Sourcing & Contracts Lead, Operations in Houston, Texas at Fervo Energy Company

Fervo Energy develops and operates next generation geothermal assets that deliver reliable, 24/7 carbon free electricity. As Fervo commissions new facilities and expands its operating portfolio, disciplined sourcing and contract management will be essential to safe startup, reliable production, and cost effective plant performance.

The Sourcing and Contracts Lead, Operations will develop and execute procurement strategies for commissioning, operations, and production requirements. The role will lead competitive sourcing, negotiate and establish contracts, manage supplier and contract performance, and help build Fervo's maintenance, repair, and operations category strategy. Working with Operations, Commissioning, Engineering, Maintenance, Finance, Legal, and HSE, this person will protect supply continuity, control commercial risk, and deliver measurable value from demand planning through contract closeout.

Responsibilities

Sourcing Strategy and Category Development

• Develop specific procurement strategies aligned with commissioning schedules, operating plans, production needs, asset criticality, and Fervo's broader supply chain priorities.
• Lead end to end sourcing, including market analysis, bidder selection, RFx development, commercial evaluation, negotiation, award recommendation, and contract implementation.
• Contribute to the MRO category strategy by analyzing spend and demand, consolidating requirements, standardizing specifications where practical, and establishing preferred suppliers, pricing structures, and service models.
• Contract Establishment and Value Delivery
• Select commercial and contracting models suited to materials, equipment, repair services, technical services, and other operational requirements in partnership with Legal and business stakeholders.
• Manage contracts from award through closeout, including obligations, deliverables, pricing, change control, claims, renewals, warranties, performance reviews, and corrective actions, while maintaining complete records and supporting accurate purchase to pay execution.

Supplier Relationship Management and Risk

• Develop Fervo's supplier relationship management approach, including supplier segmentation, governance, executive sponsorship, review cadence, scorecards, and joint improvement plans for strategic and high risk suppliers.
• Lead supplier performance reviews across safety, quality, delivery, responsiveness, cost, innovation, and continuous improvement; agree corrective actions and track them through closure.
• Identify and mitigate concentration, long lead, obsolescence, capacity, logistics, warranty, and continuity risks while ensuring compliance with Fervo's due diligence, ethics, HSE, human rights, recordkeeping, and commercial requirements.

Stakeholder Leadership and Improvement

• Lead cross functional sourcing teams and provide clear commercial recommendations that balance technical requirements, schedule, total cost of ownership, reliability, and risk.
• Develop trusted relationships with site and corporate stakeholders, challenge demand constructively, and provide timely visibility into sourcing status, decisions, risks, and actions.
• Track sourcing pipeline, savings and cost avoidance, contract coverage, supplier performance, lead time exposure, compliance, and other relevant key performance indicators.
• Improve procurement processes, templates, data quality, and digital workflows; train users and adopt practical technology that improves cycle time, control, and transparency.
• Make safety a priority in supplier selection, contracting, field service planning, and ongoing supplier management, and contribute to Fervo's zero harm culture.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, business, engineering, finance, law, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Seven or more years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, contract establishment, or contract management within energy, industrial operations, manufacturing, utilities, or a comparable asset intensive environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading competitive sourcing processes, commercial evaluations, negotiations, contract awards, and post award contract management.
• Strong commercial judgment and working knowledge of total cost of ownership, supplier risk, contract terms, purchase to pay controls, and supplier performance management.
• Ability to work independently, lead cross functional teams, manage competing priorities, and communicate clearly with technical, operational, financial, legal, and executive stakeholders.
• High personal integrity, sound ethical judgment, and a strong safety and compliance mindset.
• Proficiency with procurement, contract, reporting, and collaboration tools, with the ability to learn and apply new technology quickly.

Preferred

• Certified Professional in Supply Management or comparable procurement or contract management certification.
• Experience sourcing MRO materials and services for commissioning, plant operations, maintenance, or production environments.
• Knowledge of the US energy, geothermal, power generation, oil and gas, or industrial supplier market, particularly vendors supporting rotating equipment, electrical systems, instrumentation, chemicals, field services, and critical spares.
• Experience with SAP, SAP Ariba, or a comparable ERP, sourcing, and contract lifecycle management platform; an advanced relevant degree is also valued.

Success Profile

• Procurement strategies and contracts are established in time to support commissioning milestones and reliable plant operations.
• Contract coverage, supplier performance, competition, realized value, and sourcing cycle performance improve, while MRO plans produce practical supplier, pricing, inventory, warranty, and service improvements supported by accurate reporting.