Global Strategic Sourcing, Professional Services

Job Description
 Global Strategic Sourcing Manager will be responsible for developing the global sourcing strategy for the professional services category. The person in this position would be recognized as the sourcing expert for professional services categories, would liaison with legal, act as Procurement ambassador to the business and integrate into the business to ensure a complete alignment and deep understanding of the business goals and partner in developing sourcing strategies. The goal is to be value-added sourcing partners to the business. The Professional Services Sourcing Professional position involves developing negotiation strategies, advising requestors on contract terms and conditions, monitoring cost and scope of assigned contracts to assure compliance, best value and validate/improve pricing. The Sourcing Professional will recommend cost savings proposals including alternative sourcing and will exercise independent judgment within defined practices and procedures to determine appropriate action.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Perform Sourcing and contract related activities for professional services teams in WD. The position requires knowledge and experience in the managing of outside services preferably advertising and public relations agency, as well as market intelligence, e-commerce and web operations. The Sourcing Professional will ensure that their business owners are supported in a fast-paced, tight deadlines environment. The ideal individual should have superior negotiation skills.
The Sourcing Professional will need to provide excellent strategic sourcing support to business partners to ensure a competitive advantage for Western Digital. She or he will drive improvements in key metrics such as cost, quality, deliverables and cycle-time. The Sourcing Professional will drive process-improvements, assist with projects and provide feedback to management on market conditions, supplier relationships, and quality and customer service issues.
Manage supplier relationships, including supplier selection and qualification process, Quarterly business reviews and scorecards, supplier corrective actions, cost reduction programs.  Perform should-cost analysis for major services and spend areas and implement cost reduction initiatives.  Lead and support implementation of best-in-class practices and continuous improvement of systems and processes.
The ideal individual must have proven ability to achieve results in a fast-moving, dynamic environment. Self-motivated and self-directed, however, must have demonstrated ability to work well with people. A proven desire to work as a team member, both on the same team and outside of the team. Ability to troubleshoot and analyze complex problems. Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines. Excellent communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills.
 
Strategic Sourcing
Work with various business stakeholders groups to identify and qualify new or existing capable suppliers, initiate requests for RFX’s, advise requestors with respect to contract terms and conditions
Create and teach market & supplier analyses, leverages expertise to form sourcing strategies in accordance with market trends, internal & external roadmaps, and WD objectives
Conduct RFP and lead cross functional teams through the selection process of preferred suppliers with effective scoring criteria to critically evaluate supplier proposals in accordance with company policies
Lead negotiations on General Procurement agreements, including, but not limited to, Master Agreements, Statements of Work, Change Orders balancing business deliverables, legal interests and pricing
Conduct analysis on proposals for marketing and sales services in support of various business functions
Analyze total costs, assist business functions with ROI analysis, price and rate benchmarking and negotiate favorable business terms to leverage Western Digital’s purchasing power
Provide global contract expertise for sourcing of Marketing products and services for various business units
Working closely with the stakeholders to establish and execute the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) sourcing strategy, including should cost models, and change in process levers to reduce cost
Develop Negotiation Plans and Strategies to optimize cost savings and avoidance opportunities
Develop and share deep understanding and anticipate future developments in the areas of Procurement Policy, BU/Category strategies, as well as maintain strong working knowledge of Benchmark with peers and industry groups to maintain knowledge & continually build expertise to ensure continued robustness and evolution of strategy.
Category Management
Develop, refine and implement category strategies and tactics that enable the procurement of marketing products and services to align with the Marketing business and deliver highest value
Add value by becoming the subject matter expert on Marketing categories/commodities and consulting internal clients on industry trends, benchmarking, and best practices
Lead cross-functional meetings with various business functions and develop a communication strategy to keep internal clients informed about procurement processes, supplier strategy, and procurement policies.
Supplier Management
Manage supplier relationships with focus on supply/contract and cost management
Mediate supplier issues and resolve customer / supplier contract disputes if necessary
Lead and participate in periodic business reviews with vendors to review performance and support mutually agreed upon improvement programs as required
Develop supplier rationalization entitlements for each category
Contract Management
Evaluate processes and recommend improvements to standardize lifecycle contract and sourcing processes and systems
Ensure pricing & deliverables as negotiated are included in the contract; coordinate comparison of proposals and final contract terms
Act as liaison between Legal and the business