Associate Specialist, Procurement - Strategic Sourcing - Facilities

Northern Trust•Chicago, IL

About The Position

This is a full-time Associate Specialist position within Global Procurement, based in Chicago, Illinois. The role leads end-to-end strategic sourcing for facilities, real estate and workplace-related spend across Northern Trust’s global portfolio. It is an experienced, hands-on individual-contributor role and trusted-advisor position, responsible for managing complex sourcing initiatives from business-requirement definition through sourcing, negotiation, contract execution, implementation and ongoing supplier governance. The Associate Specialist partners with Corporate Real Estate, Facilities, Physical Security, Legal, Risk, Compliance, Finance and other stakeholders. The role translates operational and technical requirements into commercially sound sourcing strategies, creates competitive tension, evaluates supplier proposals and communicates recommendations to senior stakeholders. The category scope covers design and architecture; construction and general contracting; facilities services; physical security; and furniture and workplace solutions. The role focuses on achieving measurable savings and cost avoidance, improving commercial outcomes and service quality, reducing supplier and contractual risk, and establishing consistent supplier-performance management. The position requires a Chicago-area presence.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business, finance, engineering, construction management or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.
At least seven years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement or category management.
Demonstrated capability across end-to-end sourcing, competitive bidding, negotiation, contracting and supplier management.
Direct experience with facilities and workplace subcategories, particularly design and architecture, construction, facilities services, physical security, and furniture or workplace solutions.
Strong analytical, commercial, project-management, communication and stakeholder-management skills.
Ability to manage multiple complex assignments with limited oversight.
Advanced Excel capability and practical experience with e-sourcing, ERP and contract-management platforms.
Chicago-area presence.
Independent sourcing execution, strong commercial judgment and effective negotiation skills.
Ability to analyze complex data, develop practical sourcing strategies, make balanced recommendations and secure stakeholder alignment.
Ability to build trusted-advisor relationships while maintaining procurement discipline, transparency and governance.
Strong written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain complex commercial issues clearly and concisely.
Supplier-performance management, risk awareness and attention to detail.
Ability to maintain accurate records, follow procurement policies and support applicable legal, regulatory, insurance, third-party risk and business-continuity requirements.
Authorization to work in the U.S. without current or future employment-based visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Experience with AIA agreements.
Experience with integrated facilities management outsourcing.
Experience with supplier consolidation.
Experience with complex real estate or capital-project sourcing.
Procurement experience in financial services, professional services or another regulated industry.
Knowledge of third-party risk, regulatory compliance, business continuity and supplier financial fitness.
An MBA or other advanced degree.
A professional designation such as CPSM, CPM, CIPS or CSCP.
Familiarity with commercial considerations in design and architecture sourcing, including fee structures, deliverables, intellectual property rights and AIA B-series terms.
Familiarity with construction commercial terms, including guaranteed maximum price and lump-sum structures, general conditions, allowances, contingencies, change orders, retainage and AIA A-series agreements.
Familiarity with facilities-service considerations such as output-based service levels, labor models and rates, equipment and material costs, self-performance versus subcontracting, service coverage, productivity, transition requirements and regional or multi-site consolidation.
Familiarity with physical-security sourcing considerations such as bill rates, wage and statutory cost pass-through mechanisms, licensing, training, background checks, coverage models, response times, technology integration, regulatory requirements and service-level performance.
Familiarity with furniture and workplace-solution commercial priorities, including discount structures, freight and installation costs, lead times, warranties, standards, sustainability, reuse and refurbishment, and total lifecycle cost.

Responsibilities

Assess business needs and analyze spend, demand, contracts, supplier performance and market conditions.
Develop category strategies, sourcing plans, negotiation approaches and savings targets aligned with business priorities.
Maintain a forward-looking pipeline of sourcing opportunities, contract expirations and supplier initiatives using market intelligence and performance reporting.
Lead multiple concurrent RFI, RFP and RFQ events, including requirements definition, scopes of work, pricing models, evaluation criteria, supplier communications, bid management, proposal analysis and supplier selection.
Lead commercial and contractual negotiations, document recommendation rationale, and support stakeholders through award decisions and approvals.
Work with Legal, Risk and subject-matter experts to review, draft and negotiate master agreements, statements of work, nondisclosure agreements and other relevant documents.
Address commercial and contractual terms including pricing, service levels, performance measures, warranties, liability, insurance, change control, termination rights, data and intellectual property considerations.
Support supplier onboarding, implementation and service transitions after contract execution to help realize negotiated value.
Manage strategic supplier relationships through business reviews and improvement plans.
Identify supplier consolidation, rationalization and demand-management opportunities.
Maintain accurate procurement records and systems, including sourcing documentation, agreements, savings results, cycle-time measures and supplier-performance information.
Apply a disciplined sourcing process, from category profiling and market assessment through RFx execution, evaluation, negotiation, award recommendation, contracting, implementation and ongoing supplier management.
Source services and solutions across design and architecture, construction, facilities services, physical security, and furniture and workplace solutions.
Follow procurement policies and support applicable legal, regulatory, insurance, third-party risk and business-continuity requirements.
Build relationships with Real Estate, Facilities, Workplace and Physical Security stakeholders and provide responsive procurement advice.
Identify opportunities to simplify processes, consolidate demand, improve specifications, strengthen supplier accountability and increase the use of procurement tools and reporting.
Establish a balanced first-year sourcing pipeline across facilities and workplace subcategories; deliver sourcing events on schedule; produce supported strategies and award recommendations; document savings and cost avoidance; and improve commercial and contractual terms.
Ensure procurement records and reporting accurately reflect pipeline, savings, cost avoidance, cycle time, contract status and supplier performance.

Benefits

Retirement benefits, including a 401(k) and pension.
Medical, dental and vision benefits.
Spending accounts and disability benefits.
Paid time off.
Parental and caregiver leave.
Life and accident insurance.
Other voluntary and well-being benefits.
Discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.
Flexible and collaborative work culture.
Movement within the organization is encouraged and senior leaders are accessible.
Inclusive workplace and community-assistance commitments.