Construction Purchasing Specialist I

ICON is seeking an experienced Construction Purchasing Specialist I to join the Pre-Construction team at our headquarters in Austin, TX. As a Construction Purchasing Specialist II, you'll manage relationships with subcontractors and suppliers, competitively bid plans and drawings, and handle regular requests from field operations in support of active projects across the country. For success in this role, you should be comfortable in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, possess excellent organizational and communication skills, and have proven experience in reviewing construction drawings. Preference will be given to candidates with a background in building material product knowledge, existing vendor and subcontractor relationships, and experience in single-family, multi-family, and/or luxury construction. As part of our team, you will represent ICON in the building industry, negotiate vendor pricing and supplier contracts, and play a central role in our mission to uplift global housing standards. This is a full-time position based on our Austin, TX campus reporting to the Director of Pre-Construction.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Review plans, specifications, and contracts to ensure the correct equipment, material, and subcontractor services are ordered and/or purchased.
• Execute purchase orders expeditiously as needed.
• Negotiate pricing and contract terms with suppliers with the goal of building lasting partnerships.
• Write and execute competitively bid RFPs, providing your perspective on which proposal best serves ICON.
• Work with suppliers and ICON counsel to get non-disclosure agreements in place and establish master service agreements on critical, fast-moving, projects.
• Work with the operations team to drive speed and success through strategic workflow implementation.
• Understand the relationships between ICON and our suppliers to leverage value in partnerships.
• Plan, schedule, and forecast procurement activities, including driving long-lead buys and trades to meet the project schedule.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• 2+ years of purchasing/supply chain experience with exposure to a variety of commodities, preferably within the construction industry.
• Experience working with standard purchasing practices and ownership of purchasing responsibilities.
• Must be a self-starter that is able to fully own their scope of work and work autonomously and able to regularly report our status and escalate when necessary.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and negotiation skills.
• Strong organization skills - must be able to effectively manage large scopes of work on multiple projects.
• Knowledge and understanding of construction materials.
• Expertise in reading & understanding construction documents such as plans, specifications, submittals, contracts, and payment applications.
• Knowledge of construction terminology, and various municipal building department regulations to ensure proper and timely permits.
• Prepare material quantity take-offs, utilizing on-screen takeoff software, should the need arise.
• Thorough understanding of the home building process and construction terminology.
• Complete understanding of the flow, and life cycle of a construction project from LOI to final purchase or issued to delivery/project completion.
• Understand construction change orders, and how to process them accordingly.
• Knowledge of market pricing & “should cost” methodology to streamline initial budget forecasting.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, with a heavy focus on Excel.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 1+ year of Sage CRE and/or ProCore software experience.
• Previous construction estimating experience.
• Spanish proficiency.