Associate, Procurement Operations Specialist

At Barings, we are as invested in our associates as we are in our clients. We recognize those who work diligently for us and reward them for personal and professional integrity, communication skills, distinct competencies and expertise in specific strategies, ability to collaborate as a team member and true dedication to the interests of our clients.

We thank you for your interest in joining the Barings team, and invite you to explore our current employment opportunities.

Title: Associate, Procurement Operations Specialist

Business Unit: Procurement & Vendor Management

Location: Charlotte, NC

Barings is a leading global financial services firm dedicated to meeting the evolving investment and capital needs of our clients and customers. Through active asset management and direct origination, we provide innovative solutions and access to differentiated opportunities across public and private capital markets. A subsidiary of MassMutual, Barings maintains a strong global presence with business and investment professionals located across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Global Procurement and Vendor Management Team (“P&VM”) is hiring a Procurement Operations Specialist to support the P&VM Business Management Team. Responsibilities include managing key processes in the Barings Procure to Pay (P2P) and software asset management (SAM) life cycle, processing purchase orders, and coordinating IT asset requisitions.

The ideal candidate should have general procurement and vendor management knowledge. This generalist role supports Category Managers, Procurement Operations, and Vendor Management, managing procurement intake, creating and processing POs, and collaborating daily with finance and technology.

Barings is looking for a professional that can execute newly defined processes and strategies in the vendor lifecycle process. The ideal candidate will deliver strong results by ensuring speedy, consistent processing and diligent supplier software compliance. A key part of the role will be to identify opportunities to eliminate stale processes, increase efficiencies, and work towards building a simplified, automated process. The ideal candidate will be highly organized and possess problem solving, analytical skills and cross-functional communication/relationship management strengths.

As a Procurement Operations Specialist for Barings you must have proven experience in the use of P2P workflow systems (e.g., Zip, Ariba, Coupa) and/or software asset management platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, SAMpro). Since you are part of a global unit, with global responsibilities, you will need to actively cooperate with various stakeholders and navigate with ease in a transformational environment. You also are expected to have a .....strong focus on customer service, quality and a personal drive to reach the objectives defined by our team.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for the governance of this life cycle and reporting data captured throughout the buying process to improve the management of IT assets.
• Experience with Purchase Order Processing and collaborating with Finance/ Accounts Payable.
• Owning the purchase order life cycle
• Collaborating and supporting critical objectives for the PVM Team
• Liaise between category managers and business owners, as necessary.
• Setting expectations on purchases/payments and executing on internal processes as efficiently as possible for all stakeholders
• Licensing advisory - identify risks, potential savings opportunities for renewals, software licensing and services.
• Enforce license compliance, perform internal audit and inventory follow up.
• Perform regular status updates about software asset status (volumes, utilizations, KPIs, etc.)

Skill Requirements:

• Organized, analytical thinker that takes individual responsibility for completing tasks quickly.
• Demonstrated familiarity with Excel; able to utilize advanced features for reporting, data manipulation, and tracking key procurement metrics.
• Technical background is an asset, especially experience with implementation and administration of API’s.
• Experience with Procurement & Vendor Management is an asset.
• A customer service mindset
• Robust interpersonal skills - self-aware, honest dialogue, open mindset and empathetic
• Demonstrated project management capabilities.
• Strong written and communication skills.
• Ability to operate both with autonomy and in a team