Director, Strategic Sourcing and Vendor Management

Fanshawe Toronto@ILAC • London, ON

2d • CA$119,646 - CA$170,442 • Hybrid

About The Position

At Fanshawe College, procurement is more than purchasing. It is a strategic function that supports financial sustainability, institutional resilience, and the successful delivery of enterprise priorities. The Corporate Services and Infrastructure portfolio works across the College to enable responsible stewardship of resources, advance major strategic initiatives, and ensure students and employees have access to the services, technology, infrastructure, and partnerships needed to succeed. The Strategic Sourcing and Vendor Management team plays a vital role in achieving these outcomes by strengthening supplier relationships, enhancing procurement governance, managing institutional risk, and driving value from the College's investments. This leadership position offers the opportunity to influence College-wide decisions, shape procurement strategy, and contribute to the future success of one of Ontario's leading colleges. Reporting to the Vice-President, Corporate Services and Infrastructure, the Director, Strategic Sourcing and Vendor Management provides enterprise leadership for the College's strategic sourcing, vendor management, procurement governance, contract lifecycle management, and supplier risk functions. The Director establishes College-wide sourcing strategy, vendor performance standards, procurement compliance controls, and contract governance practices that support financial stewardship, operational continuity, accountable public-sector procurement, and institutional risk mitigation. The incumbent is the College's senior functional authority on strategic procurement, public-sector procurement obligations, vendor relationship governance, contract administration, and supplier performance. The Director leads a team of Senior Buyers and Junior Buyers, advises senior leadership on sourcing options and vendor risk, and liaises with Fanshawe Legal Counsel to support appropriate review, negotiation, interpretation, escalation, and lifecycle management of vendor contracts.

Requirements

• Post-secondary 4-year degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Commerce, Public Administration, Law, Finance, or a related discipline
• Minimum 9 years of progressively responsible strategic sourcing, procurement, vendor management or contract management experience, including significant leadership responsibility in a public sector, broader public sector, government, post-secondary, healthcare, municipal or similarly regulated environment
• Demonstrated experience leading complex and high-value sourcing initiatives, vendor performance programs, contract negotiations, legal-counsel-supported contract reviews, procurement audits, supplier issue escalations, policy development, executive reporting and cross-functional procurement governance involving significant institutional risk and financial impact
• One recognized procurement, supply chain, contract management or public procurement designation is required and must be actively maintained, such as SCMP, CPPO, CPPB, CSCP, CPCM, CPSM or NIGP-CPP
• Enterprise strategic sourcing and category management; ability to translate College priorities into sourcing roadmaps and procurement plans
• Advanced vendor management, supplier performance management, contract lifecycle governance and escalation management
• Strong ability to liaise with legal counsel on contract review, negotiation, risk allocation, service-level commitments, remedies, amendments and dispute resolution
• Public-sector procurement expertise, including defensible procurement documentation, fairness, transparency, accountability, value-for-money and compliance monitoring
• Executive-level communication, briefing-note preparation, presentation skills and ability to advise senior leaders, committees and Board-level audiences
• Financial acumen, total cost of ownership analysis, savings opportunity identification, budget awareness and risk-adjusted procurement decision-making
• People leadership, coaching, workload planning, service management, change leadership and staff development
• Analytical capability with dashboards, metrics, procurement reporting, vendor scorecards, trend analysis and continuous improvement
• High judgment, ethics, confidentiality, conflict management, negotiation, influencing skills and resilience in politically sensitive or high-risk vendor situations

Nice To Haves

• Master’s Degree in Business, Public Administration, Law, Supply Chain or a related field is preferred
• Training in contract law, negotiating complex agreements, vendor risk management, public-sector procurement compliance, conflict-of-interest management, construction procurement, privacy/security procurement considerations and supplier performance management is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Leads the College-wide strategic sourcing roadmap; defines category strategies for high-value goods, services, construction and infrastructure-related procurements
• Assess market conditions and supplier capacity; leading the sourcing strategy for major institutional initiatives
• Establishes procurement plans that balance value, risk, compliance, operational needs and total cost of ownership
• Owns the vendor management framework, including supplier onboarding, performance scorecards, risk reviews, issue escalation, renewal planning and vendor relationship governance
• Liaises with Fanshawe Legal Counsel on vendor contract templates, contract interpretation, negotiated terms, service-level commitments, dispute resolution, amendments, renewals, terminations and risk mitigation
• Directs procurement policy, internal controls and compliance monitoring under applicable public-sector procurement obligations, College policies and trade agreement requirements
• Leads procurement audits, corrective action plans, reporting, delegated authority controls, conflict-of-interest safeguards, documentation standards and transparent, defensible award processes
• Lead, coach and develop the Procurement Office team, including 3 Senior Buyers and 2 Junior Buyers
• Sets service standards, workload priorities, performance expectations, succession plans, professional development plans and operating protocols
• Ensures timely, responsive and consistent procurement service delivery to college departments
• Motivates and guides staff to foster a collaborative, high-productivity team culture focused on excellent customer service
• Prepares executive-level procurement, sourcing, vendor performance and compliance reporting for senior leadership, committees, and governance bodies
• Provides advice to leaders on sourcing approaches, procurement risks, contract strategy, supplier issues and market trends
• Represents the College in sector-wide procurement initiatives, collaborative purchasing groups, OECM activities, and professional procurement associations, and leads collaborative procurement opportunities on behalf of participating institutions
• Other Duties as Assigned

Benefits

• Comprehensive Pension & Benefits: Join a defined-benefit pension plan (through the CAAT Pension Plan) that delivers predictable lifetime retirement income, plus dental, disability, travel insurance and extended health coverage.
• Vacation: Enjoy paid time off and benefit from a scheduled holiday closure that offers additional rest and time with family during the winter season
• Tuition & Professional Development: Continue your learning journey — eligible employees and their dependents can take select Fanshawe programs or courses at a reduced cost
• Inclusive, Meaningful Campus environment: Work alongside passionate colleagues in an inclusive culture that values diversity, drives student success, and connects you to the local community and campus life.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director