Procurement Forester (Forester)

  Drax Biomass

  Gloster, Mississippi, United States

Job Description:

Our Client, Drax Biomass inc., is a wholly owned United States subsidiary of Drax Group, Plc a major electricity generator in the United Kingdom with a commitment to producing renewable power. Drax Biomass is a development and operating company focused on manufacturing wood pellets for renewable low-carbon power generation from sustainable biomass. The company employs proven, innovative practices and state-of-the-art technologies to manufacture a product that can be readily used to generate renewable energy by developing, building, and operating safe and efficient production facilities. Led by an experienced and entrepreneurial team, Drax Biomass helps support the forestry industry and its communities through economic development and manufacturing processes that use fiber from sustainably managed forests.

Drax Biomass was established to develop and operate manufacturing facilities to produce wood pellets from sustainable biomass for onward use in the generation of renewable power. With an experienced team of energy industry professionals and a scalable production model, Drax Biomass is poised to lead the way in strategic, wood pellet production in the U.S. Drax Power, a sister company, is a major electricity supplier in the U.K. and currently generates enough power to meet 8 percent of the U.K.'s electricity needs. As a replacement for coal, Drax Biomass' manufactured wood pellets provide the means to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Our search position is located at the Company's Amite BioEnergy wood pellet production facility located in Gloster, Mississippi. 

The Procurement Forester will report to the Fiber Procurement Manager and will spend a significant amount of time in the field auditing supplier adherence to DBI sustainability requirements.

Specific responsibilities include:
• Be a proactive safety leader, creating a "Safety First" culture.
• Assist the Fiber Procurement Manager with daily plant and supplier interaction / needs.
• Develop and maintain role of key relationship manager with select fiber suppliers, ensuring all supplier relationships are well supported and provide feedback to suppliers as needed.
• Coordinate with / assist office administrative staff to maintain supply contracts, tract details and delivery schedules in the fiber supply management system (3Log).
• Must be familiar with wood fiber scaling and settlement systems.
• Maintain current market knowledge of fiber flows, competitor strategies and fiber pricing.
• Assist with fiber inventory management.
• Track all aspects of fiber supply sustainability as required by DBI policy; conduct random supplier compliance audits for documentation and forest operating practices that meet fiber purchase requirements (adherence to Best Management Practices (BMP's) and other field aspects of tract management. 
• Track supplier performance metrics (% delivery vs. order; turn-time; cost; quality, sustainability compliance, etc.).
• Collaborate with mill operating staff and leadership to ensure Drax Biomass facilities are considered a "destination of choice" and fiber supply products meet quality specifications.
• Must be able to work independently, plan forestry field activities and work alone in forest tract reconnaissance.
• Other duties as assigned by the Fiber Procurement Manager 

Required Experience:

The successful candidate will have an undergraduate degree in Forestry and at least ten years of relevant experience. It is highly desirable that he/she has experience managing a direct purchase gatewood program to support mill demand. The Procurement Forester must be proficient with computers, MS Office programs, and common forestry technical tools. He/she must be analytical and data-driven and have knowledge of forest certification systems such as American Tree Farm, Forest Stewardship Council, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

Skills:

The successful candidate must possess excellent verbal and written communications skills, superior presentation skills, strong negotiating skills, and highly accomplished analytical skills. He/she must be able to work at all levels in an organization and must demonstrate the commitment to fellow co-workers necessary to excel and lead in a team environment. The successful candidate must be a self-starter, highly motivated, able to work independently without supervision, results-oriented, highly organized, and able to efficiently manage several diverse tasks at the same time to meet demanding deadlines. Finally, the successful candidate must have the professional presence and demeanor to be a significant contributor to the success of one of the country's leading biomass companies.

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