Associate Director of Strategic Sourcing

Montclair State University•Montclair, NJ

1d•$130,000 - $145,000

About The Position

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Procurement Services, the Associate Director of Strategic Sourcing is responsible for developing and managing sourcing templates, gathering and analyzing data, conducting market research, and providing insights to support strategic sourcing initiatives. This role collaborates with cross-functional teams, negotiates with suppliers, and analyzes market trends to make informed purchasing decisions that best meet the needs of Montclair State University. This position also provides recommendations to improve procedures, policies, and specifications to formulate a strong and effective sourcing approach.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
Minimum 4 years of professional experience with the procurement process in a large organization.
Knowledge of strategic sourcing and specification development skills.
Commitment to the principles and practices of continuous improvement.
Strong technology skills and analytical capabilities.
Ability to adapt and innovate while adhering to established procedures.
Strengths as a self-initiative and a self-motivated.
Ability to work independently and to collaborate with others.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree from an accredited university in a relevant field.
Professional leadership experience with the procurement process in a large organization.
Specific knowledge as it pertains to specification development, Request for Proposal preparation, the public bid process, contract preparation, and administration.
Familiarity with New Jersey procurement statutes and regulations.
Prefer experience with Workday, the University’s ERP system.
Management experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop complex formal solicitations for various procurements for goods and services to meet the University's needs utilizing market research as necessary to incorporate best practices.
Lead collaboration with stakeholders and University departments on solicitations to understand business needs and to review their existing and anticipated requirements.
Manage the entire bid process including developing bid schedules, conducting pre-bid meetings, reviewing and analyzing technical information accompanying bids to determine specification compliance, participating as a voting member of the technical evaluation committee as determined, presenting a recommendation to award, and drafting the necessary agreements and follows through to contract execution.
Develop and maintain sourcing templates.
Supervise sourcing staff and mentor other members of the Procurement Services Department in the development of formal solicitation processes and other strategic sourcing tasks, as requested and assisted. Recruit, hire, train, develop, and evaluate direct reports.
Implement contract administration procedures and provide training instructing departments on their responsibilities for newly awarded contracts.
Create effective processes for routinely informing leadership about project status, workload, constraints, and pipeline prioritization.
Perform spend analysis for the University as well as specific commodity areas, provide recommendations on sourcing strategy, and deliver savings to the University. This may include preparing specifications for RFPs that can be utilized by the entire university community as well as areas for cost-saving opportunities. Responsible for ensuring additional compliant mechanisms and contracts are created that will make procuring items easier for the community.
Engage with stakeholders and University departments to convey policies, confirm requests, advise on anticipated requirements, and foster better communication and improvement of service.
Provide advice on the supplier selection process, preferred suppliers, and the overall procurement process.
Utilize various key performance indicators such as forecasts, variances, and other reporting tools to evaluate supplier and initiative performance.
Maintain supplier performance and relationships and serve as the escalation point for supplier performance issues.
Analyze procurement costs and develop cost reduction strategies while tracking savings.
Review and propose policies and processes as they relate to job responsibilities.
Support the development and implementation of strategic initiatives and process improvements while ensuring compliance.
Maintain a complete understanding of the Montclair State University Act, New Jersey State, and Federal rules, laws, and regulations, University policies concerning and ensure compliance with all.
Performs other duties as assigned. Management retains the right to add or change job duties at any time