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

Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. is a global pharmaceutical company based in Japan with key operations in the U.S. (Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.), Canada (Sumitomo Pharma Canada, Inc.) and Europe (Sumitomo Pharma Switzerland GmbH) focused on addressing patient needs in oncology, urology, women's health, rare diseases, psychiatry & neurology, and cell & gene therapies. With several marketed products in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, a diverse pipeline of early- to late-stage assets, and in-house advanced technology capabilities, we aim to accelerate discovery, research, and development to bring novel therapies to patients sooner. For more information on SMPA, visit our website https://www.us.sumitomo-pharma.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Job Overview

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