Associate Procurement Consultant - Marketing

Full-time - Entry Level

Hybrid - Toronto, CA

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

IBM is seeking highly motivated individuals with prior procurement experience to join our Procurement BPO team of procurement consulting professionals. Our team provides procurement services to IBM's external clients across all industry segments. Specifically, we are seeking to fill the role of an Associate Procurement Consultant to support our clients' procurement and strategic sourcing requirements in the indirect spend category of marketing. This role requires regular business travel to remote client locations based on project requirements.

Responsibilities

• Managing multiple competitive bid events for clients (i.e., Request for Proposal, Request for Quote, Request for Information, Reverse Auctions etc.) within assigned spend categories
• Analyzing client's historical spend data in one or more categories in order to identify sourcing opportunities, support category strategy development, and measure compliance with supplier agreements
• Building and maintaining stakeholder relationships across all levels of the client's business, procurement, and legal organizations
• Negotiating commercial terms and facilitating contracting processes with the client's suppliers
• Analyzing and documenting cost savings versus historical spend to ensure IBM meets or exceeds contractual savings commitments to our clients
• Identifying opportunities to transform the client's procurement organization and policies, and to support the client in achieving its strategic business objectives
• Supporting Global Category Leaders and Category Managers with development of category strategies and developing sourcing project strategies
• Collaborating with peer consultants supporting our other clients to share and leverage useful templates, strategies, lessons learned, and case studies

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
• Degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Law, or another applicable field.
• Prior experience leading end-to-end competitive bids and supplier negotiations.
• Candidates must be willing and able to travel to client locations based on business requirements.
• The preferred location for this Hybrid position (minimum 3-days per week in an IBM or client office) is Toronto, Ontario.

Nice-to-haves

• Master's Degree
• Prefer previous experience supporting the Marketing Category including experience in sub-categories such as: Creative & Advertising, Production, Digital, Media, Branding, Promotional Items, Market Research, and Events.
• Client Relationship Management: Ability to build rapport with clients and maintain professionalism in communications with all levels of client stakeholders. On-time delivery of high-quality analyses and presentations.
• Data Analysis: Ability to utilize procurement and financial data to understand spending trends within a business, and to leverage that information to identify procurement insights that result in process efficiencies or cost savings for the client.
• Strategic Thinking: Understanding of the importance of 'big picture' thinking and planning. Ability to apply business acumen to focus on key success factors for the organization.
• Accuracy and Attention to Detail: Understanding the necessity and value of accuracy and attention to detail; ability to process information with high levels of accuracy.
• Dealing with Disorder: Knowledge of tactics and ability to function effectively in the face of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
• Microsoft Office: Strong knowledge and proficiency of Microsoft Office suite. Ability to efficiently and accurately analyze procurement data using Microsoft Excel, and to build client-ready presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Procurement Knowledge: Knowledge of Procurement methods, technologies and processes.