Commodity Analyst

(Reference code: 0006NV) Status: Full Time, Employee Location: Northbrook, IL 60062 Job Category: Accounting/Finance/Insurance Career Level:Entry Level Education Level: Bachelor's Degree Job Description: The Allstate Corporation is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer. A Fortune 100 company, with $156 billion in assets, Allstate sells 13 major lines of insurance, including auto, property, life and commercial. Allstate also offers retirement and investment products and banking services. Allstate is widely known through the “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®â€� slogan. Allstate was founded in 1931 and became a publicly traded company in 1993. The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer.  Widely known through its “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate” slogan, Allstate provides insurance products to more than 14 million households.   The Sourcing and Procurement Solutions (SPS) department initiates and coordinates the efforts of employees, sourcing teams and advisory boards to strategically source numerous commodities and spend categories. This includes formulating policies and procedures which govern the internal consumption and use of these goods and services.  SPS evaluates company needs and conducts market research and analysis to specify and obtain necessary goods or services at competitive costs, while meeting desired service and performance standards. This position is for the Enterprise Services Team that sources and governs a wide variety of commodities that support Allstate’s business operations across the entire enterprise.  The Commodity Analyst will be responsible for: Developing and maintaining metrics and executive packages on commodity and team performance measures Assisting with the research and analysis of consumption and spend data for commodities Supporting the team’s commodity managers and providing insight and opportunity identification by conducting industry and supplier research and benchmarking Participating in RFPs and other significant sourcing projects Managing basic commodities Coordinating and conducting reverse auctions Participating in Allstate’s “Meetings and Events” commodity through contracting and customer assistance as this area grows Assisting in supporting the function’s Supplier Performance Management and  Supplier Diversity initiatives by collecting and analyzing data and reports Supporting invoice investigation and resolution as necessary.   The skills required are: Ability to apply financial and analytical skills to support the Enterprise Services Team in a variety of roles.  Ability to query data in SAP Business Warehouse and analyze and report utilizing Excel or Access.  Ability to perform trend analysis, forecasting and modeling in order to provide insights and recommendations on spend and consumption patterns. Selected candidate must possess effective written and verbal communications skills, as well as interpersonal skills, in order to effectively build relationships with internal and external clients, present business recommendations, and communicate analysis. Selected candidate must possess sound decision making skills surrounding the processes and issues within the scope of their day-do-day responsibilities. Selected candidate will contribute to a high performance environment; ongoing demonstration of self development will be required; ability to anticipate and respond to changing business conditions; must take full accountability to deliver on commitments. Selected Candidate should display good organizational skills to prioritize and balance multiple projects, organize information in easy to follow formats, and coordinate project timelines to ensure timely completion with minimal to basic supervision. Selected candidate should be able to use Microsoft Suite products:  Word, Excel, SAP, and PowerPoint.  Willing to train on Business Warehouse.  Access skills a plus.Experience Required: (type of experience and number of years required) 0 to 3 years in finance, accounting or other analytic role Prior experience in a strategic sourcing and supplier management a definite plus Effective written/verbal communications, as well as interpersonal skills, in order to: build relationships; interact effectively with internal and external contacts; present business recommendations and solutions; etc. Proven organizational skills in order to prioritize and balance multiple projects and coordinate project timelines to ensure timely completion with minimal supervision Demonstrated detail orientation Demonstrated judgment and problem solving skills.Computer Proficiency: (computer skills needed to do the job)Proficient in Microsoft Suite software applications Education:Bachelors Degree required in Finance, Business Administration,  Accounting or related business degree; MBA or CPM certification a plusMajor Preference:  Finance, Business Administration or Accounting