Strategic Procurement Manager (Epc)

National Grid Renewables, which includes the renewables development company formerly known as Geronimo Energy, is a leading North American renewable energy company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with satellite offices located in the regions where it develops, constructs, and operates renewable energy projects. As a farmer-friendly and community-focused company, National Grid Renewables develops projects for corporations and utilities that seek to repower America’s electricity grid by reigniting local economies and reinvesting in a sustainable future. National Grid Renewables is part of the competitive, unregulated Ventures division of National Grid and has a portfolio of solar, wind, and energy storage projects located throughout the United States in various stages of development, construction, and operation.

National Grid Renewables develops high-value, competitive renewable energy projects. Our focus on communities and farmers means it’s not just about projects, but about the people we work with, both outside and inside our organization. National Grid Renewables Team Members embody our foundational culture of being entrepreneurial, creative, and nimble and take pride in supporting National Grid’s vision to be at the heart of a clean, fair, and affordable energy future for all.

Summary

The Strategic Procurement Manager will manage strategic procurement of EPC BOP Contractor scopes for utility scale solar, wind projects and continue to drive down the overall CAPEX cost in support of the solar, wind and storage development and construction pipeline. The Procurement Manager will collaborate with internal Engineering, Construction, Operating, Legal, Finance, commercial, origination and development teams.

Responsibilities:

Category Management

• Support Project Management teams during project execution
• Utilize varied and complex data sets to identify new opportunities to drive benefits through the contracts E2E lifecycle
• Evaluate and apply the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) to the EPC procurement approach from the start of a sourcing event to the operations of the project site.
• Lead a complex EPC Contractor procurement strategy to support a 1GW/year solar pipeline
• Subject Matter Expert with Category Management & Strategic Sourcing with a desire and ability to coach and teach Procurement staff and stakeholders in a consulting role
• Work with technical and finance teams to support bankability of new suppliers and technologies
• Coordinate with Engineering to gather and maintain specifications, scopes of work, and standards to be followed for solar and storage projects
• Actively collaborate with internal technical teams and suppliers to continually drive down LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) ($/W)
• Develop and run competitive RFP processes to support the EPC PV BOP, BESS and HV scopes.
• Manage the forecast and delivery of category savings targets in support of team and Procurement commitments and goals
• Ensure timely and frequent engagement with development, legal, engineering, construction, operations and maintenance, and asset management on all issues related to equipment supply.
• Engage with Stakeholders to establish clear business needs, apply forward thinking skills to set near and long term E2E category strategies and a roadmap to continuous improvements and benefits
• Lead the project teams through the full sourcing process from construction of the SharePoint datarooms to evaluation of the proposals.
• Incorporate market intelligence and vendor inputs into the bid evaluation and contracting process
• Support and facilitate internal team resolution on material changes to agreements across both commercial and technical issues.
• Ongoing contract administration for EPC Agreements and supporting Exhibits.

Commercial Negotiation

• Review cost proposals and actual cost reports from projects to establish standard summary data cost reports and variance analyses. Track and report on cost movement during negotiations.
• Establishes structured negotiation plans in support of company needs with clarity of desired outcomes
• Understanding of supplier’s position, desired outcomes, and leverage points
• Ensure that risks are mitigated through alignment across major project agreements (EPC agreement, Equipment supply, PPA, Warranty, etc.)
• Detailed understanding of the contractual obligations related to the IRA requirements.
• Effectively support the negotiation of agreements for items related to scope, price, terms & conditions, delivery, and contract changes with suppliers
• Provide support to team members in development of negotiation strategies
• Able to involve stakeholders in negotiation preparations and events
• Ensure—through effective contract negotiation to meet objectives related to safety, cost, delivery performance, schedule and quality.
• Apply contracting abilities, editing of work scope, understanding of commercial terms and conditions, and accurate monitoring of commercial changes from award to delivery.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Builds appropriate supplier performance measurements (KPIs) into contractual frameworks
• Holds suppliers to account for performance delivery using KPI data and strategic business reviews
• Demonstrates a collaborative approach with supply base and develops integrated plans to drive appropriate value for business and customer requirements
• Identifies critical EPC suppliers and creates appropriate engagement plans to ensure our Supply Chain risk profile and inputs to continuous improvement are proactively managed
• Lead role in facilitating quarterly business reviews (QBR’s) with key suppliers.

Market and Supplier Development

• Remain informed of latest technology trends and the government policies in the market and understand the implications of the procurement strategy and adjust accordingly
• Develop and maintain relationships with Tier 1 and 2 EPC Contractors with a peripheral knowledge of the project equipment commodities; modules, inverters, trackers, SCADA, GSU, BESS and O&M providers.
• Contribute to business case development to support alternate country sourcing initiatives
• Understanding of criteria for alternative country sourcing, associated risks and how its’ supply chain can contribute to our business needs

Procurement Process Management and Improvement

• Drive continuous improvement using lean techniques to identify and eliminate waste in the extended E2E Supply Chain

Systems and Analytics

• Understands how to analyze large data sets and extract information for strategic decision making
• Demonstrates ability in working with multiple ERP systems: SAP, Procore, Ariba, Tableau, Spend Analytics

Qualifications:

· 7 + years of experience in strategic sourcing functions, commodity management, contract negotiation and vendor management. Solar procurement experience is preferred

· Master’s degree in Engineering or MBA is preferred

· Project management skills working with large scale solar, wind, and/or storage development projects.

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to explain complex concepts in a concise manner

· Detail-oriented with demonstrated ability for accuracy

· Demonstrated ability to successfully manage and execute multiple contracts on schedule, has experience negotiating large contracts

· Demonstrated ability to drive cross-functional initiatives

· Ability to influence internal and external stakeholders to drive mutually beneficial outcomes

· Should be proficient in planning, collaboration and analysis.