Energy Procurement Specialist
| Company | Ascend Performance Materials |
|---|---|
| Location | Houston, TX, USA |
| Salary | $Not Provided – $Not Provided |
| Type | Full-Time |
| Degrees | Bachelor’s |
| Experience Level | Senior |
Requirements
- BS/BA degree in related technical field
- 5+ years of experience in Procurement, Logistics or Engineering with a background in strategic purchasing of materials and services in support of business and manufacturing operations
- Knowledge of procurement systems and purchasing policies, procedures, and laws
- Experience working in an ERP environment; SAP experience preferred
- Six Sigma or Lean experience is desirable
- Experience in energy markets and/or sustainability project procurement experience desired
- Commodity/Category strategy development expertise
- Must exhibit strong communication, analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills
- Strong negotiation skills
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize work and manage multiple priorities at one time
- Ability to drive complex projects to completion within a short period of time
- Ability to establish effective working relationships at all levels of the business
- Attention to detail with ability to learn quickly
- Comfortable working with ambiguity and building a structured environment
Responsibilities
- Develop and implement short-, medium-, and long-term commodity management strategies with key internal stakeholders.
- Serve as the utility market expert for natural gas, electricity, and renewables across Ascend locations.
- Analyze raw material markets and spending data to identify cost-saving and productivity opportunities.
- Meet agreed productivity metrics outlined in the annual business plan.
- Build and maintain strategic supplier relationships as the primary liaison between internal teams and key suppliers.
- Support the Supplier Quality Management program by defining and tracking key supplier performance metrics.
- Implement corrective actions to improve supplier performance when needed.
- Lead contract negotiations supporting engineering, supply chain, sustainability, and manufacturing energy projects.
- Negotiate contracts to align with commodity strategies, focusing on cost competitiveness, cash flow, reliability, and risk mitigation.
- Manage daily natural gas procurement on major pipelines to ensure competitive market pricing through strategic balancing with pipelines and internal operations.
- Collaborate with operations, supply chain, engineering, and sustainability teams as the market expert and project lead for natural gas, electricity, and renewable procurement initiatives.
- Establish and enforce standards for ethical conduct across procurement activities.
Preferred Qualifications
- Six Sigma or Lean experience is desirable
- Experience in energy markets and/or sustainability project procurement experience desired