Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Energy Procurement Specialist

🎯 Role Definition

The Energy Procurement Specialist is responsible for designing and executing procurement strategies for electricity, natural gas, renewable energy (PPAs, RECs), and related products to optimize cost, manage market and counterparty risk, and meet sustainability targets. This role partners with finance, operations, sustainability, legal, and asset teams to negotiate contracts, manage supplier relationships, analyze market data, and ensure compliance with regulatory and corporate policies. Ideal candidates combine deep knowledge of energy markets with strong analytical, contract negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Energy Analyst
Commodity Risk Analyst
Procurement Analyst

Advancement To:

Senior Energy Procurement Manager
Director, Energy & Commodity Procurement
Head of Energy Strategy / Procurement

Lateral Moves:

Portfolio Optimization Analyst
Corporate Sustainability / Renewable Energy Manager
Energy Trading Desk Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement and continuously refine procurement strategies for electricity, natural gas, capacity, ancillary services, renewable energy credits (RECs) and power purchase agreements (PPAs) to achieve cost, risk and sustainability objectives across the portfolio.
Lead and execute end-to-end RFP and bid processes for energy supply, capacity products, and renewable contracts—preparing solicitation documents, managing vendor outreach, evaluating technical and commercial proposals, and documenting award decisions.
Negotiate commercial terms and contract language for bilateral supply agreements, master services agreements, capacity contracts, tolling agreements and PPAs, including price structures, volumes, delivery points, credit terms, force majeure and termination rights.
Manage short-term and long-term load forecasting and forward position management by collaborating with operations and asset teams to align procurement with expected consumption, hedging targets and budget goals.
Monitor wholesale power, natural gas, and environmental markets (including ISO/RTO markets, locational marginal pricing, basis differentials, forward curves) and use market intelligence to time purchases and renewals to minimize cost and risk.
Execute day-ahead and real-time procurement actions as needed to address imbalances, shape positions, and manage exposure in organized markets and bilateral arrangements, working closely with trading desks where applicable.
Perform quantitative risk analysis (VaR, stress testing, scenario analysis) on procurement portfolios and hedging strategies to identify exposure and recommend mitigation strategies to senior management.
Oversee contract administration and commercial operations including scheduling, nominations, confirmations, settlements, meter data reconciliation, and dispute resolution with counterparties and utility providers.
Structure and evaluate corporate off-take and virtual PPA transactions to support renewable energy procurement and sustainability goals, including financial modeling of fixed-for-floating swaps and contract-for-differences (CfDs).
Manage supplier relationships, track supplier performance metrics (on-time delivery, quality, invoicing accuracy), and implement corrective actions or renegotiations as necessary to protect company interests.
Coordinate credit and collateral management: assess counterparty creditworthiness, negotiate credit support annexes, manage letters of credit and margin calls, and work with legal and treasury to mitigate counterparty risk.
Prepare comprehensive commercial and technical documentation to support procurement approvals, including board-level summaries, budget impact analyses, scenario comparisons, and sensitivity analyses.
Ensure energy procurement activities comply with federal, state and local regulations, regulatory tariff requirements, ISO/RTO protocols and internal procurement/finance policies; support regulatory filings as needed.
Design and maintain procurement governance, policies and standard operating procedures, including approval matrices, segregation of duties, and contracting playbooks to ensure consistent, auditable procurement practices.
Collaborate with sustainability and finance teams to quantify and report greenhouse gas impacts, renewable energy procurement metrics, cost of carbon exposure and alignment with corporate sustainability targets and RE100/GHG reporting standards.
Lead supplier due diligence for renewable projects, including site assessments, interconnection risk evaluation, developer creditworthiness checks and review of project schedules and commercial milestones.
Drive continuous improvement and automation of procurement workflows via procurement systems (SAP Ariba, Coupa), ETRM platforms, and data analytics tools to increase efficiency and control.
Manage vendor onboarding and integration with procurement/payment systems, ensuring accurate master data, tax documentation, and invoicing processes are established and maintained.
Coordinate cross-functional teams during contract implementation — aligning legal, operations, finance, risk and asset management to ensure smooth transition from execution to contract performance.
Serve as the primary contact for audits and compliance reviews related to procurement activities, providing documentation, reconciliations, and remediation plans to auditors and internal controls teams.
Track and report key procurement KPIs including realized savings vs benchmark, hedge coverage ratios, average contract tenor, counterparty concentration, PPA performance vs budget, and procurement spend by category.
Lead negotiations for ancillary services and capacity market participation strategies, evaluating cost/benefit of market participation versus bilateral arrangements to maximize value for the organization.
Support M&A and project diligence by assessing energy supply contracts, utility tariffs, interconnection agreements and potential contingent liabilities associated with acquired assets or contracts.
Educate and advise internal stakeholders on market dynamics, hedging philosophy, contract structures and procurement timelines to ensure business units are aligned with enterprise procurement strategy.
Manage escalation and resolution of commercial disputes, including coordination with legal, settlement teams and external counsel to protect company interests and preserve supplier relationships.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc analysis for budgeting, forecasting and variance analyses related to energy spend and procurement activities.
Maintain and update procurement templates, clause libraries and contract playbooks to streamline negotiating cycles.
Contribute to supplier diversity and sustainability initiatives by identifying opportunities for minority-owned suppliers and renewable resource procurement.
Provide training and mentorship to junior procurement staff, analysts and cross-functional partners on procurement processes and market fundamentals.
Participate in industry working groups, conferences, and supplier forums to maintain market intelligence and expand the supplier network.
Assist with month-end close processes relating to energy settlements, accruals and procurement financial reconciliations.
Support system implementations or upgrades for procurement, ETRM or invoice automation projects by providing business requirements and participating in user acceptance testing.
Prepare presentation materials for executive reviews, board meetings, and sustainability reporting updates.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep understanding of electricity, natural gas, capacity markets and ISO/RTO mechanics (e.g., PJM, ERCOT, CAISO, NYISO) and how market rules influence procurement decisions.
Proven experience negotiating and drafting energy contracts including PPAs, REC agreements, bilateral energy supply contracts, tolling agreements and ISDA/CSA where applicable.
Quantitative risk management skills: hedging strategy design, VaR/stress testing, forward curve analysis, scenario modeling and Monte Carlo simulations.
Proficiency with Energy Trading & Risk Management (ETRM) platforms and power market analytics tools (e.g., Openlink, Endur, Aligne, Power BI for energy analytics).
Strong financial modeling skills in Excel, including advanced formulas, macros/VBA, discounted cash flow, sensitivity analysis and PPA valuation models.
Experience with procurement and contract management systems (SAP Ariba, Coupa, SAP MM) and integration with accounts payable and ERP systems.
Familiarity with environmental products: REC markets, carbon credits, Guarantees of Origin, and voluntary vs compliance markets.
Data analysis skills including SQL, Python or R for data extraction, cleaning and analytics; ability to manipulate and visualize large datasets for decision-making.
Knowledge of credit risk assessment, collateral management, letters of credit, credit support annexes and counterparty credit limits.
Working knowledge of regulatory compliance, tariff structures, interconnection processes and settlement mechanisms in relevant jurisdictions.
Experience with vendor due diligence, RFP design, bid evaluation methodologies and total cost of ownership analyses.
Competence using market data sources such as Bloomberg, S&P Global Platts, IHS Markit, and public ISO/RTO dashboards.

Soft Skills

Excellent negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to close commercially viable agreements while protecting organizational interests.
Strong written and verbal communication skills to distill complex market and contract information into clear recommendations for senior leaders.
Analytical mindset with meticulous attention to detail and accuracy in contract terms, settlements and financial models.
Collaborative, able to work cross-functionally with legal, finance, operations, sustainability and asset teams to drive consensus.
Project management skills and ability to manage multiple procurement initiatives, RFPs and contract negotiations concurrently.
Problem-solving orientation with the ability to anticipate issues, create contingencies, and respond quickly in dynamic market conditions.
Ethical judgment and integrity handling confidential commercial and financial information.
Adaptability to changing market conditions, regulatory environments and internal business priorities.
Strong stakeholder management and customer-service focus when dealing with internal business units and external counterparties.
Leadership and mentorship skills to develop junior staff and drive team performance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Energy Management, Economics, Engineering or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Energy Management, Finance, or a technical master’s (e.g., M.Eng.) is preferred.
Professional certifications such as CIPP (Certified Energy Procurement Professional), PMP, CFA, or industry-specific training are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Energy Economics
Finance / Accounting
Electrical or Mechanical Engineering
Environmental Science / Sustainability

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3 - 8 years of progressive experience in energy procurement, commodity risk management, utilities, energy trading, or corporate sustainability procurement.

Preferred:

5+ years of direct experience procuring electricity, natural gas, capacity, and renewable energy instruments (PPAs, RECs) for commercial or industrial portfolios.
Demonstrated track record of successful supplier negotiations, structuring of PPAs, and delivery of measurable cost savings and risk reduction.
Experience working with ISO/RTO markets, settlement processes, and with procurement systems and ETRM platforms.