EXPEDITER / PURCHASING AGENT -- BIRMINGHAM

POSITION – EXPEDITOR / PURCHASING AGENT COMPANY  BE&K is now a KBR Company with projects varying in size from $10M-$800M. The firm has been providing a wide range of industrial clients with engineering, construction and maintenance services for almost 40 years. Approximately 6,000 employees Provides services for the following industries:  Pulp & paper  Petrochemical  Chemical  Power  General Manufacturing BE&K provides a competitive compensation and benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Health Care and Dependent Care Spending Accounts, STD, LTD, Life and AD&D Insurances, 401K with match, college tuition reimbursement and many other benefit offerings. LOCATION Position will be at the corporate headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. REPORTING Position reports operationally to the Corporate Procurement Manager. SCOPE A Expediter / Purchasing Agent for BE&K is responsible for all expediting and purchasing activities in support of single or multiple projects and/or large complex “mega” projects. OVERALL ROLE   EXPEDITING Prepare, issue and maintain logs, tracking reports, trip reports, notices, and other correspondence necessary for documenting supplier schedules, progress, forecasts, actions required and all contacts with the suppliers and sub-suppliers. Establish plans and strategies for conducting all expediting contacts with suppliers and sub-suppliers, in a manner that optimizes the level of effort and works to ensure a high probability of timely submittals and deliveries. Monitor performance of tasks performed internally by the Company that could impact performance of suppliers, raises concerns to the appropriate personnel and seeks to facilitate early resolution. Make contacts and in-plant visits with suppliers and sub-suppliers as required or assigned for the purposes of establishing accurate assessments of progress, discovering issues of concern, obtaining commitments for improvement and facilitating timely deliveries. Identifies and resolves problems that may cause delay of delivery of goods to the point of use, whether the problem is internal to the Company or caused by the supplier or the sub-suppliers. Maintains a professional relationship with suppliers that motivates compliance, promotes improved performance and avoids compromising responsibility. Keep materials management adequately advised of significant issues or changes in order status, with particular attention to any problem areas.  PROCUREMENT Identifies sources for materials and equipment, evaluates the capabilities and performance of suppliers, and selects qualified suppliers based upon their ability to provide competitive pricing, acceptable terms, appropriate material quality and timely supply of goods. Performs purchasing functions in conformance with the requirements of the prime contract with the client including as applicable, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and its supplements. Issues requests for quotations, evaluates supplier quotations, plans and conducts negotiations, prepares cost and price analyses, availability studies, risk analyses, bid analysis summaries and award recommendations that treat suppliers fairly and ethically, protects the company’s interests and promotes best value awards. Awards, issues and documents all agreements with suppliers. Monitors supplier performance, issues change orders and manages supplier relations. Resolves disputes with suppliers and evaluates supplier performance. Prepare, compile and maintain auditable records of the materials management process. Maintains awareness of market conditions and delivery trends to determine future material availability and pricing probability. Manages purchase orders to ensure timely completion, compliance with requirements and appropriateness of invoices and payments. Keeps material management advised of significant purchasing issues and potential problem areas. Builds productive relationships with other disciplines. Keeps Corporate Management advised of significant materials management issues and potential problem areas. Identifies talent and provides for continuous professional development of personnel through mentoring and stretch assignments.  Evaluates performance of material management staff and provides constructive feedback on an ongoing basis. KEY EXPERIENCE  Candidates generally possess extensive experience in the purchasing and expediting field, including 3+ years of experience in support of engineering and construction projects.  A focus on expediting is preferred.  International experience and/or foreign language capabilities are a major plus. Demonstrated ability to perform materials management functions. Knowledgeable of legal terminology within the procurement and materials management terms and conditions and possess ability to evaluate and recommend methods to resolve risks due to deviations. Must be able to understand the Company’s organizational divisions and how the Procurement and Materials Management function can positively impact their goals and efforts. Possess ability to analyze and use estimates to predict key project issues and be able to participate with multi-discipline managers to develop strategic and tactical plans. Possesses the skills for analyzing bids to determine potential for cost savings, assessing risks and developing negotiation strategies. Extensive knowledge of the types of agreements that can be used for the purchase of materials and equipment. Able to supervise junior staff through task development, establishing and maintaining goals and expectations and documenting performance related issues and achievements. KEY SKILLS ·  Self-starter with professionally aggressive attitude is a must·  Solid leadership skills to inspire, motivate and manage a staff·  Technically strong·  Good oral and verbal presentation skills·  Mentoring/coaching capabilities·  Effective delegation skills·  Supports and promotes a diverse work environment·  Maintains a program of self-development·  Builds collaborative relationships with other areas of the organization EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS  Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, construction management, economics or demonstrated equivalent combination of education, training and related experience desirable. TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION, PLEASE POST YOUR RESUME TO THE FOLLOWING LINK:  https://kbr.myvurv.com/MAIN/careerportal/Job_Profile.cfm?szOrderID=16186&szUniqueCareerPortalID=67508002-a2bf-421f-aea0-1e512dc1159b