Senior Contracts Engineer - VR/29422

Experienced Senior Contracts Engineer required to undertake an initial 12-month contract assignment with our client, an oil and gas/energy company based in central Aberdeen.

As Senior Contracts Engineer you’ll play an important role in ensuring value is delivered to the business. You’ll work closely with the SCM Team, senior internal stakeholders and external third parties and continuously seeks to improve value delivery.

End-to-end Contract Lifecycle Management:

• Ensuring value is maximised throughout the category and contracting process, from contract negotiation through the whole lifecycle of designated contracts/category.
• Working closely with business stakeholders to understand their needs in detail.
• Proactively developing a robust strategic sourcing strategy for use within designated category, which delivers breakthrough results and year-on-year continuous improvement.
• Undertaking category-and-project-related assessments to generate innovative opportunities and robust strategic sourcing plans.
• Reviewing the specific category/contract set up and looking for ways to better manage it, in order to improve value delivery, eliminate waste, improve sourcing leverage and reduce administrative burden.
• Creating and implementing category plans or contract strategies that will ensure delivery in-line with business objectives, regulatory requirements and the landing of all value negotiated.

External Market Expertise:

• Be seen by the business as the Supply Chain Management expert for your category and providing leadership and insight for the business on all aspects of market dynamics, regulatory framework, suppliers, and technical innovations.
• Reporting changes and updates in the market for designated category/contracts through proactive governance.

Contracting:

• Procuring a range of goods and services across designated categories, ensuring optimum value for money within defined service and quality criteria. 
• Leading and evaluating competitive tenders and proposals for the supply of goods and services, negotiating with suppliers on all commercial and contractual matters and applying judgement as to what constitutes an acceptable level of contractual risk and supply resilience. 
• Creating negotiation strategies and leading complex negotiations.
• Drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, ensuring that operational and commercial risks to business are fully understood and minimised. 
• Managing all contract close-out activities at the end of a project or at contract expiration.

Supplier Management:

• Developing and maintaining supplier engagement through appraisal and performance monitoring, value analysis, continuous improvement, supplier / supply base development, compliance and demand management.
• Coordinating multiple stakeholder interfaces and touch points across the business to ensure a consistent approach.
• Ensuring compliance to contract terms, both legal and commercial.
• Leading the discussion on management of contractual risk and agreeing steps to ensure remediation or reduction.
• Providing effective overview of supplier performance to designated contracts and support operational teams, if performance issues arise.
• Driving communication between the key internal stakeholders and suppliers to ensure a consistent approach for designated contracts.
• Resolving contractual and supplier disputes when they occur, always protecting the interests of the business and engaging Legal Business Partners where required.
• Consulting in the budgeting process in relation to supplier spend and engaging on supplier cost saving initiatives.
• Challenging requirements and re-negotiating designated contracts to optimise value and drive cost savings.

Our client is seeking a candidate with the following experience, skills and qualifications:

• Significant experience in a similar role, preferably gained in the oil and gas/energy industry.
• Comprehensive knowledge of end-to-end Category Management including market insight, business partnering, negotiation, on-going supplier management and governance relating to assigned portfolio.
• Experience of complex business significant categories of expenditure through multiple functions to maximise value to the business.
• Demonstrable track record of transformational value delivery through identification and implementation of innovative sourcing strategies, continuous improvement plans and demand management. 
• Understanding of general and contract law and applications of LOGIC models in contract development, execution and dispute resolution. 
• Demonstrable track record of leading complex contract negotiations. 
• A relevant degree qualification and/or membership of CIPS.