Procurement Planner / Business Process Professional

MSU Internal Job Postings Details•East Lansing, MI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Procurement Planner is responsible for gathering, analyzing, documenting, and optimizing business processes associated with institutional procurement planning activities in order to improve operational efficiency, strengthen strategic sourcing outcomes, and support the University’s long-term financial and operational goals. Serving as the “front door” for campus purchasing plans and major anticipated needs, this role acts as a strategic liaison between academic and administrative units and the central procurement office. The Procurement Planner translates departmental budget insights, multi-year spending projections, and programmatic plans into a structured, forward-looking procurement pipeline, which may include paths alternative to a requisition. Through proactive outreach and structured engagement, the Planner improves enterprise visibility into upcoming sourcing events, contract renewals, and major purchases—shifting the institution from reactive buying toward coordinated, strategic planning. This position provides high-touch, consultative service to campus units, particularly those with limited administrative capacity. By reviewing planned purchases and funding timelines, the Planner identifies procurement channels, contract lifecycle milestones, consolidation opportunities, sourcing requirements, supplier-risk considerations, cooperative contract usage, and potential revenue-share or partnership opportunities. The role ensures procurement is engaged months in advance of critical deadlines, reducing emergency contracting, strengthening compliance, and enabling more effective negotiations. Embedded within a mature procurement structure that includes Buyers, Expediters, Supplier Risk Analysts, and subject matter experts, the Procurement Planner focuses on planning, coordination, and process optimization rather than transactional execution. While the role does not carry signature authority, it requires expertise comparable to a seasoned sourcing professional, particularly in stakeholder engagement, contract lifecycle planning, business process analysis, and strategic forecasting. All initiatives undertaken by this position are intended to streamline procurement-related workflows, enhance cross-functional coordination, strengthen supplier-risk management, and align campus purchasing activities with institutional priorities. Through structured process improvement and enterprise planning, the Procurement Planner increases operational predictability, improves service delivery to departments, and supports the University’s broader strategic objectives.

Requirements

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in a business-related field; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in office procedures and administration, or experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, business operations; experience with word processing, database, spreadsheet, presentation software and/or desktop publishing, web page software; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated ability to provide excellent customer service while ensuring compliance with established policies and procedures.
Experience analyzing data to support planning and decision-making, including working with budgets, spend reports, dashboards, and forecasting tools.
Proficiency with spreadsheets and reporting systems (e.g., Excel and data visualization tools).
Strong communication, organizational, and analytical skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively across teams.

Responsibilities

Plan, design, and document procurement planning processes through proactive outreach to academic and administrative units.
Gather and analyze budget data and multi-year spending projections to develop and maintain a rolling procurement pipeline and renewal/RFP calendar.
Conduct task analysis of departmental purchasing activities to assess alignment with institutional priorities, existing contracts, proper procurement channels (includes PCard, Event Card, Travel Card, as well as Spartan Marketplace and requisitions) and procurement policies.
Identify opportunities to streamline workflows and provide structured procurement guidance to units requiring enhanced administrative support.
Monitor and analyze contract lifecycles to recommend timely renewals, competitive sourcing events, extensions, renegotiations, or consolidation strategies.
Review and document renewal timelines, initiating early engagement (120–180 days in advance) to optimize sourcing and supplier-risk workflows.
Coordinate with procurement teams to ensure accurate, timely transition from planning to execution.
Maintain lifecycle tracking processes within assigned commodity areas to improve operational predictability and efficiency.
Analyze spend patterns, budget projections, and unit plans to identify consolidation, shared-service, and strategic sourcing opportunities.
Develop and maintain dashboards, forecasting tools, and planning documentation to support enterprise procurement visibility.
Serve as liaison between units and procurement teams to translate business needs into structured sourcing pathways.
Identify risk, compliance, revenue-share/P3, and category management considerations and route to appropriate subject-matter experts.
Guide departments on the creation of related procurement documentation of moderate complexity (scope of work, IT Readiness, etc).
Draft or initiate requisitions for strategic or multi-departmental needs.
Monitor renewals and maintain contract documentation.
Communicate with departments and vendors to clarify requirements, resolve transactional issues, and ensure compliance with University policies.
Maintain procurement databases and records to support audit readiness and reporting.