Senior Procurement Officer - Bookstore

University of British Columbia - Staff; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Procurement Officer to lead procurement activities for their Bookstore. This role involves managing supplier relationships, ensuring compliance with procurement laws, and driving cost-effective purchasing strategies. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in procurement management and vendor relations, with a commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing. Join a dynamic team dedicated to enhancing the student experience through effective supply chain management and innovative procurement practices. This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in a collaborative and supportive environment.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in procurement or related fields.
• Strong knowledge of procurement laws and practices.
• Ability to analyze problems and resolve issues effectively.

Responsibilities

• Manage procurement activities for the Bookstore.
• Ensure compliance with university procurement practices.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to staff in procurement.

Skills

Procurement Management

Vendor Management

Strategic Planning

Analytical Skills

Communication Skills

Project Management

Education

University degree in a relevant discipline

Two year diploma in Purchasing Management

Tools

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Workday

Optimum Control

Job description

Staff - Non Union

Job Category M&P - AAPS Job Profile AAPS Salaried - Supply Management, Level B Job Title Senior Procurement Officer - Bookstore Department Leadership | Bookstore | Student Housing and Community Services Compensation Range $6,747.50 - $9,701.42 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date May 14, 2025

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary
Under the overall direction of the Director – Parking, Bookstore & Campus Mail, the Senior Procurement Officer is responsible for managing procurement activities for the Bookstore at the Point Grey and Okanagan campus, ensuring cost effectiveness commensurate with quality. All activities shall be in accordance with the University s standard procurement practices and adhere to all municipal, provincial and federal procurement laws. The incumbent will be expected to comply with a code of ethics and focus on sourcing products with a sustainable life-cycle.

The position has more involvement with procurement activities of high (and/or unusual) technical and analytical complexity, has involvement with developing business projects, strategies, and process improvement initiatives (such as leading project teams, developing vendor management strategies, analyzing procurement activities and recommend improvements) as well as has an active coaching/mentoring role with SHCS purchasing staff and SHCS business divisions management and staff.

Organizational Status
The Senior Procurement Officer provides procurement support for the Bookstore and reports directly to the Director – Parking, Bookstore & Campus Mail. Works closely and liaises with all levels of Bookstore management and employees and establishes and maintains close working relationships with administration, management, staff, UBC community, students and suppliers.

The role is part of the Bookstore Purchasing team which is responsible for a complex and wide variety of procurement activities including products for resale. There is a seasonal volatility in the products and services needed within the Bookstore and appropriate responsiveness is a requirement. The Bookstore Purchasing team is directly aligned and works collaboratively with central UBC Payment and Procurement Services. The position will organize work to ensure that they are present during peak service and operational times to support the department.

Work Performed

The Senior Procurement Officer works independently and proactively to support the Bookstore. The Senior Procurement Officers main areas of responsibility are: tendering processes; strategic procurement of equipment, services and supplies; supporting supplier relationships; providing expertise and guidance to staff engaged in supply chain activities.

1. Procurement of Good & Services

• Ensures that all procurement is in compliance with regulations and laws and related procurement practices in accordance with the University s standard practices.

• Carries out key buying and demand planning activities

• Plans and launches new items and responsible for end of life planning.

• Manages forecasting and distribution of goods and services.

• Maintains purchasing best practices including supplier reviews and supplier evaluations.

• Liaises directly with suppliers as well as responsible for management of supplier relationships.

• Responsible for mastering Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and improving buying efficiencies.

• Provides ongoing guidance on inventory management to warehouse and internal Bookstore teams, including overseeing the creation of SKU, and price and coding changes within two separate data bases.

• Works on continuous improvement of services and reducing costs.

• Promotes and adopts Sustainable Supply Chain concepts.

• Reviews and monitors purchase requests to ensure compliance.

• Provides consistent sourcing and contracting activities through the use of standard tendering document templates (primarily Request for Proposals, Request for Qualifications, Request for Tenders), maintains adherence to established Supply management sourcing processes and practices.

• Reviews tender and award documentation with respect to the developed evaluation criteria.

• Responsible for awarding a contract with consensus from the respective department.

• Responsible for contributing to the category management activities (contract management; effective sourcing research and development etc) of the Bookstore.

• Initiates, identifies, executes tracks and reports on cost saving activities and opportunities.

2. Providing Procurement Guidance and Assistance

• Provides guidance and assistance to the Bookstore management and staff in all aspects of procurement including the interpretation of related policies and procedures.

• Coordinates and resolves problems with end users (SHCS unit and/or suppliers).

• Demonstrates the procurement function as an effective resource for addressing supply chain issues within the Bookstore.

• Provides the Bookstore with overall Purchasing Operations advice and education as/when required. Escalates Purchasing Operations issues to the Director as/when appropriate.

• Maintains active relationships with, as well as current knowledge of Bookstore business divisions and provides technical knowledge/assistance for routine, intermediate and complex situations.

3. Records and Document Management

• Prepares and maintains accurate records and documentation on all solicitations, responses, purchases, contracts, correspondence and related follow-up.

• Prepares, or assists in the preparation of procurement related reports.

• Responsible for ensuring that assigned tender activities are acted upon and completed with the targeted turnaround times Responsible for contributing to and tracking cost savings/negotiated savings as Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

• Responsible for contributing to and tracking cost savings/negotiated savings as KPI on all procurements.

4. Supplier Development and Maintenance

• Promotes and develops contact with external suppliers to establish new sources of supply.

• Creates and maintains vendor relationships. Coordinates and/or conducts interviews with current suppliers to improve level of customer services.

• Collects and reports statistics to measure commodity and/or supplier performance.

• Assists the Purchasing Manager in establishing vendor management strategies.

5. Leadership and Mentorship

• Analyzes current procurement activities and recommends improvements through more efficient procurement methods, quality discounts, standardization, value analysis and cooperative procurement.

• Shares ideas and concerns with team members and Bookstore management.

• Actively engages, advises and mentors junior Purchasing staff and Bookstore business divisions management and staff to develop their skills surrounding procurement and support diverse sourcing and contractual activities; providing procurement and contractual expertise and guidance, and delivering procurement process education.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

SHCS is an ancillary service and therefore is self-funded. The Senior Procurement Officer is a key stakeholder and plays an important role in the successful delivery of optimum procurement tools for the Bookstore. This position acts as a liaison between industry vendors and the University.

Decisions and actions taken or ignored by the Senior Procurement Officer will have a direct impact on how efficiently and effectively the systems and processes will perform and function. Errors in judgment or failure to act decisively could have a detrimental effect within the Bookstore and on the campus at large. This position acts as a liaison between industry vendors and the University. Recommendations made by the Senior Procurement Officer which have been poorly analyzed can lead to increased costs to the Bookstore and/or negative legal consequence and could have adverse reputational impact for the Bookstore and UBC.

Supervision Received

Reports to the Director – Parking, Bookstore & Campus Mail and works closely with Bookstore management and staff. Works independently within established policies and guidelines. Decisions have a direct impact on the success of the Bookstore’s operational goals, policies and procedures. Work is reviewed in terms of exercise of sound judgment in contract management.

Supervision Given

Provides direction, coaching and mentoring to Bookstore management and staff to assist with procurement for their divisions and business units.

Minimum Qualifications

University degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of four years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

Two year diploma in Purchasing Management. Degree in a business related discipline with some public procurement experience considered an asset. Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP) Designation, Certificate in Purchasing or Diploma in Supply Management. Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. Ability to understand and apply policies, procedures and instructions. Ability to analyze problems, identify key information and issues and effectively resolve. Computer experience to advanced level with spreadsheet and database software; and to intermediate excel, word processing, email, and presentation software required. Experience with Workday and/or Optimum Control is considered an asset. Superior planning, interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills are essential. Project management experience preferred. Demonstrated ability to work with multiple priorities; ability to work calmly under pressure of critical deadlines or heavy volumes during peak periods. Ability to think conceptually (i.e. use creative, conceptual, or inductive reasoning or thought processes to identify patterns in complex data, and identify key or underlying issues in complex situations). Demonstrated ability to take initiative, exercise discretion and sound judgment in complex situations. Fast learner with strong numerical reasoning and analytical ability, and inherent attentiveness to detail, and the ability to multi-task and deal with changing priorities.


People & Relationship Management Experience/Skills:

Effective leadership, motivational, interpersonal, and communication skills are essential. Strong negotiating skills, influence and persuasion skills are required. Building trusting relationships; strong relationship building and people skills to foster cooperation between diverse groups; the ability to work as an effective team member. Excellent customer service skills and customer focused approach to work.


Procurement Experience/Skills

Experience in financial reporting, budget planning, life cycle costing and forecasting required. Detailed knowledge of general procurement principles and applications. Managing vendor risk and compliance. Experience and knowledge of University policies and procedures in procurement preferred. Experience with public procurement an asset. Familiarity with Food Service industry and/or Residential Housing industry and/or Facility and Building Services industry preferred.