Strategic Procurement Lead — Data-Driven & AI-Enabled

Syracuse University; City of Syracuse, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Syracuse University seeks a Senior Procurement Specialist to lead supplier relationships, drive cost savings, and support procurement transformation through automation and data analytics. The role emphasizes governance, forecasting, and supplier optimization while ensuring compliance with university policies and regulations.

The position requires 8–10 years in procurement, a relevant bachelor’s degree, and Six Sigma/Kaizen certification.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Finance, or related field.
• 8-10 years of progressively responsible procurement and supply chain experience.
• Six Sigma and/or Kaizen certification
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple high dollar commodities simultaneously.
• Experience with strategic procurement, supplier management, spend analysis, and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Proactively manage multiple commodity portfolios simultaneously, navigating across categories to identify opportunities for cost reduction, efficiencies, and value creation.
• Apply sound procurement fundamentals and best practices across Athletics, Construction, Facilities, IT, Marketing, Operations and Research categories.
• Conduct market research, benchmarking, and supplier analysis to support procurement decisions.
• Monitor market trends, supply chain risks, pricing fluctuations, and inflationary impacts.
• Develop mitigation strategies to reduce supply chain disruptions.
• Multi-task across concurrent procurement activities and shifting priorities while maintaining quality and timeliness.
• Support Strategic Sourcing on RFQs, RFPs as needed.
• Build and maintain strong, productive supplier partnerships in collaboration with Strategic Sourcing.
• Evaluate supplier performance using measurable metrics and scorecards.

Skills

Procurement fundamentals

Commodity management

Supplier relationship management

Excel analysis

ERP systems (Oracle|SAP)

AI-enabled tools

Negotiation

Forecasting

Spend analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management

Tools

Oracle

SAP

PowerPoint

Smartsheet

Job description

Syracuse University seeks a Senior Procurement Specialist to lead supplier relationships, drive cost savings, and support procurement transformation through automation and data analytics. The role emphasizes governance, forecasting, and supplier optimization while ensuring compliance with university policies and regulations.

The position requires 8–10 years in procurement, a relevant bachelor’s degree, and Six Sigma/Kaizen certification.