Lead Contract Manager, Procurement

natgridProd•New York, NY

7d•$127,000 - $149,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead Contract Manager defines and reinforces the value enhancing contractual partnering arrangements for National Grid across our New England and New York Gas and Electric businesses. They partner within procurement and are responsible for the development and implementation of appropriate commercial strategies across multiple categories/portfolios of work, playing a central role in eliminating preventable value loss, delivering “in life” contract management savings and ensuring contract delivery for key stakeholders. Experience should include; supplier relationship management, commercial negotiations, systems and analytics, market supplier development and a clear, working knowledge of current industry trends.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain Management, Law, or Engineering
6+ years of Supply Chain, Contract, or Project Management experience
Proactive and diligent approach with a high degree of self-motivation and flexibility.
Experience in decision-making roles that positively impact business performance.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, comfortable communicating with a wide cross-section of the business, including senior management.
Understanding of key legal terms and experience in working with legal teams to mobilize contracts post-RFP/Award.
Experience directing discussions/negotiations, steering agendas, and effectively delivering difficult messages.
Ability to manage complex projects and ensure timely delivery
Experience in working with various business units and stakeholders to align goals and strategies.
Effective in influencing stakeholders and communicating progress to senior leadership.
Experience in developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for supplier performance.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in a relevant field
Professional Certification in Supply Chain or Contract Management
Extensive commercial, contractual, technical, and practical knowledge of energy industry standards.
Prior experience leading a team and/or enrollment in a leadership development program

Responsibilities

Leadership and Mentoring of Others
Proactively coach and mentor peers to ensure best in-class Contract Management Methodologies are adoptedand utilized.
Provide constructive feedback to peers and junior team members in a clear and concise manner, aimed at fostering growth
Demonstrate strong coaching and mentoring skills by upskilling junior team members as evidenced by improved performance through junior team members.
Maintain a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of team members and the overall team dynamics
Conduct regular assessments (pulse checks) to gauge team workload and stress levels, ensuring timely identification of potential overload situations.
Recognize and evaluate circumstances that necessitate escalation to management, ensuring that team concerns are addressed promptly and effectively.
Strategic Stakeholder and Supplier Engagement
Ability to effectively partner with internal and external stakeholders to execute all contracts through conception to completion.
Assess contract risks and executing mitigation plans ensuring opportunities to drive value are leveraged andthat risks are identified and mitigated.
Perform cost analysis reviews, identifying and monitoring cost saving opportunities across both the direct and indirect cost base driving internal and external cost reductions.
Manage the policies and processes for compliance and audit; ensuring delivery by suppliers and internal stakeholders of the policies and procedures
Proactively identify, build and maintain strong strategic partnerships with suppliers in order to understand and influence external opinion and maintain a strong reputation for National Grid.
Implementation of a Supplier/Contractor Performance and Monitoring process, reporting on contract performance and escalating where needed
Category Management
Experience leading the development and execution of long-term category strategies through the lens of a contract manager, including understanding key commercial, regulatory and economic drivers for driving greater value from contractual arrangements
Total Cost of Ownership - Evaluate and apply the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) and supplier/contract switching costs to support decision making options
Demonstrated ability to partner with internal stakeholders at all levels to gather requirements and tie back to broader business outcome
Ensure procurement activities meet FERC, state PSC, and internal governance requirements.