Sr. Procurement Specialist

At American Equity we offer leading annuity products that help empower our clients to fulfill their needs and wants in retirement. Our success comes from hiring high-energy individuals who embody the beliefs that drive our unique culture. We currently fund over half a million retirements nationwide, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, for over thirty years with satellite offices in Charlotte, NC and New York, NY.

GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE JOB:   

The Senior Procurement Specialist is responsible for the effective and policy-compliant sourcing and contracting and buying of products and services, including on-premise and cloud-based (SaaS-based) solutions in support of functional requirements underlying business operations.  The incumbent additionally conducts supplier and vendor quality and contract SLA compliance reviews, manages ongoing supplier and vendor relationships, and assesses solution efficacy as part of contract renewals negotiations.  Considerable independent judgment and discretion is required with negotiations and vendor and supplier selection. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  

• Leads competitive sourcing engagements through the translation of business objectives into defined requirements.
• Drives the creation and analysis of Requests for Proposal, Proofs of Concept, and similar solution analysis activities.
• Evaluates quotations, proposals, and bids with technology and business stakeholders to collaboratively recommend the best solutions as a combined element of product, vendor, service, quality, terms, and pricing.
• Leads negotiations with vendors and suppliers to arrive at the most favorable contract, service, and pricing outcomes across Master Services Agreements, Statements of Work, Service Orders, and similar contractual binders.
• Collaborates with corporate attorneys to assess and evaluate contractual terms; clarifies the scope and need for specific procurement initiatives while recommending contract improvements as part of Legal reviews.
• Partners with project managers as required to deliver new projects on schedule and within defined scope.
• Performs third party risk and vendor management related activities including but not limited to: providing reporting to manage vendor performance, vendor risk assessments, contract lifecycle management and related activities.
• Conducts post-procurement performance reviews to assess the efficacy of product implementations after acquisition; report findings to senior leadership.
• Maintains inventories of existing vendor and reseller relationships, points of contact, service and escalation paths, service level agreements and compliance, and current spend.
• Develops and provides relevant analytics and metrics across relevant procurement categories.
• Manages relationships with external vendors and internal stakeholders (with a large concentration of technology vendors) and their overall lifecycle management.
• Identifies areas of consolidation and cost savings across various products and preferred vendors/resellers.
• Assists management in the drive toward a strategic approach to procurement, including such concepts as social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and similar important but indirect procurement considerations.
• Communicates procurement sourcing procedures and operating standards to staff throughout the organization.
• Maintains individual skill set by seeking out training in response to emerging procurement trends and strategies within the field; suggest tangible improvements to corporate operations where beneficial.
• Responds to customer requests both accurately and timely and escalates to management instances where negative feedback is received or where established service level agreements will not be met.
• Performs other related work as assigned. 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Direct Reports:  0 

General Description of Indirect Reports (2 and 3-downs):  0 

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:  

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, business administration, finance or related field of study; plus three (3) years of related experience or equivalent education and/or experience.
• Experience with contract negotiations, vendor management, and sourcing strategies in the technology procurement field is required. 

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS:

Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM), Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM), Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), and Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) preferred. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:   

• Strong business acumen including ability to understand non-technical business topics.
• Broad understanding of procurement best practices and procedures, preferably with a focus in the technology industry.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite with expertise in MS Excel and MS Word.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively present information and respond to questions.
• Demonstrate competency in time management techniques required to actively manage multiple competing priorities.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Mathematical skills and strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work cooperatively and successfully with employees, customers, and other outside third parties.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals and technical/operational procedures.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to successfully handle pressure, provide difficult feedback and meet deadlines in a fast-paced work environment.

Travel is possible in this role; travel may occur for vendor meetings and assessments, or training needs

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