Category Lead

Senior Sourcing/Procurement Lead

Location: Owings Mills MD (Remote)

Duration: Contract to hire

Client Notes:

• Needs at least 4 YOE to take on more complex higher dollar projects.
• Looking for federal procurement BG (FAR or other governmental procurement)
• Primarily an IT sourcing role. So, needs exp w/ software and IT equipment. On-prem, SaaS, etc...
• They use Ariba and Teams so that exp is nice to have/helpful. Really needs to be tech savvy to do well in this role.
• Needs to be able to learn quickly.
• Should be able to handle 8-20 procurements at one time depending on skill set and how quickly they can learn.
• Needs to have good attention to details and documentation skills since they are dealing with Gov't funds. Most folks fall short in this area.
• Folks will need to be willing and able to do things differently than how they have done in the past. Can't be too rigid to adapt.
• This is Hybrid role.. He really wants the person that he hires to be local and willing to go on-site (preference)... But he is open to 100% remote contractors as well who are not local.
• Example of complex procurement: RFP where they don’t know what they want to buy and who they want to buy from. So, they have to work with the business and do some information gathering, understand rules of engagement with vendors, rules of how you balance the vendor offerings compared to their prices, etc...
• Simple procurement: Software support renewal (although this can be a little complex as well). Very rare to complete and type of procurement in less than a month.
• Will do initial interview with Steven or his colleague and then another video interview with Sarah who is head of contracts mgmt.

Principal Accountabilities: Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead Stakeholder Engagement and Sourcing Initiatives:
• Collaborates with business stakeholders and procurement management to determine sourcing category strategy.
• Responsible for working with business stakeholders and procurement management to frame and develop project objectives, requirements, and sourcing strategy prior to supplier engagement.
• Drafts and leads the applicable sourcing process through scoring and completion (e.g. RFx, sole source, etc.).
• Acts as primary contact with potential suppliers during the RFx, selection, and negotiation process.
• Leads supplier negotiations throughout RFx and contracting process to achieve optimal savings, value, and risk profile.
• Negotiate and Draft Contracts:
• Implements the sourcing strategy and negotiation and redlining process with the supplier to draft contracts that accurately capture business, technical, and legal requirements (including contractual and purchase order documentation).
• Acts as liaison with business owner and supplier during negotiations.
• Works closely with legal and risk groups to ensure consistent communication and socialization of significant legal and risk issues throughout the negotiation process.
• Interacts routinely with legal and business owner to resolve issues.
• Responsible for the preparation and submission of documentation for consent from the Federal Government (as applicable).
• Ensures and adheres to corporate purchasing policy directives and Federal Government regulations.
• Ensures compliance with contractual requirements for Federal Employee Program and other state and local contracts specifically related to MBE/WBE requirements and reporting.
• Consolidates requirements and coordinates with management to determine the most suitable method of purchase such as spot purchase orders, contracts, blanket orders and supplier stocking arrangements.
• Supplier Management:
• Ensures procurement process is followed and all documentation is complete and accessible in the Ariba source to pay system.
• Analyzes and compares service and/or product offerings and specifications, investigates future renewal requirements and options, and resolves contract and invoice discrepancies.
• Manages existing contracts to anticipate and prepare for ongoing renewals.
• Provides other services related to the sourcing, contracting, and supplier management function as required.

Qualification Requirements:

Required: This position requires a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; and four (4) to six (6) years’ experience in a relevant functional assignment (e.g. Professional Services, Facilities, HR, Marketing, IT, IT Services, or other applicable procurement focus area).

• Extensive experience in managing the end-to-end sourcing process from requirements gathering through RFx and contracting.

• Robust pricing and contractual negotiations with suppliers.

• Effective presentation and influencing skills to interface with multiple levels of management.

• Experience in analyzing pricing and determining price reasonableness.

• Proven experience with key category suppliers.

Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent project and time management skills including but not limited to risk assessment, workplan development and management.

• Developed analytical, organizational and coordination skills.

• Able to apply complex problem-solving abilities to achieve problem ad process solutions.

• Ability to spot, communicate and mitigate issues.

• Flexibility and ability to work independently as well as part of a team.

• Must be able to effectively work in a fast-paced environment with frequently changing priorities, deadlines, and workloads that can be variable for long periods of time.

• Must be able to meet established deadlines and handle multiple customer service demands from internal and external customers, within set expectations for service excellence.

• Must be able to effectively communicate and provide positive customer service to every internal and external customer.

Desirable:

• Experience in the Health Insurance industry.

• Knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

• Knowledge of Ariba or similar procurement automation tools.