Senior Buyer, Strategic Sourcing

Senior Buyer, Strategic Sourcing  

O’Connell Electric Company is looking for a hard-working and well-qualified person to fill the role of Senior Buyer, Strategic Sourcing. This person should have strong expertise in the electrical construction industry. They will report to the company’s Procurement Manager and assist with implementing procurement strategies, optimizing supplier partnerships, and driving cost-effective sourcing of electrical materials, equipment, and subcontracted services. They will collaborate with numerous other members of the O’Connell Team including Construction Services, Operations, Legal/Contracts, and Administrative Support staff.

Responsibilities of this role will encompass job-related sourcing, quoting, and utilizing companies to meet diverse spend goals. Additionally, this role involves supporting the tracking of good faith efforts to demonstrate goal achievement and/or waiver submission if the goal cannot be met.

The ideal candidate is organized, detail-oriented and possesses excellent communication skills. The ideal candidate is humble and collaborates well working with numerous groups; someone who genuinely enjoys complex tasks and engaging with others on complex commercial issues that arise in connection with a construction procurement department.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Assist Procurement Manager with development and implementation of sourcing strategies for electrical materials (e.g., conduit, wire, switchgear, lighting, panels) and subcontracted services.
• Support the sourcing, negotiation and implementation effort of standardized materials.
• Assist Procurement Manager with efforts to leverage company-wide buying power to negotiate favorable pricing, terms, and delivery
• Collaborate with project managers, estimators, and field operations to forecast material needs and align procurement with project timelines.
• Build and maintain strong relationships between company and key manufacturers, distributors, and specialty contractors.
• Support Fixed price, futures and/or blanket agreements for copper, steel and other commodities.
• Assist Procurement Manager with efforts to analyze past commodity buys, compare current project backlog and recommend a companywide buyout of materials.
• Help evaluate supplier performance and drive continuous improvement through KPIs, audits, and feedback loops.
• Assist Procurement Manager in the contract/subcontract creation and negotiation process with suppliers and subcontractors.
• Assist Procurement Manager with efforts to monitor market trends, lead times, and commodity pricing to mitigate risk and ensure cost competitiveness.
• Support preconstruction efforts by providing accurate material pricing and sourcing strategies during the bid phase.
• Support the maintenance of material certification, insurance certificates, non -disclosure agreements, submittal packages, O&M documentation, and other relevant company and/or project documents.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory standards in all procurement
• Participation and support in the company’s Diversity Program, including the sourcing and prequalification of NYS certified MWBE/SDVOB companies.
• Support the material returns, credit and invoice resolution process.
• Other duties include updating and maintaining the intranet repository, providing program updates and modifications, and corresponding with state agencies as required.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Working knowledge of construction procurement processes, contract documents, and project delivery methods.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience preferred in construction procurement and contracts.
• Strong work ethic with the ability to effectively work both collaboratively within a team and also independently in a fast-paced and at times stressful environment
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint); experience with construction procurement and management platforms such as Remarcable, Procore, and Bluebeam a plus. Proven negotiation skills and experience managing high-value vendor relationships.
• Strong knowledge of electrical construction materials, suppliers, subcontractors, and industry practices.
• Strong interpersonal and client-service skills.
• Strong attention to detail in managing complex documentation, in identifying mistakes.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Strong active-listening skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to collaborate with numerous stakeholders to identify, strategize and effectively implement plans for resolving problems.
• Professional demeanor with