Senior Category Manager (Hybrid Schedule)

Senior Category Manager (Hybrid Schedule)

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director, Lab and Medical Sourcing, the Senior Category Manager is responsible for the sourcing, review, negotiation, and administration of goods and services to meet the University's business needs through third-party agreements.

Responsibilities

• Strategic:
• Leads in the review and negotiation, and in some cases, development of agreements in support of collaborations and joint ventures undertaken by the University.
• Works in close partnership with the Office of the General Counsel, Risk Management, and University leadership.
• Works with the Director and university colleagues on effective incorporation of new terms and conditions in university contracts to support evolving compliance requirements.
• Negotiates agreements (i.e., terms, scope, service level agreements, etc.) and assists and advises university departments in obtaining the best total value considering quality, service, and cost on a timely basis.
• Develops effective working relationships with suppliers in order to negotiate the best possible value, ensure the quality of services (and some goods) purchased, and fully meet the needs of end users.
• Identifies sourcing opportunities for conversion from non-standard agreements to either Master Contracts, University-wide Purchasing Agreements (UwPA's), or Department Select Agreements (DSA's) based on an analysis of university spend data.
• Coordinates with schools and departments to effectively promote and manage University-wide Agreements.
• Transactional:
• Responsible for the collection of documentation that provides compliance and completeness of University Purchase Order requirements and prepares for its review by Procurement management.
• Tracks the status of all agreements in process, ensuring, in conjunction with the customer, that the Scope of Work and contract Terms & Conditions are complete and accurate.
• Interacts with the offices of Risk Management and the Office of the General Counsel to ensure full compliance of all related transactions with university purchasing policies as well as federal and other applicable regulations.
• Facilitates, reviews, and tracks customer and/or supplier requests for waivers relative to the University's accepted standard terms and conditions.
• Reviews and manages the Consultant/Contract queue relative to outstanding customer requests and escalates as needed.
• Reviews and manages expected and/or agreed-upon deadlines and prioritizes accordingly.
• Develops, negotiates, awards, and administers contracts, purchase orders, and change orders that take maximum advantage of the University's spending leverage.
• Processes Purchase Requisitions/Change Orders/Contracts of up to $100,000 utilizing Purchasing systems and converts them to the appropriate Purchase Order.
• Reviews procurement options with stakeholder(s) based on requisition and Change Order submissions to facilitate improved cost, service, and delivery opportunities.
• Training, Communications, and Education:
• Assists the Director, Service Agreements, in the ongoing development and refinement of related materials supporting the contracting process (i.e., user guides, on-site training, forms, etc.).
• Conducts education, communication, and training activities to promote increased competency within the University community.
• Represents the Purchasing Department at customer and supplier meetings.
• Assists in the ongoing development and refinement of the Purchasing website relative to contracting initiatives.
• Participates in the development of training and web-based documentation related to contracts and consulting-type agreements on an ongoing basis.
• Performs other related duties and special projects, as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree plus a minimum of four years of related purchasing experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in sourcing and contract management
• Prior working experience with Oracle/PeopleSoft
• Experience with Jaggaer as it relates to goods, service and contract applications, strongly preferred

Other Requirements

• Experience with the development and review of varied contracts.
• Experience with ERP applications and the Marketplace
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office (Access, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as a demonstrated ability to prepare reports, summaries, and analyses, and present findings and recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to collect and analyze data and evaluate information required.
• Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and problem-solving skills and have the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Must be able to effectively manage high transaction volumes on an ongoing basis.
• Must be a self-starter and capable of operating with minimal supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, including active listening skills, plus the ability to work closely and effectively with a diverse group of university administrators, characterized by strong consensus-building and relationship-building skills, are essential.
• Must be able to negotiate issues and resolve problems.
• In addition, the successful candidate must be able to work well with all levels of management, both internally and externally, and be flexible, with sound judgment.
• Must have a passion for excellent customer service and commitment to exceptional quality.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.