At PIC Group, Inc., our emphasis is on excellence. We recruit the strongest candidates in the power generation industry. As a global service provider, we continually seek talented individuals. 

Title: Fuel Buyer

Position Type: Direct Hire

Location: Stockton, CA

Reports to: Operations Manager

Status: Exempt 

Job Summary:  

PIC Group has an excellent opportunity for an experienced Fuel Buyer responsible for managing the fuel supply and ash disposal for a 50MW wood-fired biomass facility located in Stockton, CA.  The Fuel Buyer will report to the Operations Manager and play a vital role in coordinating with internal and external stakeholders while developing relationships with key vendors for a fuel supply and ash disposal strategy specific for the facility. The Fuel Buyer is expected to develop, update, maintain, and provide regular reporting for the fuel supply and ash disposal plan at the facility.  The Fuel Buyer is expected to ensure fuel quality standards are met, support fuel yard management, and monitor ash silo levels to optimize trucking and disposal costs while meeting operational requirements for capacity.  

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

•    Reports to the Operations Manager coordinates fuel supply and ash disposal strategies with the Plant Manager, Asset Management and Operations Teams.
•    Identify, structure, source, negotiate, procure, and transportation of biomass fuel, consisting of agricultural and urban waste materials.
•    Ensure that the plant has adequate fuel supplies to sustain reliable operation, meeting quality and cost expectations.
•    Ensure onsite and third-party quality testing, fuel sampling and reporting are performed as scheduled and is reviewed and distributed to all applicable parties.
•    Develop fuel plan with detailed annual forecast and budget for ash and fuel, updated quarterly, to include a 5-year market forecast developed in conjunction with asset management.
•    Identify, implement, and ensure low-cost disposal or beneficial reuse options for ash.
•    Negotiate to successfully structure procurement, transportation, storage, and other commercial agreements needed to satisfy fuel and ash plans, and actively manage contracts to ensure counterparty performance and maximize value creation. 
•    Verify all accounts receivable and accounts payable relating to fuel procurement and ash disposal are accurate.
•    Administer 3log software and perform analysis of fuel supply to ensure proper material tracking for both quality and cost, and in parallel develop and distribute relevant reports to stakeholders.
•    Perform inspections and quality control assessments of fuel suppliers at their location on a frequent and unplanned basis to ensure processes meet quality requirements.
•    Coordinate and manage invasive species programs, including compliance plans as needed to support the overall approved fuel plan.
•    Control fuel inventory (onsite, offsite and vendor owned) to support plant operations including pile management to comply with industry best practices and environmental permit limits.
•    Establish and oversee process to ensure all fuel suppliers and transportation providers have the proper insurance requirements and records are maintained, and effectively enforce compliance with safety and environmental standards when on site.
•    Comply with all safety processes as well as the organization’s Code of Conduct.
•    Manage beneficial reuse of ash planning and development in coordination with plant leadership and EH&S Specialist.
•    Schedule quarterly/annual ash testing to minimize cost impact of disposal in order to coincide with planned outages.

Job Requirements:

•    Must have a commercial background and be familiar with various aspects of agricultural practices, wood recycling/processing, and wood transportation industry.
•    Proven ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with wood suppliers, transporters, and recovery customers.
•    Possess thorough knowledge of power plant fuel management procedures and processes.
•    Demonstrated history of developing and crafting fuel procurement and transportation agreements or similar contracts.
•    Ability to manage waste recovery yards or fuel yards.
•    Effective written and oral communication skills, with the ability to analyze and communicate tasks, needs, activities, and follow-up actions to relevant stakeholders.
•    Ability to take initiative and prioritize competing priorities.
•    Ability to lead and/or work within cross-functional teams.
•    Ability to travel as necessary in the local area daily and overnight up to 15%.
•    Ability to function and when necessary to influence others within a matrix organization in which functional and business leaders have equal authority within the organization, and employees report to both a functional leader and a business leader.
•    Computer literate with MS Office and Outlook.
•    Possess and be able to maintain a valid driver's license.

Physical Requirements:

•    Occasionally stand, walk, stoop or kneel.
•    Prolonged periods of sitting. 
•    Talk or hear, both in person and by telephone; use wrists, hands and/or fingers in a repetitive motion; and reach with hands and arms extensively.
•    Occasionally lift objects of up to 50 pounds in weight.
•    Use computers with exposure to video display terminals; and some repetitive motion associated with data entry, the use of a computer mouse, and while using other office equipment.
•    Vision requirements for this position include close vision, color vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Education / Experience:

•    High School Diploma or equivalent and knowledge and capabilities typically acquired through 5 years of relevant professional experience, OR
•    Associate degree or industry-recognized certificate (i.e., the completion of a core group of course designated by the institution) in a related discipline and knowledge and capabilities typically acquired through 3 years of relevant professional experience, OR
•    Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline with 2 years of relevant professional experience.

PIC Group, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We offer competitive wages and benefits.  We seek out and employ talented individuals who meet the qualifications for each position. Due to the large number of responses we receive to our postings, only those applicants with the required experience and qualifications will be contacted.