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

WORK LOCATION & TRAVEL

• Position will be based at the Energy Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
• Relocation assistance may be available if you do not already live within a reasonable commute distance.
• Travel up to 25% annually.

JOB SUMMARY

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. 

Responsibilities include:

• 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

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, economics, finance, supply chain or math highly preferred. 
• MS in these fields or an MBA is desired

Experience:

• 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

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

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

Behavioral Attributes:

• 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

BENEFITS

• Competitive Pay
• Excellent benefits packages which includes: 
  • Medical and dental coverage
  • Defined Benefit/Cash Balance Pension plan
  • Performance-sharing plan
  • 401(k) plan with a generous company match
  • Bonus opportunities
  • Tuition Reimbursement

***Please submit an updated resume with your application***