acquisition.

·         Communicates Procurement policies and procedures to business areas to ensure company-wide compliance.

·         Follows standard practices and procedures in analyzing situations or data for which answers can be somewhat readily obtained.

·         May assist PS in the development and facilitation of RFP, events and negotiation of contracts including, MSAs and Amendments.

·         Attends procurement related educational sessions and training.

·         In the absence of the Procurement Specialist, addresses time-sensitive internal and external customer needs.

·         This position may provide services to affiliates of the Company subject to the UNS Energy Code of Conduct and the related Policies and Procedures.

Procurement Specialist:

This is an experienced procurement position.  Develops, coordinates and implements basic and increasingly more complex procurement contracts for materials and services tied to the acquisition of material. Acts as a liaison between personnel, customers and suppliers. 

In addition to performing the responsibilities of Level 1 Procurement Associate :

·         Demonstrates knowledge and experience as outlined in the Procurement Specialist Associate responsibilities with a proven track record for success.

·         Conducts industry research and analysis and provides market data to support business area analysis and decision making.  Shares information internally to assist with the acquisition of materials where applicable.   

·         Highly proficient in MRP and inventory replenishment.

·         Collaborates with business areas to determine seasonal safety stock for assigned commodities. Updates file for import into ERP system.

·         Development, review and execution of various services agreements tied to the acquisition of material (MSA, Short Forms, Third-Party, and change orders or amendments.

·         Responsible for resolving supply chain problems for assigned material commodity category areas as well as working with end users, warehouse operations and accounts payable.

·         Manages supply chain activities between operating areas and key alliance suppliers that supply materials and services tied to the material in order to maximize the value of those activities and perform an analysis of the risk exposures, metrics to determine relationship health, and actions that might need to be taken.

·         Conducts quarterly or mid-year meetings with assigned alliance suppliers to review delivery performance, quality assurance, cost savings and topics that benefit the alliance. Facilitates discussion during the meeting.

·         Oversees the planning of the annual alliance meeting by collecting performance feedback from company business areas and supplier. Creates presentation documents with the assistance of the Procurement and Contracts Administrative Support staff. Presents feedback and facilitates discussion during the meeting.

·         Proficient in conducting various source selection methodologies including RFP, IFB, and QVL and facilitating the bid/proposal submittal process.

·         Facilitates and coordinates with cross functional teams to develop source selection content and strategies. 

·         Skilled in facilitating the evaluation of proposals with a cross-functional evaluation committee.

·         Skilled in the development and review of SOW for services tied to a material acquisition.

·         Provides education and guidance to business areas on SOW development at a skilled level.

·         Manages the contracting process between legal, the business area, and the supplier Negotiates terms, conditions, and business requirements with the supplier. Skilled at analyzing redlines to identify terms and conditions that will require Legal review and providing guidance and support to Legal during negotiations.

·         Ensures all material and services acquisitions are in accordance with all Procurement Policies and Policies that impact the Procurement function. 

·         Identifies process improvement opportunities along with implementing improvements lending to efficiency gains and standardization. 

·         Actively participates in opportunities for improvement and growth of the alliance program.

·         Collaboratively plans and implements procurement strategies that support short and long term business area needs. 

·         May provide guidance to lower level procurement staff in the absence of the Senior Procurement Specialist.

·         Represents the Procurement function at Company meetings.

·         This position may provide services to affiliates of the Company subject to the UNS Energy Code of Conduct and the related Policies and Procedures. 

Senior Procurement Specialist:

This is a senior position. It differs from other positions in the classification series by performing tasks at a proficient, accomplished level and handling the more difficult, technical, complex or irregular tasks. Individuals in senior positions typically assist in setting priorities for work and are expected to use sound procurement and business judgment to solve problems.

In addition to performing the responsibilities of Level II Procurement Specialist:

·         Assists in the development and implementation of Procurement methods and procedures.

·      May, assign work and evaluate performance of subordinate positions as well as provide guidance to lower level procurement staff in the absence of the Principal Procurement Specialist.

·         Responsible for solving complex problems and/or leading complex source selections, negotiations, and contract development for which well-defined practices and procedures may not exist.  

·         Regularly exercises sound judgement to resolve problems and determine appropriate action.  May provide recommendations regarding problem/issues outside the bounds of defined procedures and practices.

·         Provides guidance at an accomplished level to business areas on the procurement function, system application, and processes.

·      Manages complex level key alliance suppliers that supply materials and services tied to a material acquisition in order to maximize the value of those activities and perform an analysis of the risk exposures, metrics to determine relationship health, and actions that might need to be taken.

·         Highly proficient in developing RFQ, IFB, and RFP and facilitating the bid/proposal submittal process. 

·         Highly skilled in facilitating the evaluation of proposals with a cross-functional evaluation committee.

·         Highly proficient in the development and review of SOW specific to a materials acquisition that are moderately to highly complex, technical, and of high risk. 

·      Highly skilled at analyzing redlines to identify terms and conditions that will require Legal review and providing guidance and support to Legal during negotiations.

·      This position may provide services to affiliates of the Company subject to the UNS Energy Code of Conduct and the related Policies and Procedures.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

(Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.)

Associate level minimum qualifications: 

• 2-year degree from an accredited institution
• Approximately three years of procurement and contracts related experience
• Grasps professional level procurement and contracts knowledge and concepts; experience may include materials management, material standards, specifications, technical data, logistics, contract development, review and administration, competitive bidding, or business administration.
• A 4-year degree from an accredited University in a supply chain or business related field may be considered as an equivalency for a portion of the required experience.
• Ability to administer and coordinate basic alliance partnering agreements

Preferred Qualifications:

• 4-year degree from an accredited university in a Supply or Business related field.
• Certification or education in a supply chain or business related field.
• Knowledge of the Procure-to-Pay process which includes MRP, requisitioning, SOWs, RFQ’s, RFPs and IFB, purchase orders, warehouse operations and accounts payable.

Specialist level minimum qualifications:

• A minimum of five years of procurement and contracts experience. 
• A four-year degree from an accredited University in a supply chain or business related field.  Education may be considered as an equivalency for a portion of the required experience
• Ability to perform contract negotiations for critical materials & services tied to the acquisition of material at a skilled level.
• Must be able to work independently under general direction and supervision.
• Must demonstrate working knowledge of the Procure-to-Pay process which includes purchasing systems (requisitioning and purchase orders), best practice procurement processes and procedures, SOWs, RFPs, and IFBs, and contracting services when procuring material.

• Ability to administer and coordinate key alliance partnering agreements.
• Must exhibit strong communication and leadership skills, and be highly focused on delivering superior customer service
• Proven ability to successfully manage several assignments concurrently even with conflicting priorities. 

·                     Knowledge and application of contractual rights and obligations and means to mitigate contractual risks associated with business area needs. 

• Applies broad knowledge of procurement principles to moderately complex, difficult, and varied problems and issues.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Purchasing certification.
• Utility experience.  

Senior level minimum Qualifications

• A minimum of eight years of procurement and contracts experience.
• A four-year degree from an accredited University in a supply chain or business related field.  Education may be considered as an equivalency for a portion of the required experience.
• Ability to perform contract negotiations for critical goods & services tied to the acquisition of material at a highly skilled level.
• Must be able to work independently under limited direction.
• Ability to administer and coordinate complex alliance partnering agreements.
• Must demonstrate advanced applied knowledge of the Procure-to-Pay process which includes purchasing systems (requisitioning and purchase orders), best practice procurement processes and procedures, SOWs, RFPs, and IFBs, and contracting services when procuring material.
• Applies developed professional knowledge and expertise to procurement tasks requiring greater latitude.

·                     Fully comprehends and can apply contractual rights and obligations and means to mitigate contractual risks associated with business area needs.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Purchasing certification
• Minimum of two years of relative utility experience

All employees are expected and required to adhere to the Company Code of Ethics and Principles of Conduct