Procurement Manager - Technology

JD Group; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail group in Bury St Edmunds is seeking a skilled Sourcing Manager to drive procurement strategies focusing on SAAS and digital solutions. The role entails supporting the Senior Sourcing Manager and enhancing vendor management processes, along with negotiating contracts. Candidates should possess strong negotiation and analytical skills, coupled with at least two years' experience in sourcing within the IT or digital sectors. A degree in Supply Chain Management or a related field is preferred.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience as a Sourcing Manager in IT, SAAS, or On-Line.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and propose solutions.
• Proven track record of building complex relationships.

Responsibilities

• Support the Senior Sourcing Manager with commercial support.
• Manage negotiation, contract work, and vendor management.
• Engage with Digital Trading teams and external suppliers.

Skills

Commercial experience in omni-channel retail

Strong engagement and communication skills

Analytical skills

Negotiation skills

Project management

Education

Degree in Supply Chain Management or related field

Tools

MS Office software

Job description

Sourcing Manager – SAAS & Digital

Responsible to: Snr Sourcing Manager – Tech & Digital

Department: Finance

Location: JD Sports Fashion plc, Bury Head Office

Group Overview

Established in 1981 with a single store in the North-West of England, JD Sports Fashion plc is a leading global omnichannel retailer of sports fashion and outdoor brands. JD is an industry-leading retail business which combines the best of physical and digital retail to give a compelling consumer proposition, enabling its customers to shop seamlessly across all channels. The Group now has over 4,500 stores across 36 countries with a strong presence in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, and is proud of the fact that it always provides its customers with the latest products from the very best brands.

Role Background

Our Sourcing Manager role will support our Senior Sourcing Manager and the wider team with commercial support including risk management, supplier identification, planning and re-tenders across multiple divisions ensuring commercial clauses are negotiated within agreements.

Within the role, the successful candidate(s) will deliver margin, sales, and operational improvements to support our sourcing strategy. This will primarily involve expenditure managed from our UK and European businesses but may expand to world-wide where leverage opportunities exist.

The successful candidate shall bring passion and experience to work with, and challenge experienced divisional colleagues to collectively improve sourcing processes, commercial terms, supplier performance and innovation.

All expenditure is in scope for Technology & On-Line but with a primary focus on SAAS and On-Line. In this role, you will be asked to help support and assist in building an effective procurement strategy for each category. Further to this you conduct activities such as RFP’s, negotiations of commercial agreements, and ongoing vendor management to deliver continuous savings as well as performance and process improvement.

Ensuring ongoing relationship management with key suppliers in the form of business reviews to ensure optimum performance.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities: This is an exciting opportunity to be support an area of the business mid transformation to help create and deliver the Tech & On-Line strategy. The category is diverse, stretching from Software, SAAS through to Service Integrators and Consultancy as well as everything in between. We are looking for a dynamic individual with a passion and enthusiasm for Tech to bring a strong background in SAAS & On-Line Sourcing and support the Senior Sourcing Manager. Acting as a commercial lead for sourcing and commercial activities, the successful candidate(s) shall ensure that negotiation, contract work and on-going vendor management activities are undertaken in accordance with Group and sector best practice, including but not limited to:

• Close engagement with colleagues on matters including revenue/capex budgets, embedding savings, and supporting business cases for new projects and/or investments.
• Transparent and detailed presentation of proposed contract awards, sourcing changes and recommendations.
• Utilising Group Finance platforms and templates for Purchase Orders, tenders and eAuctions to ensure financial and operational transparency.
• Regular engagement with the Group Legal team to minimise risk and maximise commercial leverage via agreements with clearly defined service levels, KPIs and appropriate remedies for non-performance.
• Engage acquisition business contacts to ensure rapid-delivery of financial benefits arising from wider JD-Group commercial leverage.
• Work with the Group Sustainability team to ensure sourcing approach to contribute to Group ESG goals such as: i) Climate Change, ii) Sustainable Sourcing and iii) Recycling and the Circular Economy.
• Act as a trusted adviser and subject matter expert leading procurement projects across all types of services.
• Support the Business in defining process and policy and holding team members to account.
• Partner with the relevant teams to formulate complex service requirements and scope, identify vendors, manage the end-to-end RFP process, provide a supplier evaluation framework, and make recommendations on vendor selection.

Key Relationships

• Digital Trading teams, Product Owners, Core Tech, Transformation, Legal and Finance
• UK and International colleagues and external suppliers

Skills/Experience/Knowledge required

• Commercial experience within fast-paced omni-channel retail and/or relevant commodity/services experience with the ability to manage a high level of ambiguity or change.
• Confidence to own problems and issues, propose solutions and ensure deadlines and/or business goals are achieved.
• A self- starter who has the initiative and confidence to seek out opportunities to deliver value.
• Influence - engage and drive change, owning and resolving issues and challenges.
• Strong engagement and communication skills and experience of successfully delivering process improvements and efficiencies.
• Attention to detail – focused and confident with a breadth of experience in related categories.
• Driven by data and analytics. You bring strong analytical skills with a passion for using data to develop innovative, effective solutions to address business needs, initiate opportunities and deliver margin improvement.
• A strong negotiator with the ability to influence using excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• A builder of strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Organised and deadline-driven, bringing strong project management and analytical skills.
• Autonomous with high level of drive and energy.
• Strategic: you recognise and resolve situations that are ambiguous or challenging and use logic to identify alternatives, evaluate, and present solutions while thinking about contingency plans.
• Confidence to challenge the business where needed.

The Successful Applicant

• A degree in Supply Chain Management, Business or a related field preferred.
• Experience as a Sourcing Manager within the category of IT, SAAS and/or On-Line for 2+ years
• Strong negotiation and leadership skills.
• Proficiency in MS Office software and computer systems.
• Excellent decision-making and strategic thinking abilities.
• A proven track record in building complex relationships.
• A thorough understanding of procurement procedures.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, capable of working in a rapidly changing environment