Lead Specialist, Supply Chain Performance and Enablement

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Supply Chain Management (SCM) Performance and Enablement (P&E), Lead Specialist will work with a team of specialists to deliver value-creating initiatives and strategies, based on supply market expertise and current and future business needs. The Lead Specialist works concurrently with SCM, internal business stakeholders, cross-functional peers, and suppliers to support successful implementation of supply chain projects. The Lead Specialist will deliver value to the business by ensuring compliance with the agreed strategy and execution expectations. The Lead Specialist is responsible for strategy development for continuous improvement initiatives and longer-term planning for SCM, supplier management frameworks, market intelligence, data analytics, modelling, KPI development, business-facing strategies and SCM systems and tools.

The Lead Specialist will report to the SCM P&E Manager. The Lead Specialist will influence the broader SCM team with a continuous improvement mindset, support the Commercial and Delivery teams in execution of strategies and deliver projects as part of SCM’s goals and roadmap. The Lead Specialist will work in a nimble manner to deliver solutions in accordance with corporate policies, SCM processes, and delegations of authority.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Leadership & Influencing

• Responsible for value delivery, data integrity and communication. 
• Initiate and drive discussions across senior key business stakeholders to align the strategic intent of SCM projects and business needs. 
• Actively influence leaders to gain alignment and access to appropriate resources. 
• Coordinate business-specific interests while leveraging Cheniere’s scope and scale. 
• Be an agent of change to lead SCM initiatives.
• Proactively drive for innovation and change management, guiding others. 
• Develop plans for accelerating implementation of best-in-class processes, systems, and initiatives within Cheniere.

Analytics and Benchmarking

• Gather and prepare business requirements, perform quantitative measures to gain new insights about the business, and determine performance by applying statistical methods.  
• Gather and analyze market trends, indexes, behaviors, and delivery systems to assess present and future availability and fluctuation of services/goods with emphasis in supply risk, spend management and inventory management. 
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPI’s) and provide consultancy on their applicability as a standard operating practice for SCM functions, such as: category management, sourcing, contracting, purchasing, and materials management, etc. 
• Utilize software solutions to develop, execute, manage, and evaluate critical KPI’s for Cheniere. 
• Perform research of supply and industry markets to identify opportunities that Cheniere can leverage to ensure sustainability and continuous operation while maintaining competitiveness. 
• Drive the implementation of technology solutions through project requirements. 

Stakeholder Management

• Support cross-team workload balancing to assure SCM services are delivered with quality and timely response. 
• Develop and leverage cross-functional relationships to enhance collaboration and value for Cheniere.
• Champion supplier innovation with key business stakeholders and leadership that can contribute to Cheniere’s success in the future. 

Strategy and Implementation 

• Initiate and develop value-creating SCM project strategies. 
• Ensure P&E activities are compliant with company-wide policies and SCM functional policies, procedures, and guidelines. 
• Accountable for end-to-end strategy delivery, encompassing strategy development, implementation, change management, stakeholder communication, and benefits realization.

Interdepartmental Support 

• Support the Category Managers as they develop category strategies, approach the market, develop negotiation strategies and establish contracts with qualified suppliers to secure quality services, materials, and equipment on time at optimum cost for the Company. 
• Maintain an awareness of supplier activity to ensure supply of materials, equipment, and services to meet current and future schedule needs. 
• Support the Purchasing team in delivery of efficient and effective transactional purchases against established contracts. 

• The duties and responsibilities described herein do not constitute a comprehensive list. 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

In-depth knowledge of: 

• Functional Performance and Planning.
• Strategy development.
• Supplier Performance Management.
• Supplier Relationship Management.
• Sourcing and contracting
• Automation of processes
• Market intelligence.
• Template Governance.
• Policy and Procedure Development.
• Data analytics (including data preparation, modeling, and evaluation).
• Category management, sourcing, contract management, and supply markets.
• Purchasing of services, materials, and equipment used in the construction, maintenance, and operation of LNG Terminals.

Skills:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including Advanced skills in Excel.

• Ability to distill information into compelling stories and presentations to drive organizational decisions for senior leader level audiences.

• Must have leadership mindset and approach cross-functionally with all internal stakeholders. 

• Self-motivated, independent delivery, and ability to handle multiple responsibilities.

• Negotiation

• Able to leverage Lean principles

• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to thrive in a dynamic and fast-paced environment. 

• Effective time management skills. 

• Ability to think strategically and demonstrate strong attention to detail.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Education, Training and Certifications: Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in supply chain management, business, or other relevant technical discipline.

Experience: Minimum ten (10) years of relevant, progressive experience in supply chain management, preferably within the LNG or oil and gas industry. 

The Lead Specialist must have experience with the following:

• Enterprise-level technology/systems strategy and project implementation.

• Development and management of Supplier Management frameworks.

• Data Analytics and visualization using meaningful dashboards in Tableau and or Power BI

• Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or other use cases for deploying digital bots

• Logistics coordination and/or transportation management

• Function-level planning and strategy development.

• Hands-on experience with governance of policies, procedures, templates or guidelines

DIRECT REPORTS

None

FREEDOM TO ACT

Ability to multi-task and function in a highly dynamic atmosphere; must exercise discretion independently.

WORK CONDITIONS

• Job is performed in a typical office environment, but is subject to time pressures and constraints, and is often dependent on input from others. 
• Subject to drug and alcohol testing, per applicable federal regulations or as required by Cheniere.
• Physical Area: Our Houston office is located in the heart of downtown and we offer free parking or a metro ticket to get here. With all corporate teams at the same location, there’s always a buzz around the office. You’ll have dedicated desk space and plenty of human interaction. 
• Facilities and hardware: Our offices are modern, bright and designed to foster collaboration. You’ll have access to great IT 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 Christi.
• Working conditions: Cheniere is committed to improving the wellbeing of our employees and while you may on occasion need to work outside usual working hours, we aspire to provide a good work life balance for all. 
• Company culture: So, what’s the culture like at Cheniere? It’s our values — teamwork, respect, accountability, integrity, nimbleness and safety — at work. We’re happy when we hear employees say we have a great culture. But we’re not satisfied with building a great culture, we’re endeavoring to build the best culture. 

ADA JOB REQUIREMENTS

Reasonable accommodations 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 or mental 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.