Job DescriptionJob Summary:Responsible for setting the strategic direction and leading enterprise-wide procurement initiatives across Information Technology categories, including software, hardware, telecommunications, cloud services, digital platforms, and managed services. Leads a high-performing team of Directors, Category Managers, and Category Specialists, driving category strategies that align with business objectives, technology roadmaps, and financial goals.
Accountable for developing and executing both short- and long-term sourcing strategies, overseeing complex supplier negotiations, and optimizing vendor relationships to maximize value, mitigate risk, and accelerate innovation. Partners closely with executive leadership, IT, Finance, Legal, Security, and business stakeholders to establish procurement priorities, define operational requirements, and ensure alignment with enterprise transformation initiatives.
Drives change management, organizational adoption, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver sustainable business outcomes and maintain continuity of critical technology services. Monitors category performance, supplier effectiveness, contract compliance, and savings realization, providing executive-level reporting and strategic insights to senior leadership.
Champions procurement excellence through the development of scalable processes, governance frameworks, continuous improvement initiatives, and operational efficiencies. Serves as a key contributor to business planning, technology investment decisions, and enterprise transformation efforts. Indirectly manages and influences technology-related spend and company resources while ensuring strong financial stewardship, risk management, and supplier performance across the IT portfolio. #LI-MM2
This role is based in our Deerfield, IL office and is on-site four days a week.
Job Responsibilities:- Creates collaborative business plans with strategic vendors, develops negotiating strategies, and directs the execution of strategic programs. Provides direction and oversees that Directors and Category Managers develop and maintain positive vendor relationships. Approves Director and Category Manager vendor contract negotiations, guaranteeing the attainment of the most advantageous pricing, terms, discounts, allowances, quality, delivery, service and dating (where applicable). Ensures all goods and services meet established standards and legal requirements. Addresses business unit concerns / issues, requests, and questions and resolves within legal/tax and corporate guidelines. Establishes and maintains the sourcing strategy for the enterprise including supply chain strategies and metrics for indirect goods.
- Directs and approves the planning process with Directors and Category Managers in developing and recommending sourcing solutions, channels for distribution, and execution of best practices for the assigned categories. Applies analytics to enable optimized cost savings and ensures an adequate supply chain supply.
- Establishes inventory/ replenishment metrics and builds logistical solutions for the deployment of indirect goods enterprise wide.
- Plans, develops, directs, and implements complex business strategies through the establishment of short/long-range objectives, change management, performance goals, and metrics for each spend category. Collaborates with Operations, Legal, Supply Chain, Tax, Finance, the Business Units, and other customers as needed to champion enterprise wide cross-functional sourcing initiatives. Understands category specific details and store/pharmacy operational principles and produces analytics that contributes to the formation of budgets and effective P&L management by the business unit.
- Directs and executes budgetary cost reduction programs and initiatives that facilitate business owners achieving their business unit goals and financial targets. Assures the appropriate use of capital and financial resources.
- Generates analytics to support these positions.
- Directly manages complex negotiations with key suppliers that require a detailed strategic plan and that have a direct correlation with Corporate operational needs and/or goals. Decision maker and subject matter expert for risk management allowances, terms/conditions, pricing, transportation, pricing and quality control/acceptance.
- Manages the development of policies/procedures to ensure goods and services are available to business units and maintains sufficient inventory levels and/or supply chain availability to support all events to avoid negative budgetary/ P&L impacts. Directs and leads the implementation, management, and development of consistent departmental sourcing activities and automated ordering systems. Develops risk mitigation strategies for key indirect goods.
- Supports the talent development of inter-departmental team members and the overall development of cross-functional teams. Collaborates with Directors, Category Managers, and Associate Category Managers. Sets the example and conducts training sessions for negotiations, financial reviews, business analytics and general management. Establishes and trains staff on methodologies for change management, contract reviews and inventory control.
- Provides continuous leadership to business units to assist in the achievement of their goals and the overall corporate strategies/targets. Consults and advises business unit senior leadership teams/executives on the impact of procurement activities on projects, budgets, and select sourced retail goods.
- Assures proper analysis and application of internal and external industry specific research information, to determine Company direction in designated categories, reasons for pricing increases and/or decreases.
- Conducts benchmarking, financial and business analytics for long range pricing and buy rationalizations.
- Collaborates with the departmental DVP for resource allocation, budgetary control, staff development and sets enterprise-wide sourcing plans to effectively assist in the attainment of the company's P&L. Part of the DVPs senior leadership team and directs department in conjunction or absence of the departmental DVP.
External Basic Qualifications- Bachelor's degree and at least 8 years of experience in developing targets, leading change management and developing strategic sourcing strategies for more than one acquisition category for a retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, or a services company with annual sales in excess of $5 billion.
- Experiences in managing category spend in excess of $1B across multiple acquisition categories.
- At least 10 years' experience applying procurement practices/strategies focused on meeting the business challenges, P&L needs, and the needs of the organization with a minimum of 7 years' experience developing and implementing requirements/change management methodologies to execute strategic sourcing activities.
- At least 5 years' experience developing and implementing requirements to execute and enhance day to day sourcing activities. Must have budgetary management experience and/or P&L management experience.
- Knowledge of the strategic sourcing procurement lifecycle and procurement best practices and methods.
- Experience communicating both verbally (on phone, one-on-one, to groups) and in writing (emails, letters, reports, presentations) to various audiences (work group, team, company management, prospective acquisitions, external clients).
- Experience interacting, collaborating and presenting to senior level executives.
- Intermediate level skill in Microsoft Excel (for example: using SUM function, setting borders, setting column width, inserting charts, using text wrap, sorting, setting headers and footers and/or print scaling).
- Intermediate level skill in Microsoft PowerPoint (for example: applying a theme, formatting character spacing, inserting a picture, changing slide layout and theme colors, adding transitions, customizing slide numbers, changing chart style and/or formatting font).
- Intermediate level skill in Microsoft Word (for example: inserting headers, page breaks, page numbers and tables and/or adjusting table columns)
- At least 5 years of experience contributing to financial decisions in the workplace.
- At least 5 years of direct leadership, indirect leadership and/or cross- functional team leadership.
Preferred Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Information Technology, Finance, Engineering, or a related field; MBA or other advanced degree preferred.
- 2+ years of progressive experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or vendor management, including leadership of IT spend categories.
- Experience building and developing high-performing procurement teams in a matrixed environment.
- Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale transformation initiatives, drive change management, and influence executive stakeholders.
