Manager, Sourcing

Western Governors University; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 104,000 - 187,200; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Healthcare

Retirement plan

Wellbeing program

Tuition discount

Flexible time off

Paid holidays

Job summary

Western Governors University in Raleigh, NC is seeking a strategic Manager, Sourcing to plan, direct, and coordinate procurement of Academic software and services across the university. This leader will guide a team of sourcing professionals and manage high-value initiatives.

The role requires strong negotiation, business judgment, and a passion for delivering value through effective supplier management, procurement processes, and stakeholder partnerships.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Supply Chain, or a related field.
• 5 years of experience with procurement or purchasing.
• 1 year in a leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Lead sourcing, tendering, due diligence, and contract negotiation activities for software, services, and other assigned categories.
• Review planning, forecasting, and trend analysis to anticipate business needs and support sourcing strategies.
• Oversee the development and review of specifications for software, services, and supplies prior to market engagement.
• Guide stakeholders and vendors through sourcing and competitive bidding processes, ensuring thorough evaluation of vendor capabilities, strengths, and gaps.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, and conditions to minimize risk and maximize value for the university.
• Monitor marketplace trends and pricing to ensure competitiveness across assigned categories.
• Manage and develop a team of sourcing specialists, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and cross-functional coordination.
• Support the purchasing process within the Procure-to-Pay lifecycle, including vendor registration, requisition management, and purchase order issuance.
• Drive effective utilization of procurement technologies, including Workday, ServiceNow Procurement and Event Management, and other sourcing tools.
• Contribute to procurement policies, procedures, training materials, instructions, and webinars that promote best practices across the organization.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Skills

Negotiation

Microsoft Office Suite

Communication

Leadership

Strategic sourcing

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business or Supply Chain

Tools

Workday

ServiceNow Procurement

Event Management

Job description

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals.

The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders.

Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.

A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Management_Executive 608 Pay Range: $104,000.00 - $187,200.00

Job Description

WGU is seeking a strategic and collaborative Manager, Sourcing to help plan, direct, and coordinate the procurement of Academic software and services across the university. This leader will oversee a team of sourcing professionals while also managing complex, high-value, and strategic sourcing initiatives. The ideal candidate brings strong negotiation expertise, sound business judgment, and a passion for delivering value through effective supplier management, procurement processes, and stakeholder partnerships.

What You’ll Do

• Lead sourcing, tendering, due diligence, and contract negotiation activities for software, services, and other assigned categories.
• Review planning, forecasting, and trend analysis to anticipate business needs and support sourcing strategies.
• Oversee the development and review of specifications for software, services, and supplies prior to market engagement.
• Guide stakeholders and vendors through sourcing and competitive bidding processes, ensuring thorough evaluation of vendor capabilities, strengths, and gaps.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, and conditions to minimize risk and maximize value for the university.
• Monitor marketplace trends and pricing to ensure competitiveness across assigned categories.
• Manage and develop a team of sourcing specialists, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and cross-functional coordination.
• Support the purchasing process within the Procure-to-Pay lifecycle, including vendor registration, requisition management, and purchase order issuance.
• Drive effective utilization of procurement technologies, including Workday, ServiceNow Procurement and Event Management, and other sourcing tools.
• Contribute to procurement policies, procedures, training materials, instructions, and webinars that promote best practices across the organization.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

What You’ll Bring

What's Required

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Supply Chain, or a related field.
• 5 years of experience with procurement or purchasing.
• 1 year in a leadership role.

Core Capabilities

• Strong negotiation and organizational skills.
• Excellent decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent skills in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to learn new technologies and adapt to changing priorities.
• Ability to communicate effectively to improve teamwork, decision-making, and collaboration.
• Ability to work cooperatively across teams and organizational levels to achieve shared objectives.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, manage risk, and make informed decisions with incomplete information.
• Ability to remain confident under pressure and effectively manage challenging situations.
• Strong outcomes-based orientation with a proven ability to set and achieve goals.
• Ability to foster a sense of belonging, build team morale, and lead cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to take on new challenges, quickly learn unfamiliar tasks, and share knowledge with others.

Bonus Points

• Experience with competitive bidding.
• Experience in higher education.
• Experience supporting procurement technology platforms such as Workday and ServiceNow.

What to Expect

At WGU, our mission drives everything we do, including how we hire. Our interview experience is designed to give qualified candidates the opportunity to show their best work through meaningful conversations and collaboration. We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission.

• Introductory call
• Hiring manager interview
• Senior leader interview
• Final interview

Work Location

This is a full-time, in-office position requiring five days per week in our Raleigh, North Carolina office, designed to foster the collaboration and connection that fuel our best work.

Visa Sponsorship

While we welcome applicants from all backgrounds, WGU is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this role.

Travel Requirement

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses.

• medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare
• health savings account and flexible spending account
• basic and voluntary life insurance
• disability coverage
• accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages
• legal and identity theft coverage
• retirement savings plan
• wellbeing program
• discounted WGU tuition
• and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.

Accommodations

Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [e-mail].

In 1997, a coalition of 19 U.S. governors founded Western Governors University with a singular vision: to make higher education more accessible by offering full degree programs online. Starting small, we quickly expanded. Today, we’re one of the largest accredited online universities in the U.S.