Sourcing & Procurement Operations - Assistant Director

Northwestern Mutual • Milwaukee, WI

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Leads projects and daily work for all S&P systems, tools, process standards and efficiencies. Responsible for creating formal standards, process and system configuration documentation. Responsible for data and reporting strategy creation and execution.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree with an emphasis in Business, Information Systems, Supply Chain Management, Accounting/Finance, Engineering or related field, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Minimum of 7 years of work experience with a specific focus on strategic sourcing or procurement, supplier management, finance, supply chain management, or other related fields.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in leading the development and management of category plans or sourcing strategies.
• Proven ability to establish and maintain cross-functional relationships, influence change with diplomacy.
• Strong customer focus, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Excellent research, analytical, problem solving, planning and organization skills required as well as a high degree of personal initiative and motivation
• Experience working with systems, reporting tools, and dashboards.

Nice To Haves

• Previous strategic procurement operations, systems administration, data, analytics, and reporting experience preferred.
• Direct knowledge and/or training in formal strategic sourcing and procurement preferred.
• MBA, MS/ME is a plus.
• Consulting experience with global management consulting firm a plus.

Responsibilities

• Process Ability to build strong peer relationships within Sourcing & Procurement, FP&A, and Product and Engineering and other stakeholders, to enhance current best practices, define standards, and increase the influence/role of Sourcing & Procurement across various business teams.
• Understand procurement best practices to partner with peers in Sourcing and Procurement to define and implement process and system requirements.
• Manage projects aligned to the Procurement Operations and Procurement/Finance Centers of Excellence (COE).
• Define approach around reporting for the purpose of influencing business decisions and improving supplier-based ROI.
• Evaluate and sharpen existing third-party reporting tools to readily arm Sourcing & procurement with influential business data
• Recommend and deploy reporting dashboards to represent NM supplier spend, demand, supplier utilization, performance, and risks.
• Define S&P’s measurements and reporting surrounding the function’s savings and value contributions.
• Manage day-to-day operations of Procurement systems, tools, and programs.
• Speak to and report out on current and future initiatives to larger audiences, including senior leadership
• Mentor junior team members on best practices, process changes, etc.

Benefits

• The standard pay structure is listed but if you’re living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees