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Capital & Indirect Buyer

Organizational Context

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. Our products touch every aspect of modern-day life. INEOS comprises 36 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Our production network spans 196 sites in 29 countries throughout the world. INEOS Joliet is part of the INEOS Enterprises portfolio. INEOS Enterprises is a global market leader in the production of intermediary chemicals that are used as an essential input into chemical value chains across a broad variety of end markets and sectors.

The INEOS Joliet facility was originally constructed by Amoco starting in 1957. It currently manufactures two separate chemical intermediate product lines which share an integrated utility and wastewater treatment units with a capacity equal to a city of 200,000 people. At our ~775-acre site in Channahon, Illinois (about 40 miles southwest of Chicago) we produce two products - Purified Isophthalic Acid (PIA) and Maleic Anhydride (MAN). Several of the technologies used on site were originally developed by Amoco at the site.

Main Purpose

The position is an integral part of the INEOS Joliet Procurement team which is responsible for services and materials procurement. The Capital & Indirect Buyer will be responsible for professionally and efficiently sourcing services and materials for INEOS Joliet capital projects as well as all indirect spend. This role will also support direct and indirect purchasing activities for the site as part of the INEOS Joliet procurement team.

Responsibilities & Accountabilities

Sourcing of goods and services for site capital projects and indirect spend.

  • Responsible for partnering with project managers to develop SOWs, RFIs, RFQs, source suppliers/vendors, evaluate bids, negotiate contracts, present recommendations to senior management as well as issue, confirm and follow up on purchase orders.
  • Develop and work with counterparties on NDAs and Terms & Conditions.
  • Track project progress as it relates to procurement activities including RFQ deadlines, delivery timeline, and invoice dispute resolution.
  • Responsible for ensuring purchase to pay work process are optimized through use of daily monitoring of SAP reports and timely resolution of identified issues.
  • Maintain professional relationships with vendors to optimize cost and risk for the INEOS Joliet business.
  • Review and provide feedback on capital expense proposals.
  • Issue and complete SCARs (supplier corrective action request) that are sent to vendors involved in capital projects within three days of the event.
  • Participate in outage planning meetings to ensure all material needs are addressed in a cost effective and timely manner from both a Procurement and Storehouse standpoint.
  • Set up new, modify and inactivate vendor information.
  • Issue, confirm and expedite purchase orders to support the INEOS Joliet business.
  • Complete the required and necessary supplier evaluations.

Support the Procurement Team as needed to meet customer expectations.

  • Be able to efficiently solicit bids from vendors and place purchase orders for emergency/rush orders.
  • Lead and assist with resolving disputes and provide a defense against supplier claims.
  • Drive root cause resolution in response to supplier non-conformance.
  • Collaborate with the Procurement Team to identify and capture cost savings opportunities.
  • Develop, issue, and evaluate bids for raw materials, engineered goods, and site services as requested by the Procurement Manager.
  • Work with stakeholders to understand needs and priorities to efficiently manage the purchase to pay process for the INEOS Joliet business.
  • Leverage the INEOS procurement network to identify opportunities for cost reduction, alternative sourcing, and procurement feedback.
  • Be able to support the procurement on-call rotation for after hours and weekend support as needed.

Skills & Knowledge Required

  • Education/Experience
  • Undergraduate degree or equivalent; college degree in business, management, accounting, or related field a plus.
  • A minimum of 5 years of procurement experience within capital projects is required, preferably in a chemical, refinery or manufacturing facility.
  • Experience sourcing industrial equipment, materials, and services for continuous processes.
  • Experience with SAP or similar ERP system.
  • Experience with Microsoft Office suite products specifically with Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of procurement processes and controls including contract negotiation and risk mitigation.

Skills/Competencies

  • Demonstrated successful verbal, written, and interpersonal skills and the ability to build positive relationships with internal stakeholders and vendors.
  • Process improvement/root cause analysis mentality.
  • Excellent negotiation and rational persuasion skills.
  • Ability to appropriately deal with and prioritize multiple & changing site priorities based on business needs.
  • elf-control capacity to deal with challenging situations and or individuals.
  • Ability to present complex information to senior management.

Physical Requirements:

  • While performing the duties of this job the individual will perform primarily office tasks requiring repetitive use of hands; however, may occasionally be required to enter production areas to understand and scope project needs. Minimum requirements include:
  • Maintaining constant awareness of personal safety and the safety of all other personnel. This includes knowledge of INEOS 20 Safety Principles and other safety procedures and rules.
  • Being able to pick up a 25lb object such as a fire extinguisher or a large book/binder.
  • Being able to work at a desk and operate routine items such as a computer and calculator; close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures, transcribing, viewing a computer terminal and extensive reading.
  • Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make discriminations in sound.
  • Able and willing to meet with stakeholders or vendors within the facility including providing tours.
  • Being able to wear the appropriate PPE when inside the facility.