JOB TITLE Strategic Sourcing Specialist
LOCATION Worcester
DEPARTMENT NAME Finance Systems & Operations
DIVISION NAME Worcester Polytechnic Institute - WPI
JOB DESCRIPTION SUMMARY The Strategic Sourcing Specialist identifies and leads strategic sourcing initiatives, develops and drives spend category management strategies and engages campus key stakeholders and preferred vendors to achieve desired behaviors and additional value and enhancements for campus end users. WPI is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We are looking for candidates who can support our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
JOB DESCRIPTION Responsibilities: - Evaluate sourcing procedures and present improvement strategies to senior management.
- Analyze and calculate procurement costs and develop cost reduction strategies.
- Negotiate contracts with key suppliers, including costs and terms of supply, service, and quality.
- Collaborate with Procurement department to identify and pursue new supplier opportunities.
- Estimate risks and apply risk minimizing techniques.
- Maintain strategic sourcing relations and develop strong partnerships.
- Develop and implement category-specific sourcing strategies aligned with university goals, ensuring integration of cost-effective and innovative procurement solutions.
- Maintain strong market intelligence, assessing trends and dynamics to optimize sourcing and procurement activities.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration to ensure that sourcing strategies are effectively adopted and supported throughout the organization.
- Lead and manage sourcing activities, including use of Bonfire system for request for information (RFI), request for quotation (RFQ), and request for proposal (RFP) processes, supplier negotiations, and contract execution.
- Partner with Procurement Manager to manage supplier relationships, including conducting business reviews to ensure compliance with contract terms and performance standards.
- Source potential suppliers to obtain competitive quotations that comply with required specifications.
- Engage actively with university departments and stakeholders to define procurement needs, ensuring alignment with the university's strategic objectives and operational requirements.
- Build strong relationships/partnerships with the Campus Community and other functional groups to translate their needs (bid specification writing) into clear product specifications or detailed scopes of work for competitive bidding.
- Serves as the consultant to stakeholders providing resources and information to internal and external partners.
- Engage campus through training, marketing & promotion, and periodic departmental spend reviews.
- Lead contract negotiations
- Plan and conduct negotiations to achieve pricing objectives for purchasing on behalf of the University.
- Serves as liaison between suppliers, departments, and other related stakeholder groups for contract development, negotiation, administration, and instruction.
- Create data reports.
Requirements: - A bachelor's degree in business, supply chain management or a related field.
- At least 2 years of procurement or strategic sourcing experience and negotiations.
Please include a cover letter with a resume for consideration.
FLSA STATUS United States of America (Exempt) WPI is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively seeks to increase the diversity of its workplace. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability. It seeks individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who will contribute to a culture of creativity, collaboration, inclusion, problem solving, innovation, high performance, and change making. It is committed to maintaining a campus environment free of harassment and discrimination.