Strategic Sourcing Category Manager - D4709

SOFT's client located in Syracuse, NY is looking for a Strategic Sourcing Category Manager for a long term contract assignment.
The Sr. Strategic Sourcing Specialist, IT, will be responsible for developing, executing and implementing effective procurement strategies across the IT Services (digital consulting, digital implementation, application development, application maintenance, professional services) category. Work will be hybrid. Candidates local to Boston, NYC or upstate NY are preferred.

Category Management

• With support of the Category Manager, work with Stakeholders to establish clear business needs, apply forward thinking skills to establish flexible long-term category strategies with value options & clear supplier performance criteria
• Partner effectively with stakeholders to become a trusted business partner
• Provide strategic direction, communicate goals, practices and processes of the Global Sourcing organization with respective business partners
• Able to execute complex sourcing activities implementing more than one option: RFX, e-sourcing and reverse auctions
• Analyze forecast trends and track category savings targets in support of Procurement and category team commitment and goals.
• Evaluate and apply the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) and switching costs to support decision making

Commercial Negotiation

• Solid understanding of contractual terms & conditions and able to craft structured agreements with legal and stakeholder input
• Establish structured negotiation plans with clarity of desired outcomes, leveraging stakeholder input and support where appropriate
• Understanding of supplier’s position, desired outcomes, and leverage points

Supplier Relationship Management

• Identifies critical suppliers and creates appropriate engagement plans to ensure our Supply Chain risk profile and inputs to continuous improvement are proactively managed
• Demonstrates a collaborative approach with supply base and develops integrated plans to drive appropriate value for business and customer requirements
• Builds appropriate supplier performance measurements (KPIs) into contractual frameworks

Systems and Analytics

• Ability to adapt to different ERP systems such as SAP, Tableau, Ariba, Spend Analytics
• Understands how to analyze large data sets and extract information for strategic decision making

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; in supply chain, finance or business management preferred.
• Preferred five years’ experience in IT strategic sourcing, agile product delivery, contract negotiations and vendor management.
• Strong interpersonal skills, specifically working cross-functionally to support critical business objectives at all levels of the company.
• Working knowledge of ERP systems
• MBA, MS preferred. Successful completion of professional negotiation coursework preferred
• An equivalent combination of education and extensive subject matter expertise along with procurement experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education requirements listed above.

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Syracuse, NY 13203: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: One location