Lead Specialist, Category Management (Shared Services)

Cheniere Supply Chain Management (SCM) is shaping our future with a focused transformation program.  We are mobilizing to establish an agile and resilient supply chain that is fit to support our company’s growth.  The Cheniere SCM team are accountable to support our indirect business partners to create value, mitigate risk and assure security of supply.   We are building a team of SCM professionals that not only deliver value today but create a more agile and resilient supply chain for the future.   

POSITION OVERVIEW

This is a critical position in a team that supports Cheniere’s Shared Services requirements for Indirect Category contracts that support Cheniere’s teams in Environmental, Health & Safety (Emergency Services, Fire & Gas Safety), IT (Digital Security, Software Services, Infrastructure), Human Resources (Contingent Labor, Benefits, Payroll), Compliance & Ethics (Training, Auditing), Facilities (Office Equipment, Furniture, Janitorial), Professional Services (Travel, Business Consulting, Marketing), Corporate Charity Giving, International, State and Local Affairs, Global and Corporate Communications, Climate and Sustainability, and Supply Chain (Logistics, Warehousing, Fleet Management),  and Site Services (Industrial Cleaning, Waste Management). The position will work closely with business partners to develop and deploy Category Strategies.  In doing so, the Lead Specialist will work closely with business partners to source, select, contract, and manage supplier relationships. Additionally, this position will be responsible for integrating new business processes, sourcing, and contracting principles and systems being developed through our SCM transformation. 

We are seeking a team member with experience engaging business partners and suppliers in the processes associated with sourcing, contracting, contract management and supplier management. 

The Lead Specialist, Category Management (Shared Services) will: 

• Integrate and work collaboratively with business partners in the assigned categories.
• Develop and lead Shared Services Strategic Sourcing Events in support of Category Management Strategies by working with cross functional Shared Services teams.
• Deliver the selection of suppliers for Indirect Categories.    
• Engage with Supplier Assurance, Purchasing Delivery team, and business partners to deliver strategies to meet business needs and supply market capability.
• Manage direct Contract Agreement Negotiations working with Legal, Insurance, Treasury and Risk Management functions.
• Implement Contract Agreements working with the Purchasing Delivery team and Share Services businesses.
• Develop and leads supplier performance reviews meeting with Shared Service business partners
• Manage Shared Services commercial contract life cycle requirements for assigned Category Agreements.   

RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Leadership

• Communicates across business stakeholders to align the strategic intent Contract and Procurement Strategy, sourcing strategy, and the business needs.
• Actively influences senior leaders to gain alignment and access to appropriate resources.
• Develops and maintains the Shared Services Contract and Procurement Strategy papers.
• Integrates other SCM resources into the development and delivery of the C&P Strategy. 
• Project manages and reports SCM activities tied to the Shared Services portfolio. 
• Supports innovation and the introduction of changes considering internal and external market challenges.

Stakeholder Management

• Integrates with business partners and suppliers to align business needs, supplier capability, and drive performance and best practices.
• Leverages Cheniere’s scale to coordinate business needs with suppliers. 
• Acts as the single point of accountability for all spend against their assigned categories. 
• Supports the Contract Owners in the gathering of performance feedback for effective contractor management. 

Category Strategy and Implementation

• Lead the development and execution of comprehensive Shared Services Category Strategic Sourcing Strategies.
• Shared Services Contract Agreement Negotiations.
• Lead the development and implementation of Shared Services Category Strategies for assigned categories.

Sourcing, Contracting, and Implementation

• Initiates the Supplier Pre-Qualification process for new suppliers working with SCM Supplier Assurance team for assigned Shared Services.  
• Develops and ensures Competitive Sourcing Events and Contracting is compliant, timely and delivered in line with the Shared Service Strategic Sourcing Strategy requirements.  
• Develops Requests for Proposal (RFPs) utilizing GEP system to consider total cost models to understand value, operating costs, and price impacts on existing budgets working with cross functional business partners. Prepares bid ranking evaluation criteria matrix, RFP packages, Approach to Market (ATM) and Recommendation of Award (ROA) documents in line with SCM Sourcing and Contracting Policy.  
• Leads contract negotiations to establish best in class contracts with suppliers to secure best price and risk mitigation for our Shared Service business partners.  
• Drafts, evaluates, negotiates, and executes various contract commercial structures working with Legal, Tax, Treasury, HSE, and Insurance functions.  
• Ensures timely delivery of Contract Agreements in support of Company’s safe, reliable, and competitive operations requirements.  
• Implements and maintains post contract award awareness of supplier activity requirements.  
• Ensures contractual records and documentation and contract correspondence maintained and logged into the appropriate systems.
• Supports the Delivery Purchasing team in the creation of Contract Purchase Agreements (CPA’s) and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA’s / Outline Agreements) in Oracle P2P system in line with Contract Agreement Negotiations.  
• Manage Post Award Contract Management process, inclusive of contract handover and supplier management activities, while ensuring adherence to commercial assurance. 
• The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list, and additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time; or the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Advanced knowledge of various Indirect Category and Strategic Sourcing Strategies.
• Advanced knowledge of purchasing implementation processes.  
• General understanding of LNG or Oil & Gas plant or pipeline industry.

Skills: 

• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional teams. Collaborative, teamwork approach with alignment to company values. 
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management abilities. 
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously. 
• Advanced MS Office skills. 
• Proficiency in ERP or similar procurement software and central contract management system.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Education and Certifications: Bachelor’s degree preferred. Equivalent combination of education, experience, and certifications may be considered in lieu of degree. 

Experience: Minimum eight (8) years of relevant, progressive Supply Chain Management experience with sourcing, competitive bidding, RFP development, bid evaluation, selection, contracting and purchasing.  

The Lead Specialist must have experience with the following:

• Hands-on experience with Sourcing, Contract Agreement Negotiation for Indirect Service contract provisions, commercial terms, and contract life cycle management. 
• Hands-on experience with competitive source-to-contract events and purchase to pay systems i.e. Oracle, SAP, GEP, Coupa, JDE, etc.

DIRECT REPORTS

None

FREEDOM TO ACT

The Lead Specialist is a subject matter expert in their area and will require minimal supervision.

WORK CONDITIONS

• Physical Area: Our Houston office is in the heart of downtown, and we offer free parking or a metro ticket. With all corporate teams at the same location, there’s always a buzz around the office. You will have dedicated desk space and plenty of human interaction.  
• Facilities and hardware: Our offices are modern, bright, and designed to foster collaboration. You will have access to great IT (Information Technology) equipment and support and can readily access the downtown tunnels, restaurants, and gyms. You may occasionally need to travel to our sites at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christy and those sites are governed by FTZ (Foreign Trade Zone) regulations which do include drug and alcohol testing.   
• Working conditions: Cheniere is committed to improving the well-being of our employees and while you may need to work outside the usual working hours, we aspire to provide a good work life balance for all.  
• Company culture: So, what is the culture like at Cheniere? It is our values — teamwork, respect, accountability, integrity, nimbleness, and safety — at work. We are happy when we hear employees say we have a great culture. But we are not satisfied with building a great culture, we are endeavoring to build the best culture.  
• Job is performed in a typical office environment, but is subject to time pressures and constraints, and is often dependent on input from others.  
• Occasionally, work may be performed from home, after normal work hours or on weekends. 
• Periodically travel as business requires.
• Subject to drug and alcohol testing, per applicable federal regulations or as required by Cheniere.

 ADA JOB REQUIREMENTS

Reasonable accommodation will be made to ensure that the essential functions of the job can be performed and not hinder the employee's performance due to physical, mental, or emotional disability.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Cheniere Energy is an equal opportunity workplace. All employment decisions are made without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected categories. This includes providing reasonable accommodation if requested for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices.