Barge Optimization Manager

Basic Function

Supply Chain is a customer-focused Center of Excellence providing industry-leading service while delivering differential value to the business, today and into the future.  We separate our Supply Chain functions into several areas; these include logistics, customer fulfillment, services, trade compliance, and support for business processes and systems. 

As a member of our dynamic Supply Chain team, you will play a critical role supporting our domestic marine barge movements. In this individual contributor role, you will be responsible for tracking and optimizing the operations for all US flag barges and vessels. The position is responsible for ~1,700 barge voyages per year and ~$12MM in spot barge spend. You will be providing daily operational oversight and proactively managing operational issues to ensure safe, reliable, sustainable and cost-effective transportation. During a typical day, you will provide oversight of barge operations and scheduling.

This position reports to the Manager, Marine and Terminal Logistics and is located at our North American Headquarters in Downtown Houston. The position offers a competitive base salary, bonus, 401K matching, generous benefits package, pension plan, parking subsidy and employee discounts.
 

Roles & Responsibilities

• Coordination and optimization of Lyondell’s domestic marine barge movements.
• Act as a liaison between internal and external stakeholders for barge operations.
• Oversight of daily barge scheduling.
• Manage operational issues impacting Lyondell plants and customer deliveries.
• Negotiate spot barge contracts.
• Track and report barge utilization. Identify opportunities for optimization and cost reduction.
• Pro-actively manage barge maintenance schedules and spend for time chartered vessels.
• Develop and implement long term sustainability improvements.
• Develop and manage US flag vetting and other marine processes.
• Ensure compliance with governing regulations and corporate standards.
• Identify potential impact of significant weather conditions, assist in the development and execution of contingency plans; Participate in business continuity team.
• Develop solutions to mitigate demurrage.

Min. Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in Supply Chain, Operations and/or other maritime roles.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in marine operations; preferably in chemicals sector.
• Bachelor’s degree, Maritime degree or minimum 10 years U.S. barge industry experience required. Logistics or Business degree preferred; MBA preferred.
• Willingness to work flexible work schedule, when necessary.
• Strong initiative and ability to work independently.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word and PowerPoint) 
• Must meet TSA qualifications for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstratable focus on establishing strong business partnerships, customer orientation and commercial acumen.
• Proven ability to enact transformative change yielding improvements in cost and sustainability.
• Ability to maintain professionalism and prioritize multiple responsibilities concurrently in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
• USCG Merchant Marine license
• Analytical skills and the ability to make sound decisions.
• Experience with ERP software such as SAP.
   

Competencies