IT Procurement Manager/it Commercial Manager/it Category Manager

The role
The Category Manager (ITS) provides leadership, direction and maximises value being delivered to the University for the categories under their management. The main activities include determining Division/School requirements, assessing supply markets, developing strategic category plans, and managing supplier contracts, performance, and risk. The Category Manager will engage with senior stakeholders within the RMIT organisation and supplier community to understand long-term university aspirations that can be enabled by third party relationships. The Category Manager will work to deliver process innovation that targets demand management and drive simple and effective use of processes and systems. The Category Manager works closely with other Procurement team members to operationalise best practices, savings initiatives and drive innovation. The position is responsible for supporting the Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing in developing and implementing Procurement Strategies for the assigned categories.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
1. Category Management
• Develop and implement strategic category plans based on market research and whole of life cost analysis to optimise value for money outcomes whilst meeting Divisions/Schools stakeholder needs and expectations;
• Develop a sourcing pipeline and engage the Procurement Specialist(s) for the execution of go-to-market initiatives;
• Develop initiatives to improve spend and Divisions/Schools procurement compliance;
• Build effective relationships and trust with Divisions/Schools and implement category management plan to meet their needs while identifying internal demand management opportunities;
• Build and maintain effective relationship with RMIT University Procurement team in general and Category Management team in specific to maintain awareness of group direction and shared knowledge of assigned categories;
• Identify and manage commercial, contractual, operational, financial, reputational, ethical and supply chain risks to minimise negative impacts on category objectives;
• Provide expert advice to key stakeholders on all aspects of procurement and the procurement category, to encourage innovative practices and support delivery of process and policy directions;
• Collaborate with the other team members and cross-functional working groups to achieve a high-level of performance, integration and consistency in procurement across the category;
• Maintain detailed knowledge of category markets, suppliers and stakeholders to drive category relevant strategies, projects and innovations.
2. Strategic sourcing
• Support sourcing projects, including all key steps such as strategy development, supplier negotiation, award recommendations and supplier contract execution;
• Conduct specific market analysis; spend analysis and stakeholder consultation to propose effective market strategies in the procurement plan to deliver the universities requirements;
• Source and execute frame contracts and/or preferred vendor agreements by pooling demands across the maximize negotiation power and optimize vendor prices;
• Ensure that the probity associated with the source-to-contract process is never compromised by paying particular attention to critical paths in the process including but not limited to the development and execution of the market strategy, bidders list, evaluation criteria and evaluation panel membership.
• Negotiate the most appropriate contract to deliver the universities requirements based on sound procurement principles linked to total cost of ownership, value creation and risk mitigation;
• Engage RMIT Legal and Compliance team at the appropriate points in the process for efficiency and quality of outcome;
• Ensure that contract outcomes are fully documented in accordance with procurement procedures, awarded on time and that the outcomes are clearly communicated to all parties involved and internal stakeholders.
3. Vendor Management
• Maintain and nurture strategic supplier relationships at management levels driving service delivery while extracting value-driven outcomes and challenging suppliers to optimise service outcomes;
• Manage the commercial business relationship with suppliers and support the Divisions/Schools to manage poor supplier performance;
• Create strategic supplier performance scorecards to support supplier performance and contract management;
• Conduct annual performance review and analysis for key vendors with high impact on operation;
• Optimize the number of vendors based on a supply chain optimized design that
- aligns vendors within a vendor management framework
- with clear outcomes of drastically reduced vendor numbers and manageable vendor relationships
- that consolidates spend strategically to generate leverage and service improvement.
4. Control and Compliance
• Ensure probity, transparency and compliance in all activities;
• Member of Internal audit team for purchasing activity audits as required;
• Identify and take action upon actual or potential risks in the course of operation;
• Evaluate on a regular basis the effectiveness of relevant processes and controls, and take up discussion with manager as necessary;
• Maintain sustainable procurement practices aligned with leading practice systems, process, policy, and probity, protecting the credibility of the central procurement function.