Contracts Agent - Power Delivery

SCM Contracts Agent, Power Delivery

Supply Chain Management Contracts Team

This posting is being used to fill three (3) current openings within the organization.

JOB SUMMARY 

This position provides daily contracting and sourcing support—including requests for proposals, contract development, negotiations, risk mitigation, tracking, and analysis—to meet the service and material sourcing needs of our Power Delivery business partners, including Transmission, Substation, Distribution, Vegetation Management, and others. The position also works closely with category management teams to develop contracts that support category management strategies and system-wide contracting requirements.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Management, Finance, Law or other relevant technical disciplines preferred 

• Formal education in contract language and law is preferred

Experience:

• Experience in procurement or contracts is preferred; experience in contract sourcing and development, including direct experience with negotiating contract terms and conditions for services contracts, is strongly preferred

• Experience in contract drafting, contract language and law is preferred

• Construction contract experience is a plus

• Electric utility experience is a plus

• Experience with Maximo, GEP, and other SCM technology is preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Knowledge and understanding of contract law, contracts, contract negotiations, contract preparation, drafting, and legal and commercial negotiations

• Thorough understanding of contract procurement and administration controls

• Must be able to negotiate contracts that maximize business financial results, minimize business risk, and achieve internal client satisfaction

• Self-motivated and ability to work with minimal supervision

• Strong customer focus and customer service skills, with ability to build and maintain relationships with internal customers, suppliers, contractors and other key stakeholders at all levels

• Ability and determination to effectively handle tight deadlines, large workloads, and multiple projects with positive enthusiasm

• Superior written and oral communication, to successfully negotiate contract terms and write such contracts in a clear, logical and concise manner

• Strategic focus on problem-solving

• Excellent organizational skills are required to plan and manage assigned workload and customer expectations effectively to meet internal business unit requirements

• Ability to think strategically and apply broad seasoned judgment to decisions

• Analytical and interpersonal skills

• Ability to effectively work and participate in cross-functional and cross-company teams at all levels in the organization to ensure buy-in by multiple companies when working on system projects

• Knowledge of company structure and organizations with general understanding of business unit operations

• Attention to detail is critical

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Duties will include the daily support of all sourcing & contracting activities "from cradle to grave", including advising customers on Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) preparation, lead pre-bid meetings, review of offers upon receipt from bidders, cost & price analysis, negotiations, risk assessment, preparing contract documents and agreements; assists in contract administration, incorporation of changes, expediting & follow-up, disposition of claims, and contract closeout.

• Champion the adoption of AI and other digital technologies within the contracting function by promoting best practices, identifying process improvement opportunities, and applying AI-enabled solutions to reduce manual effort, enhance contract lifecycle management, improve data quality, and support strategic sourcing and supplier management objectives

• Expectations include outstanding oral and written communications with ability to excel in high-level communications with Management at multiple levels.

• Develop the sourcing strategy for low to high-risk services.  A typical agent will support multiple active projects concurrently with defined turnaround parameters (Target Days) for all contract related documents (RFPs, Master Agreements, Non-Disclosure, Amendments, Service Orders, Statements of Work, etc.) throughout the year. 

• Manage relationships with the company’s vendors and ensure efficient and transparent contracting and negotiation process to reduce costs, improve commercial terms and reduce duplication of efforts.

• Work cross functionally to improve and streamline processes. 

• Ensure that overall risk is properly controlled and mitigated.  

• Develop a detailed knowledge of the Southern Company and Operating Company procurement policies/procedures and have the capability to become a Subject Matter Expert (SME). 

• Expected to build and maintain a detailed knowledge and understanding of essential legal provisions, contract common law, contract formation issues, data security issues, remedies, liquidated damages, litigation avoidance, and dispute resolution.

• Ensure all required terms and conditions are included in procurement documents and work with legal, risk management and financial services (accounting) to resolve contractor exceptions and issues in a timely manner. 

• Draft contract language, including special conditions for complex, non-standard purchases.

• Identify and evaluate new sources of supply, domestic and globally, when necessary to meet customer needs, including performing market research and analysis.

• Build and maintain a fundamental to proficient knowledge of our contracting systems utilized in daily support. 

• Conflict Resolution, the ability to engage and fix identified issues.

• Maintain the primary interface with contractors in an ethical and respectful manner while protecting the company's interests.

Behavioral Attributes

• Must demonstrate behaviors consistent with the Southern Company values of Safety First, Intentional Inclusion, Act with Integrity, and Superior Performance

• Self-motivated

• Proactive

• Strategic Problem Solver

• Customer focused

• Strong Communicator

• Strong work ethic

• Exhibits a strong sense of urgency 

• Promotes teamwork

• Practices ethical behavior

• Displays creativity, initiative, and flexibility

• Learns from and utilizes experience

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

• Available to travel (occasionally) as needed which may require an overnight stay

• The incumbent will be required to be in an office location four days per week in Atlanta