Sr. Specialist, Procurement

Job Description

The Sr. Specialist, Procurement will report to the Associate Director, Procurement and will lead an active strategic role within the site sourcing teams and across Regional/Global categories. Lead the sourcing of materials and services to support business units across our Company's Animal Health division. 

Scope of spend impacted will be dependent upon the size, scale and complexities of the categories/subcategories to be managed.  The categories for a Sourcing Specialist will be strategic in nature and highly complex requiring a wide breadth of skills including engaging stakeholders, specifically Site Management Teams, developing local / regional and global suppliers.

Responsibilities:

• Project Sourcing Leader – Lead cross functional team of individuals through the day to day activities of supporting the manufacturing operations with responsibility for driving the category/subcategories sourcing strategies and stakeholder management, including tier meeting attendance.

• Category/Subcategories Stakeholder Engagement – Understand stakeholder requirements in relation to establishing supply strategy and proactive mitigation of supply risk/issues. Lead Stakeholder engagement meetings, schedule routine reviews and be able to translate and document Stakeholder requirements into tangible business results.

• Relationship Management - Work with Business representatives, Legal and other stakeholders, to develop requirements. Conduct Relationship Management meetings with Key and Active suppliers across categories and manage Supplier Performance levels.

• Sourcing – to create and execute Requests for Information and Requests for Proposals together with subsequent structured information analysis, using electronic procurement platform: ARIBA. Ensuring all Business Requirements are captured, lead the assessment of the proposals using predefined criteria derived from the Business Requirements.  Ensure Stakeholders are aligned with Assessments and Outcome.

• Negotiation Planning and Execution – to create detailed pre-negotiation plans, to lead and participate any prolonged negotiation sessions with suppliers and to conduct post negotiation debriefs and follow through plans. Drive negotiations to deliver the most value for the business.

• Contract Management – to lead, prepare and implement appropriate forms of contract and commitment with suppliers. Liaise with corporate legal as needed for review of contract language. Must have a strong understanding of contract language and legal positions.

• Supplier Performance Management – Ensure that appropriate supplier contracts and relationships have good supplier matrix embedded within them.  Monitor, report, manage and continuously improve supplier performance using OTIF metrics and other tools. Drive innovation with Key Suppliers conducting meetings on a routine cadence.

• Sharing of Learnings – Must be able to work cross functionally with the Site Teams and Region and global Category COE’s to share best practices where applicable.

• Policy Adherence – Ensure that all procurement within his/her area of responsibility, is carried out in an ethical and controlled manner in line with procurement policy and procedures. Assist with the ongoing review of Procurement practices and procedures. Be able to interpret and enforce policy adherence for stakeholders and supply base.

• Drive Cost Savings – Identify, Track and Deliver cost saving opportunities, focusing on the accuracy of delivery. Possess an understanding of standard costs and standard cost setting process. Be able to manage Purchase Price Variance for the category/subcategories of his/her responsibility and track as a component of cost reduction. Manage projects and approvals for cost reduction initiatives with Stakeholders and Finance. 

• Improve Working Capital - Identify Track and Deliver working capital improvement opportunities, including payment terms monitoring and assistance in inventory reduction programs.

• Other duties may include: Participant in the Leadership Management model – involvement in strategic initiatives including leadership to improve and advance the Category/Subcategories Metrics Management – Supporting and managing performance of the Category/Subcategories in delivery of the critical department metrics, including but not limited to: on-time/ in-full delivery, cost reduction, working capital improvements and diversity.

• Category Team Leadership – Membership of one or more category teams using the techniques and content created in 1) to 11) above as input in the creation of breakthrough strategies. Be able to lead and develop Local/Regional Category Strategies in support of Global Category Strategies Sourcing Strategy Development – Develop and be responsible for sourcing strategies that drive the key performance indicators, are aligned with the Stakeholder Business Requirements and drive the most value for the company.

Position Qualifications:

Education Minimum Requirement:

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or a related field

Experience and Skills:

• 3 or more years’ experience in procurement within the Life Sciences/ Pharma Industry

• Demonstrated strong negotiation/commercial skills.

• Must be capable of prioritizing, multi-tasking, and working to an agreed schedule.

• Must be self-motivated and able to work both individually and as part of a team.

• Must have a flexible approach to workload

Preferred Experience:

• Indirect materials experience highly preferred

• purchasing qualification preferred, i.e. CPM, CIPS.

• Procurement experience within a Manufacturing setting is preferred

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As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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The salary range for this role is

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

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