Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing IT/Technology (Remote position)

General Summary:

As a leader in the Strategic Sourcing function, the Strategic Sourcing Associate Director will manage Category Management activities across a defined set of spend categories, including SaaS, software, cloud platforms, hardware, telecommunications, equipment, IT consulting and services. Working collaboratively with internal Business Stakeholders, the Associate Director is expected to develop sound sourcing strategies, gain endorsement by the Business, and drive the successful execution that will support Business goals and objectives. The Associate Director will negotiate and contract with vendors and the Business Stakeholders, ensuring alignment with the strategic sourcing category strategies and overall business and budget plans.

This Associate Director will continually seek out opportunities to be a proactive advisor to the business. They must maintain deep knowledge and expertise in the dynamics of the supply markets and delivery models of suppliers / agencies and must be comfortable leading analytics efforts to proactively identify sourcing opportunities. They must provide active category leadership and change management support that challenges traditional spending behavior, service level definition, and policy setting to enable productivity and efficiency improvements. The Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing IT/Technology must drive compliance with best-in-class sourcing processes.

This role requires an experienced sourcing leader to drive the delivery of leading sourcing & procurement services to business partners across all operating business units including alignment of business requirements, strategic sourcing expertise, supplier market intelligence, financial productivity, supplier performance and risk mitigation. The Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing IT/Technology must be a change agent. This person must lead by example and their direction must be in sync with the overarching direction and evolution for the Strategic Sourcing organization.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leads Category Management for specific category areas including the development of sourcing strategies, management of strategic supplier relationship and performance management, in addition to tactical RFx activities.
• Use applicable e-Sourcing tools to support sourcing activities and analysis.
• Performs and integrates market research to support Category strategies and/or sourcing activities with the ability to filter data into a relevant, actionable format.
• Supports the Business Owner with identification of all applicable risks as part of the Sourcing process, including coordination with working with various other departments i.e. Data Privacy and Protection, IT security, etc., to properly assess and develop mitigation plans, where necessary.
• Manages the entire RFx process including, but not limited to, the development of the requirements, drafting RFP documents, facilitation of team meetings and vendor sessions, negotiation of terms and pricing with the vendors, and ultimately supporting the execution of Supplier Agreements.
• Participates in annual cost savings targets, in collaboration with Business Partners and Finance, within their specific category and is accountable for successful achievement.
• Manages complex negotiations on price and terms, that often include other internal stakeholders such as Business Partners and Legal. Able to independently create comprehensive negotiation planners that all internal parties are aligned with upfront.
• Pursue ongoing development of relevant skills, including learning agility, using data to provide insights, business partnering, change and project management, category management and strategic sourcing to realize optimal results.

Knowledge and Skills (general and technical):

Demonstrates proficiency in the following competencies:

• Deep understanding of Category Management within specific areas of expertise; able to manage and drive all aspects of Strategic Sourcing including RFx execution, negotiation, contract execution, supplier performance management, and business stakeholder management.
• Viewed as resource within their category by Business Partners; able to bring new ideas and information that create tangible value to business.
• True expertise in managing and leading complex supplier negotiations, including development of comprehensive negotiation planners and ensuring alignment with all internal business stakeholders.
• Strong analytical capabilities (data analysis and benchmarking research); expertise working with data analytical/reporting tools. Able to generate and evaluate necessary data and reports to support their activities.
• Able to lead teams in collaborative manner to drive s