Procurement Agent (Financial & Data Strategy)- Coal and Railcar

Southern Company•Birmingham, AL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The coal and railcar procurement agent position is accountable for the development and implementation of coal, limestone, and railcar procurement planning in accordance with the Coal & Transportation Procurement Strategy to support Southern Company’s coal-fired generation fleet. This position will provide a broad experience base in Fuels and allow the candidate to be exposed to many areas within Southern Company Generation. The Procurement Agent job family allows long-term growth potential.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, economics, finance, supply chain or math highly preferred.
MS in these fields or an MBA is desired
Experience in several of the following areas is preferred: Domestic coal and/or rail markets, Strategy development and procurement planning, Contract negotiation and/or management, Economic evaluation / Financial analysis / NPV analysis, Risk analysis, Data analytics or generation system planning, Coal plant operations
Demonstrated ability to work well in cross-functional teams and develop effective working relationships
Strong negotiation skills- required to exhibit negotiation skills to effectively represent and gain system position in face-to-face, real time, give and take negotiations with suppliers on issues having a significant cost/efficiency/reliability impact on system operations.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Clear communication skills; capable of interacting with all levels of peers and management in written and presentation form
Secure in prioritizing conflicting issues
Understanding the big picture beyond the individual pieces; specifically understanding the relationship between pieces and how changes impact other areas
Must demonstrate Our Values: Safety First, Intentional Inclusion, Act With Integrity, and Superior Performance
Assertive and self-motivated
Work well in both isolated and team environments

Nice To Haves

Preferred: Experience developing data analytics and leveraging technology and AI tools to drive effective results and process improvements

Responsibilities

Develop procurement strategy specific to each generating plant to account for purchase volumes, price, supply diversity, unit reliability, and environmental impacts.
Build strong relationships with suppliers for effective market intelligence and negotiation position
Solicitation and analysis of commodity bids: Provide meaningful analysis of bids to operating companies for approval of final purchasing decisions.
Negotiation of short and long-term purchase agreements
On-going analysis of marginal fuel costs for generating plants to support economic dispatch of the Southern Company generation fleet.
Supporting and responding to various internal and external data requests including regulatory reporting