Associate Specialist, Procurement - Strategic Sourcing - Facilities

Northern Trust•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Associate Specialist is a full-time individual-contributor role within Global Procurement, based in Chicago, Illinois. The position leads end-to-end strategic sourcing for facilities, real estate and workplace-related spend across Northern Trust’s global portfolio. Its purpose is to deliver savings and cost avoidance, improve commercial outcomes and service quality, reduce supplier and contractual risk, and establish consistent supplier-performance management. The role independently manages complex sourcing initiatives from defining business requirements through sourcing, negotiation, contracting, implementation and ongoing supplier governance. It partners closely with Corporate Real Estate, Facilities, Physical Security, Legal, Risk, Compliance, Finance and other internal stakeholders. The category scope includes design and architecture; construction and general contracting; facilities services; physical security; and furniture and workplace solutions. Commercial considerations vary by category and include fee and pricing structures, contract terms, service levels, labor and equipment costs, project and change-order terms, insurance, warranties, technology integration, sustainability, reuse and lifecycle costs. The successful candidate has at least seven years of progressive procurement, strategic sourcing or category-management experience, ideally with direct facilities and workplace exposure. A bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience is required. The position requires a Chicago-area presence, strong analytical and commercial judgment, negotiation and stakeholder-management capabilities, and practical experience with advanced Excel, e-sourcing, ERP and contract-management platforms. Northern Trust describes its work culture as flexible and collaborative, encourages movement within the organization, and emphasizes an inclusive workplace and community involvement. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future employment-based visa sponsorship.

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 in end-to-end sourcing, competitive bidding, negotiation, contracting and supplier management.
Direct experience with facilities and workplace subcategories is important, 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 required.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for 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.

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, supported by market intelligence and performance reporting.
Lead multiple concurrent RFI, RFP and RFQ events, including defining requirements, developing scopes of work and pricing models, setting evaluation criteria, coordinating supplier communications, managing bids and analyzing proposals.
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 agreements, statements of work, nondisclosure agreements and other documents.
Address relevant commercial 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 strategic sourcing process from category profiling and requirements definition through market assessment, competitive sourcing, evaluation, negotiation, award recommendation, contracting, implementation and supplier management.
Source providers and services across design and architecture, construction and general contracting, facilities services, physical security, and furniture and workplace solutions.
Build relationships with Real Estate, Facilities, Workplace and Physical Security stakeholders and serve as a responsive procurement advisor.
Ensure sourcing awards and supplier arrangements meet relevant legal, insurance, regulatory, third-party-risk and business-continuity requirements.
Follow procurement policies and processes and identify opportunities to simplify processes, consolidate demand, improve specifications, strengthen supplier accountability and increase use of procurement tools and reporting.