Lead, Strategic Sourcing

Nova Scotia Health Authority; Halifax; Hybrid; CAD 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

IWK Health in Halifax is seeking a Lead, Strategic Sourcing to drive procurement policy compliance and continuous improvement across the Strategic Sourcing Coordinators. You will validate documentation, train staff, and coordinate audits with leadership to ensure timely, high-quality service.

The role emphasizes collaboration, strong analytical skills, and the ability to manage complex supplier relationships in a healthcare setting. Start ASAP with a 75-hour biweekly schedule.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a related field is required. A combination of equivalent education, certification and related experience may be considered.
• Recognized professional supply chain or purchasing diplomas / designations / certifications, and other related certifications such as Supply Chain Management Professional, Public Sector Procurement Professional, Project Management Professional, LEAN, Change Management an asset.
• Minimum five (5) years' experience in a procurement role required.
• Minimum two (2) years’ supervisory and/or management experience required.
• Working in procurement with a public sector entity, preferably in a clinical / healthcare procurement an asset.
• Working with an ERP system, preferably with SAP preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software.
• Leadership skills including team building, influencing, conflict resolution, coaching, mentoring, motivation, delegation, change leadership, and oversight.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Effective work practice - accountable, dependable, flexible, and results-oriented; a self-starter who sets goals and meets deadlines and works well independently as well as part of a team.
• Effective research and analytical skills, and attention to detail.
• Knowledge and understanding of strategic corporate needs, expectations, and priorities.
• Recognizes time-sensitive and critical issues and ensures a timely response.
• Demonstrates focus on developing a culture of customer service.
• Establishment and maintenance of strong inter and intra-departmental relationships.
• Pursuit of opportunities to enhance client experience through structural, policy, and reporting innovations.
• Ensures staff and client confidentiality.
• Sound judgement, and sufficient diplomacy to support the Procurement team and leadership across IWK.
• Knowledge of trade agreements and policy defined by the Province of Nova Scotia.
• Competencies in other languages an asset.

Responsibilities

• Validate the integrity, consistency, quality, and compliance of documentation for internal and external clients and vendors.
• Provide day-to-day training, coaching, disciplinary action, troubleshooting, workload allocation, interpretation of legal documents, and policy application support.
• Support SSC by ensuring audit requirements are met and presenting audit requirements as requested.
• Champion continuous improvement by designing and monitoring process changes to improve efficiency and service quality.
• Maintain relationships across IWK and with leadership to align practices with industry standards.

Skills

Team leadership

Influencing

Conflict resolution

Coaching

Mentoring

Change leadership

Delegation

Communication skills

Problem solving

Time management

Education

Undergraduate degree in related field

Public sector procurement certifications asset

Supply chain management professional designation (asset)

Tools

SAP

Microsoft Office

Job description

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Req ID: 226448
Department/Program: Procurement , Supply Chain & Strategic Sourcing
Location:Halifax
Type of Employment: Permanent Hourly FT ( 100% FTE) x 1 position(s)
Start Date: ASAP
Union Status: Non-union , Management/Non Union Bargaining Unit
Compensation: $ 39.0515 - $ 47.8381 /hour
Closing Date: 22-Sep-26 (Applications are accepted until 23:59 Atlantic Time)

IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults and families each year across the Atlantic region. We have a team of approximately 4000 employees, physicians, volunteers and learners at sites across Nova Scotia . People build careers with IWK Health with our focus on training and mentorship opportunities. We recognize each other’s talent and celebrate our successes. We collaborate in modern facilities or virtually from home, align our work to our values , and enjoy access to enhanced benefits and wellness programs. We are proud to support our patients, families and communities and are grateful for the generous donor support we receive.

Promoting an anti-racist environment, and calling out discrimination as we work and provide care, is important to us. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants who have lived here for many thousands of years prior to colonization. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country. Nova Scotia has the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people than any other province or territory in the country. We are active in our work to eliminate discrimination, but have more work to do to build that trust, acknowledge our biases and reduce the barriers our diverse communities face. We want IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space of equity and belonging in the care we provide and the employment we offer. We welcome all interested persons who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Manager, Contracts & Procurement, the Lead, Strategic Sourcing is a subject matter expert in procurement policies, processes, standards, and best practices. They are responsible for validating the integrity, consistency, quality, and compliance of documentation received and produced, for both internal and external clients and vendors. They support the Strategic Sourcing Coordinators (SSC) by providing day-to-day training, coaching, disciplinary action, troubleshooting, workload allocation, interpretation of legal documents, and other support on interpretation and application of policies.
The SSC role is intended as a balance between being service- and solution-oriented, while ensuring that audit requirements for public sector procurement are being met. The Lead, Strategic Sourcing supports this by measuring and managing key performance indicators and audits.
The Lead, Strategic Sourcing plays an important role in ensuring that work performed by the SSCs is completed in a manner consistent with the expectations of the Office of the Auditor General. They facilitate the presentation of audit requirements as requested, including walkthroughs, provision of supporting documentation, etc. They work with the Manager to ensure that audit requirements are anticipated and met in a timely and satisfactory manner.
The Lead, Strategic Sourcing is the champion for continuous improvement for the SSCs. They identify, design, implement, monitor, and manage process changes and innovations that improve efficiency and quality of service delivered. They are aware of current best practices in the industry and support the team in evolving to align with these practices.

Hours of Work

75 hours biweekly, Monday – Friday

Your Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a related field is required. A combination of equivalent education, certification and related experience may be considered.
• Recognized professional supply chain or purchasing diplomas / designations / certifications, and other related certifications such as Supply Chain Management Professional, Public Sector Procurement Professional, Project Management Professional, LEAN, Change Management an asset.
• Minimum five (5) years' experience in a procurement role required.
• Minimum two (2) years’ supervisory and/or management experience required.
• Working in procurement with a public sector entity, preferably in a clinical / healthcare procurement an asset.
• Working with an ERP system, preferably with SAP preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software.
• Leadership skills including team building, influencing, conflict resolution, coaching, mentoring, motivation, delegation, change leadership, and oversight.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Effective work practice - accountable, dependable, flexible, and results-oriented; a self-starter who sets goals and meets deadlines and works well independently as well as part of a team.
• Effective research and analytical skills, and attention to detail.
• Knowledge and understanding of strategic corporate needs, expectations, and priorities.
• Recognizes time-sensitive and critical issues and ensures a timely response.
• Demonstrates focus on developing a culture of customer service.
• Establishment and maintenance of strong inter and intra-departmental relationships.
• Pursuit of opportunities to enhance client experience through structural, policy, and reporting innovations.
• Ensures staff and client confidentiality.
• Sound judgement, and sufficient diplomacy to support the Procurement team and leadership across IWK.
• Knowledge of trade agreements and policy defined by the Province of Nova Scotia.
• Competencies in other languages an asset.

Thank you for your interest in IWK Health.

Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If we invite you to participate in an assessment process (such as an interview or testing) you have the right to request accommodation. Please discuss your needs when invited to the assessment process.

This is a Management/Non Union bargaining unit position. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees for unionized positions. Successful applicants changing unions, bargaining units or employment status, are advised to seek clarification regarding their seniority, benefits, and vacation entitlement and/or usage, prior to accepting the position.

An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion and satisfactory results of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials.

If you are an employee of IWK Health, please apply through the internal careers page to ensure you are flagged as an internal applicant.