Director, IT Procurement (Remote)

The Director, IT Procurement will be responsible for saving cost by negotiating favorable deals and reduce expenses related to the Information Technology (IT) function. Assess and mitigate supplier risks, ensuring compliance. Improve efficiency by streamlining processes and responding to market changes. Enhance supplier relations and maintain reliable supplier partnerships. Provide market insights and offer valuable industry knowledge. Control expenses and prevent overspending and budget overruns. Ensure compliance and promote ethical and legal practices. We are open to remote based candidates for this opportunity, Eastern/Central time zone preferred.

Reports To: VP, Procurement

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop cost savings and strategic sourcing projects while ensuring business continuity and a high level of supplier performance.
• Manage spend, supplier, and market data from to effectively analyze both savings opportunity and value chain impacts.
• Lead all levels of supplier market RFI / RFP activities, including execution, readouts and business case implications. Meet with potential participants, both incumbents and non-incumbents, answer RFP related questions from vendors, analyze RFP results and support final vendor(s) awards.
• Drive annual productivity improvements in each category of spend by developing and ensuring implementation of ideas to optimize total cost of ownership (TCO) for spend categories.
• Support development of new policies and procedures to drive savings and lead organizational and operational change management within managed categories of spend.
• Support as well as lead sourcing events, including vendor sourcing, vendor and contract negotiations.
• Bring sourcing efficiency to all activity; define specific roadmaps containing prioritization of sourcing categories as well as expanding e-procurement catalogs.
• Lead research and analytics efforts to both validate savings projections and enable more precise supplier negotiations.
• Review major contracts for key areas of spend and act as Subject Matter Expert (SME) resource for planning and leading complex negotiations or re-supply modeling. Create procurement playbook as it relates to cyclical spending.
• Consistently monitor and evaluate savings against targets by category, sub-category, and supplier
• Develop PPV (product price variance) trackers to ensure improved price / savings baseline analysis.
• Develop and communicate functional supply chain or sourcing strategy to a diverse group of business stakeholders. Create alignment with group and articulate broader procurement transformation.
• Support necessary negotiations. Apply both experience and sourcing methodology, ensuring all buying complies with policies and procedures.
• Source suppliers and build a best-in-class supply chain; cultivate and manage relationships with best-in-class suppliers. Fully utilize all strategic levers within sourcing process and find new paths to value.
• Build supplier management and continuous improvement methodologies with key suppliers.
• Establish and implement a supplier management structure and process, audit and vet vendors.
• Work cross functionally to deliver sourcing and procurement cost savings, risk mitigation projects, and supplier enabled innovation.
• Aggressive focus on achieving overall category cost savings.

Required Skills:

• Experience managing category spend over $150MM annually.
• Building category strategies
• Contract negotiation and contract management
• Comfort and rigorous process in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) modeling
• Ability to drive change management and gain consensus from stakeholders across several business units’ company wide.
• Experience in driving operational redesign process improvement initiatives.
• Must possess strong overall knowledge and understanding of business/contract issues and broad understanding of competitive products/services, technology, and market and industry issues.
• Knowledge of supplier ecosystems and markets that serve DBI.
• Ability to manage multiple projects at the same time.
• Must be detail oriented and able to deliver projects on time.
• High levels of supply chain and operational acumen, with demonstrated end-to-end understanding.
• Proficient in MS Office applications including Excel / financial analysis and PowerPoint / presentations.
• Strong problem solving and leadership skills.
• Entrepreneurial aptitude with a commitment to driving results.
• Demonstrated ability to develop relationships, communicate effectively and influence.
• Flexible and adaptable in a changing environment

Competencies:

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP – Deliberately communicates overall business strategy and connects it to the work of the functional team. Anticipates future trends and implications accurately. Leverages market knowledge to anticipate, capitalize on and drive change. Articulate credible pictures and visions of possibilities that will create sustainable value. Creates competitive and breakthrough strategies that show a clear connection between vision and action. Is willing to champion an idea or position despite dissent or political risk. Tackles tough issues, sharing sensitive messages or unpopular points of view effectively. Influences inside and outside of functional area for positive impact on business performance. Owns the development of successors and individuals who have potential for further development.

LEADING & MOTIVATING – Serves as a champion and driver of DSW Values and culture. Attracts and selects the best talent to meet current and future business needs. Motivates and inspires others through rewards, authentic connections, and meaningful recognition. Fosters diversity and an inclusive workplace where individual differences are valued and leveraged. Seeks new ways to evolve and challenge self. Develops team through delegation, challenges outside of the comfort zone and effective coaching and feedback. Shares ideas in a compelling manner that gains commitment. Champions change for positive impact on business results.

MANAGING FOR RESULTS – Establishes models and enforces accountability. Gets the most out of available resources and secures rare resources others cannot get. Anticipates and balances the needs of multiple stakeholders. Persists in accomplishing objectives. Pushes the team to elevate goals as results are achieved. Transforms functional area to achieve maximum results. Seizes opportunities and connects business insights to increase profit and revenue.

Qualifications:

Experience:

• Minimum of fifteen (15) years’ experience in indirect procurement, vendor management, and strategic sourcing with deep expertise in areas of the business assigned to support (e.g. Marketing, IT, Distribution & Logistics, etc.)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proven expertise implementing and managing change across all levels of an organization; prior implementation and adoption of eProcurement systems is a plus.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Post graduate degree(s) a plus

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