Procurement Specialist

Cochlear; Sydney; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Cochlear in Sydney, Australia, is seeking a full-time Procurement Specialist based in our Sydney, Macquarie office to develop, implement and execute procurement processes aligned with Cochlear’s strategic objectives in medical device manufacturing. You will manage supplier relationships, oversee buying activities, support strategic sourcing, and ensure consistent performance measurement and compliance.

Join Cochlear to contribute to life-changing hearing solutions and collaborate with

Qualifications

• Proven procurement experience in a commercial environment involving projects, services, or suppliers.
• Ability to manage and assess supplier capabilities and commercial proposals.
• Strong negotiation skills with a track record in supplier management and contracts.
• Understanding of supplier contracts and ability to seek timely guidance for commercial outcomes.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team.
• Strong communication skills and stakeholder relationship-building.
• Knowledge of quality and regulatory systems for medical devices.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders and establish clear communication channels.
• Oversee buying activities including order placement, data maintenance, non-compliance management, inventory, forecasting, stock takes and budget tasks.
• Support Strategic Sourcing by providing inputs for category strategies and executing them.
• Measure supplier performance across delivery, quality, capacity and cost.
• Provide commercial advice related to supplier and contract management.

Skills

Procurement experience

Supplier management

Contract negotiations

Stakeholder communication

Autonomous work

Team collaboration

Quality/regulatory awareness

Job description

Cochlear’s mission is to help people hear and be heard. As the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, Cochlear is dedicated to helping people with moderate to profound hearing loss experience a world full of sound. We aim to transform the way people understand and treat hearing loss and innovate to connect people with future technologies. Our employees tell us that the number one reason they enjoy working for Cochlear is the opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives. Learn and grow with us as we tackle the most complex challenges in helping more people to experience a lifetime of hearing.

The Opportunity

Cochlear has an opportunity for a full-time position of Procurement Specialist based in our Sydney, Macquarie office. In this role, the successful Procurement Specialist will seek to develop, implement, and execute procurement processes and strategies to optimise and continually improve the performance of the Procurement function in delivering Cochlear’s strategy.

Responsibilities include:

• Responsible for supplier and internal stakeholder relationship management and establishing appropriate communication channels.

• Accountable for ensuring that buying activities are performed including but not limited to order placement, maintaining procurement data, non-compliance management, inventory management, forecasting reporting, stock take and budget activities are carried out as directed etc.

• Responsible for supporting Strategic Sourcing by providing all relevant inputs for the development, ratification, and periodic review of category strategies that support the delivery of Cochlear’s strategic initiatives or outcomes. Accountable for the execution of the category strategy.

• Responsible for supplier performance measurement, including but not limited to such measures as delivery, quality, capacity, cost etc.

• Responsible for providing commercial advice and related considerations, to assist internal Cochlear teams in relation to supplier and contract management.

What makes this opportunity unique?

This role works in supporting Strategic Sourcing by ensuring that Procurement are conducting all necessary activities to required milestones within new product developments or projects and to support periodic reporting in line with project requirements.

About You.

As we grow our operations, we are looking for people who share our passion for delivering quality hearing solutions to our customers. To add value to Cochlear in this role, you'll be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:

Required Skills

• Demonstrated Procurement Experience in a commercial environment, incorporating project, service delivery, technology, or supplier management.

• Astute in the management and operation of suppliers with proven ability to assess the capability suppliers and commercial proposals.

• Strong negotiation skills with a proven track record in supplier management and contract negotiations.

• Sound understanding of supplier contracts and the initiative to seek timely advice on technical and operational perspectives from both internal and external sources to ensure the most favourable commercial outcomes.

• Able to work autonomously and as part of a team.

• A strong communicator, able to build positive stakeholder relationships.

• Ability to quickly resolve daily challenges.

• Knowledge of quality and regulatory systems for medical device companies.

Desired Skills

• Manufacturing background.

• Knowledge of and exposure to high-tech manufacturing or engineering-focused manufacturing environments.

• Exposure to advanced sourcing methodologies and models.

• Exposure to Lean methodologies or other continuous improvement tools and thinking.

How we recognise your contribution

At Cochlear we value and welcome the unique contributions, perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds of our employees and aim to build a culture that celebrates and leverages these differences, creating a sense of belonging and enabling our people to realise their full potential. Through our internal programs and employee benefits, we aim to create an environment where our people will feel value and supported. Whether your focus is on continuous learning, professional development or simply finding an environment which enables you to thrive whilst balancing family or personal life commitments, then we have several programs in place to support you.

For more information about Life at Cochlear, visit www.cochlearcareers.com