Director, Head of Supplier Diversity

About this role

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team at BlackRock is seeking an experienced professional to drive the Supplier Diversity Initiative on behalf of BlackRock.

Our approach to Supplier Diversity is aligned with the firm’s purpose to help more people experience financial well-being as well as supports our growth ambitions, strengthens our operational resiliency, and reinforces our commitment to the communities in which we operate. Our Supplier Diversity Initiative has a clear business rationale as it acknowledges and addresses growing interest from our clients, regulators, and employees.

The Director, Head of Supplier Diversity will directly report into BlackRock’s Global Head of DEI Client Engagement and will provide regular updates to internal and external boards and committees, attend conferences, and speak on BlackRock’s behalf on the overall status of its Supplier Diversity Initiative.

Additionally, the Head of Supplier Diversity will collaboratively work with the sourcing group to develop strategies aimed to consider a wider pool of suppliers.  This role will also work with advocacy groups across the world to understand mechanisms on driving certifications/ classifications as this area continues to develop.

About BlackRock DEI

BlackRock's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices are grounded in our business needs as a global firm. One of our core beliefs is that a diverse workforce with an inclusive and connected culture is a commercial imperative and indispensable to our success. Our ability to stay ahead of our clients' needs requires attracting top talent from across the world. We believe that diversity of mind, experiences and backgrounds helps us build stronger and better teams, avoid groupthink, and solve tough problems, today and in the future.

We recognize that equal access and equal opportunity is an important part of doing good business. As such, the firm’s Supplier Diversity Initiative is focused on diverse-owned businesses (defined as at least 51% owned, controlled, and operated by underrepresented groups, women, veterans, LGBTQ+ and other diverse categories) and small businesses having an opportunity to bid on direct contracting with the firm.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with the Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Global Head of DEI Client Engagement, and the Sourcing & Vendor Management team to ensure the appropriate identification, qualification, and inclusion of diverse suppliers and small businesses in the bidding/sourcing.
• Implement and drive Supplier Code of Conduct & Ethics across the firm.
• Understanding Supplier Diversity Initiative challenges and industry developments.
• Provide strategic insight about Supplier Diversity to global and regional marketplaces.
• Present to various internal committees on our Supplier Diversity strategy.
• Function as the primary resource; establish strategic, effective relationships both internally and externally on supplier diversity issues.
• Represent the organization while attending various external supplier diversity focused industry events as well as internal supplier diversity meetings and board meetings when applicable.
• Answer RFP/ RFI client queries for the firm related to Supplier Diversity.
• Work with Legal & Compliance on supplier diversity data and information that can be shared with the public and other external parties.
• Develop a Tier 2 Spend program & supervise performance through Metrics.
• Update the internal WIKI page highlighting growth/ success stories of the Supplier Diversity Initiative.
• Align the functions, local, regional, and global organization to support our Supplier Diversity strategy.

Desired Qualifications

• 5+ year track-record in creating, driving and continued development of a Supplier Diversity program.
• Supplier Diversity Compliance & Certifications.
• Knowledge of global market conditions and identifying growth opportunities; industry trends.
• Communication experience with senior management including Boards.
• Category planning and management experience.
• Creation of business cases and vendor selection.
• Project management experience with ability to run multiple projects.
• MS Office skills; particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Reporting tools such as Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, SharePoint desired.

Competencies

• Ability to operate both vertical and horizontally across a large complex organization.
• Effective communication skills and ability to influence and motivate others through oral and written presentations.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with internal partners and vendors.
• Analytical skills, abl