Procurement Specialist

The opportunity

The Procurement Specialist delivers procurement and commercial outcomes across assigned categories, portfolios, and functional priorities. The role manages sourcing, contracting, renewals, supplier performance, reporting, and governance activities, while contributing to initiatives that strengthen procurement tools, processes, insights, and ways of working. 

Working within established policies and approval authorities, the Procurement Specialist independently leads assigned work of appropriate scope and complexity and supports broader or more complex priorities in partnership with Category Managers and procurement leadership. Individual assignments may place greater emphasis on day-to-day commercial delivery, category support, supplier management, data and reporting, or procurement transformation based on business needs and team priorities. 

The role combines sound procurement judgment, strong stakeholder partnership, and a continuous-improvement mindset to deliver value, manage risk, and improve the effectiveness and maturity of the Procurement function. 

Who you'll work with

The Procurement Specialist sits within the Procurement team and reports to the Director, Strategic Procurement. The role works closely with Category Managers, procurement leadership, and other procurement colleagues to deliver assigned commercial and functional priorities. 

The role works regularly with business stakeholders and partners across Finance, Legal, Risk, Compliance, and other functions to support sourcing, contracting, renewals, supplier management, and procurement governance activities. Externally, the role works directly with suppliers and service providers throughout the procurement lifecycle. 

What you'll do

Procurement & Sourcing Execution 

• Manage assigned procurement activities and categories of appropriate scope and complexity from intake and planning through sourcing, negotiation, contracting, implementation, and renewal. 

• Lead competitive sourcing activities for assigned spend, including RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluations, and commercial negotiations. 

• Partner with Category Managers and procurement leadership on broader, higher-risk, or more complex initiatives, contributing analysis, planning, documentation, coordination, and commercial recommendations. 

• Work with stakeholders to understand requirements, timelines, and commercial objectives and translate them into effective procurement approaches. 

• Conduct market and supplier research to support sourcing decisions and identify potential suppliers and commercial opportunities. 

• Support the evaluation of supplier proposals, commercial terms, pricing, and total cost considerations. 

• Deliver value through competitive sourcing, negotiation, demand discipline, cost optimization, and effective supplier management. 

Contracting & Renewals 

• Manage lower-complexity contract and renewal activities, coordinating with business stakeholders, Legal, Risk, and other partners as . 

• Maintain visibility of upcoming contract expiries and renewals and proactively initiate procurement activity to support timely completion. 

• Coordinate commercial and contractual discussions with suppliers and internal stakeholders. 

• Support Category Managers with contracting activities for larger or more complex supplier engagements. 

• Ensure required procurement, contracting, risk, and approval activities are completed before commitments are made. 

• Maintain accurate and complete contract and procurement documentation. 

Category & Stakeholder Support 

• Provide flexible procurement support across categories based on business demand, procurement priorities, and team capacity. 

• Support Category Managers with spend analysis, demand planning, supplier research, market intelligence, and other category management activities. 

• Respond to day-to-day stakeholder procurement needs and provide practical guidance on procurement processes and requirements. 

• Build effective working relationships with stakeholders and provide responsive, commercially focused procurement support. 

• Identify when procurement activities involve greater complexity or risk and engage the appropriate Category Manager or procurement leader. 

Supplier Management 

• Support supplier governance and performance management activities across assigned spend. 

• Monitor supplier performance against agreed expectations, KPIs, service levels, and contractual commitments where applicable. 

• Coordinate supplier performance reviews, follow-up actions, and issue resolution. 

• Support Category Managers in managing more strategic or higher-risk supplier relationships. 

• Identify opportunities to improve supplier performance, commercial outcomes, and overall value. 

Procurement Operations, Governance & Reporting 

• Maintain accurate procurement records, sourcing documentation, contract information, and system updates. 

• Maintain visibility of sourcing, contracting, and renewal activity and provide regular updates on status, actions, and upcoming requirements. 

• Support procurement reporting, spend analysis, pipeline management, and tracking of value delivered. 

• Ensure procurement activities comply with applicable policies, intake processes, approval requirements, and documentation standards. 

• Support audit readiness by maintaining complete and accurate procurement records. 

• Identify and implement practical opportunities to improve procurement processes, tools, reporting, documentation, knowledge, and stakeholder experience. 

Functional Improvement & Transformation 

• Lead or support defined improvement initiatives with clear objectives, timelines, deliverables, and measures of success. 

• Develop or refine templates, playbooks, dashboards, reports, guidance, training materials, and knowledge resources that strengthen consistent procurement execution. 

• Analyze spend, pipeline, supplier, process, and performance information and translate findings into practical recommendations for procurement leadership and stakeholders. 

• Support the rollout and adoption of new tools, processes, reporting approaches, and governance requirements through communication, documentation, feedback, and follow-up. 

• Contribute to business cases, executive-ready materials, progress updates, and benefit tracking for priority procurement initiatives. 

Decision making and accountability 
The Procurement Specialist independently plans and delivers assigned sourcing, contracting, supplier, reporting, and improvement activities within established policies, approval authorities, and agreed priorities. The role determines appropriate day-to-day approaches, evaluates commercial information, recommends actions, and coordinates stakeholders to resolve issues. Matters involving material financial exposure, elevated risk, policy exceptions, or significant enterprise impact are referred to procurement leadership and relevant control partners with clear analysis and recommendations. The role has no direct people-management accountability but provides leadership through ownership of assigned work, coordination, subject-matter contribution, and influence. 

What you'll need

• University degree in business, supply chain, finance, commerce, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 

• Professional procurement, supply chain, or project management certification is considered an asset. 

• Solid knowledge of procurement and strategic sourcing practices, including requirements gathering, market assessment, competitive sourcing, supplier evaluation, negotiation, and value tracking. 

• Sound understanding of commercial and contractual concepts, process improvement, procurement governance, reporting, and change adoption, with the judgment to identify when specialist support is . 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate commercial information and translate it into practical recommendations. 

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple sourcing, contracting, renewal, and stakeholder activities concurrently. 

• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, with a practical, responsive, and service-oriented approach. 

• Working knowledge of procurement systems, sourcing tools, and standard business applications used for sourcing, spend analysis, reporting, and contract management. 

• Approximately five years of experience in procurement, category management, strategic sourcing, procurement operations, transformation, or a related commercial role within a complex organization. 

• Demonstrated experience independently delivering procurement or sourcing activities, including requirements gathering, competitive sourcing, supplier evaluation, analysis, negotiation, and contract coordination. 

• Experience supporting or managing contract renewals and supplier activities. 

• Experience working with Finance, Legal, Risk, Compliance, and business stakeholders to deliver commercially sound and compliant procurement outcomes. 

• Experience leading or supporting category initiatives, process improvements, transformation projects, reporting, analytics, tool development, or change adoption is considered an asset; the relative emphasis will depend on the role assignment. 

• Experience in asset management, investment management, or broader financial services is preferred. 

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What we’re offering

• Numerous opportunities for professional growth and development

• Comprehensive employer paid benefits coverage

• Retirement income through a defined benefit pension plan

• The opportunity to invest back into the fund through our Deferred Incentive Program

• A flexible work environment combining in office collaboration and remote working

• Competitive time off

• Our Flexible Travel Program gives you the option to work abroad in another region/country for up to a month each year

• Employee discount programs including Edvantage and Perkopolis

At Ontario Teachers', diversity is one of our core strengths. We take pride in ensuring that the people we hire and the culture we create, reflect and embrace diversity of thought, background and experience. Through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy and our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), we celebrate diversity and foster inclusion through events for colleagues to connect for professional development, networking & mentoring.  We are building an inclusive and equitable workplace where our talent is respected, accepted and empowered to be themselves.  To learn more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, check out Life at Teachers'.

How to apply

Are you ready to pursue new challenges and take your career to the next level? Apply today! You may be invited to complete a pre-recorded digital interview as part of your application.

Accommodations are available upon request (peopleandculture@otpp.com) for candidates with a disability taking part in the recruitment process and once hired.

Candidates must be legally entitled to work in the country where this role is located.

Ontario Teachers’ may use AI-based tools to assist in screening and assessing applicants for this position. These tools may help us identify candidates whose skills and experience align with Ontario Teachers’ objectives by analyzing information provided in resumes and applications. Our use of AI does not replace human decision-making.

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