Job Description

Manager, Procurement Services

The University of Saskatchewan has some of the most innovative people doing groundbreaking research and pedagogy. The Procurement Officer is a key member of the Enterprise Procurement team that provides strategic analysis and support to colleges and units in order to procure the goods and services they need to achieve their goals, while balancing value, timeliness, risk, and cost.

The university offers flexible work arrangements; access to the university\'s recreation services; ongoing professional development and mentorship and a comprehensive benefits and pension program.

Primary Purpose:

Reporting to the Director, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Services, the Manager leads the procurement services area in order to meet the acquisition of goods and services needs of the university. The Manager oversees the procurement processes, taking into consideration stakeholder engagement but acting as a subject matter expert with respect to procurement processes, legislative considerations and trade and funding agency agreements, with a keen focus on operational excellence, continuous improvement, and process effectiveness.

The Manager, as a leader within the procurement office, is expected to provide mentoring and guidance to other members of the procurement team across the organization and to act as an ambassador for procurement with our partners. The Manager works closely with a variety of team members and stakeholders to ensure that USask\'s procurement services are efficient, effective, and meet the expectations of a publicly funded Canadian university.

Nature of Work:

Working in a team environment, the Manager is responsible for overseeing the university\'s procurement services functions. The Manager will lead the organization to adopt best practices to enhance procurement service delivery, while maximizing the value of the university\'s spend and minimizing risk. This position oversees a team of Procurement Officer\'s that deliver a variety of

procurement services including but not limited to full scale sourcing and contracting activities, transactional activities, and relationship management. The Manager develops and updates procurement processes and guidelines, exercises contract signing authority, and coaches, mentors, and trains members on the procurement team.

The Manager functions in a highly demanding environment that requires constant scanning for issues and challenges against multiple priorities and demands on limited resources. Decisions ranging from the mundane to the critical are required on a routine basis. The work requires the ability to delegate and prioritize large volumes of procurement activity. Having a keen sense of team capacity and workload demands is essential in order to create and follow service delivery levels.

The Manager is expected to cultivate relationships across campus and with all levels of the organization to champion the function and its continuous evolution. The Manager is expected to maintain a balance of collaboration and expectation setting with internal and external stakeholders, to support procurement service delivery and provides expert advice and guidance where required to advance service delivery goals and objectives. They are expected to stay current with trends in industry, identify opportunities for improvements in university practices and support the implementation of procurement enhancement activities.

Accountabilities

Decision Making

• Responsible for budget, people resources, and strategic decisions in line with operational and strategic plans for their area.
• Directs and implements policies, processes and procedures for their area, and related technical decisions and recommendations.

• Monitors department workload to prioritize procurement projects and ensures the workload is distributed and managed to meet deadlines.
• Enters into contractual relationships on behalf of the university.

Stakeholder Service Delivery

• Builds effective relationships with external suppliers/agencies and internal business partners to drive results and influence business decisions.
• Collaborates with all areas of the university to ensure effective service delivery, while promoting procurement best practices to ensure best value outcomes.
• Supports and optimizes an extensive domestic and international supplier base
• Liaises with various government departments and regulatory agencies to confirm compliance with policies, procedures, regulatory, and legislative requirements.

Problem Solving

• Proactively oversees and supports collaborative and cross-functional solutions to issues identified, tending to matters with a varying degree of risk and potential organization wide impact.

• Uses critical management analysis skills to identify issues and collaborative opportunities to enable the unit and the university to meet its goals.
• Makes critical recommendations on new ideas and approaches to issues and opportunities in area of responsibility.

Leadership & Development

• Leads a growing team involving hiring, onboarding, training, and performance and development activities.
• Provides all aspects of leadership to the Procurement Services department.
• Provides expert advice and recommendations to campus on procurement and supply management strategies, incorporating legal, legislative regulatory, and industry issues and trends.
• Identifies key opportunities to develop individuals that will enhance and align their skills and abilities to meet organizational goals.
• Provides training and day-to-day support on procurement systems, policy and processes for business units and/or corporate staff involved in purchasing activities.

Qualifications

Education: University or post-secondary education in a relevant field, preferably in Business or Operations Management. SCMP designation or post-graduate education in business or related field is considered an asset. An equivalent combination of education and directly related experience may be considered.

Experience:

• Relevant experience in procurement, supply chain management, or operations management with increasing levels of responsibility and authority is required.
• Experience interacting with all levels of an organization, from administrative staff to senior leadership is required.
• Experience with competitive procurements, contract law, and supply chain management is required.
• Proficient in leading teams and processes, as well as demonstrated capability in process improvement and system optimization.
• Established project management skills, including planning and decision-making, identifying priorities, and bringing projects to successful completion in a timely manner while maintaining a focus on high standards and quality is required.
• Experience aggregating information from multiple sources efficiently and accurately to support business inquiries and decision making - must work well with data to draw business conclusions.
• Experience with the preparation and analysis of procurement data, metrics, and key performance indicators is an asset.
• Experience in public sector procurement is an asset.

Skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and oral; demonstrated proficiency in analytical and negotiating skills; demonstrated ability to problem solve under deadline pressures and competing priorities; demonstrated ability in handling procurement within an ERP system; proven Microsoft Office application skills, including SharePoint and expert MS Excel skills; and the demonstrated ability to lead in a team environment.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

Department: Enterprise Procurement
Status: Permanent
Employment Group: Exempt
Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1.0
Salary: The salary range, based on 1.0 FTE, is $87,000.00 - 145,750.00 per annum. The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience.
Salary Family (if applicable):
Salary Phase/Band: Salary Band 4
Posted Date: 3/27/2023
Closing Date: 4/23/2023 at 6:00 pm CST
Number of Openings: 1
Work Location: May be eligible for hybrid work under the terms of USask\'s Alternative Workspace Guidelines

The successful applicant will be required to provide the following current verification(s) where \'Yes\' is indicated below. Further information is available at:

Criminal Record Check: Not Applicable
Driver\'s License and Abstract Check: Not Applicable
Education/Credential Verification: Not Applicable
Vulnerable Sector Check: Not Applicable

Please review the University of Saskatchewan\'s for faculty, staff and students in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The University is committed to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion, and are proud to support career opportunities for Indigenous peoples to reflect the community we serve. We are dedicated to recruiting individuals who will enrich our work and learning environments. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. We are committed to providing accommodations to those with a disability or medical necessity. If you require an accommodation to participate in the recruitment process, please notify us and we will work together on the accommodation request. We continue to grow our partnerships with Indigenous communities across the province, nationally, and internationally and value the unique perspective that Indigenous employees provide to strengthen these relationships. Verification of Indigenous Membership/Citizenship at the University of Saskatchewan is led and determined by the and Standing Committee in accordance with the processes developed to enact the policy. Successful candidates that assert Indigenous membership/citizenship will be asked to complete the verification process of Indigenous membership/citizenship with documentation. The University of Saskatchewan\'s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the M\xc3\xa9tis. We pay our respects to the First Nations and M\xc3\xa9tis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another. Together, we are uplifting Indigenization to a place of prominence at the University of Saskatchewan.

University of Saskatchewan