Director of Procurement

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Faculty or Staff:

Full Time or Part Time:

In-Person, Hybrid, or Remote:

Minimum Starting Rate of Pay:

Rate of pay commensurate with experience

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Job Description:

Mount Holyoke College is seeking a Director of Procurement who is responsible for overseeing the procurement and payment of all goods, services, and capital needs for the College's operations. This includes managing purchasing, accounts payable, and procurement card functions, as well as collaborating with the College community to establish, implement and monitor procurement and payment policies. The Director also negotiates contracts, develops and analyzes RFPs, recommends procurement strategies, and ensures compliance with College controls and government regulations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Partner with the College community to establish, communicate, implement, and monitor procurement and payment policies and procedures

• Define and implement a strategy and future growth plan for procure to payment, with the goal of cultivating best-in-class service areas to meet current and future College procure-to-pay needs

• Lead Workday procure to payment and related ancillary systems, including bidding, contracting, e-procurement and payments (check, credit card, and electronic payments including digital and ACH/wire); oversee the completion of payment runs and work with IT/bank on any issues; resolve positive pay exceptions

• Spearhead continuous improvement initiatives for sourcing and procurement strategies, ensuring quality, reliability, and minimal disruption to academic and business operations

• Negotiate advantageous contracts that yield cost savings and implement best practices for the College

• Serve as a liaison between college staff and vendors, as well as on various committees and task forces and provide assistance and guidance to departments in any issues that may involve accounts payable matters, vendor relations, delinquencies, overpayments, budget limitations etc.

• Serve as institutional representative to various purchasing cooperatives and professional organizations

• Oversee the management and maintenance of the purchasing card system, the purchasing and purchasing card websites within the College website, and develop and coordinate training resources for new purchasing cardholders

• Oversee and manage the procurement to payment cycle (from budget to payment processing) for ancillary services.

• Liaison for college property purchases/sales

• Ensure College compliance with federal, state, and other legal or compliance requirements related to contracts, purchasing and expense review as well as unclaimed property and tax reporting requirements related to payments including 1099s ensuring accurate and timely filing

• Lead, develop and coach a high-performing team focused on providing excellent customer service, continuous improvement, and high-quality service delivery ensuring procurement/payables daily/weekly/monthly/yearly workflow runs smoothly and all purchase/payment requests are processed timely, accurately, and within policy

• Collaborate with Financial Services, Risk Management, Legal Counsel, and other relevant departments to maintain consistency in policy and procedure application.

• Prepare monthly and quarterly analysis and reconciliation of various balance sheet accounts including accounts payable;

• Special projects as needed

Successful candidate should:

• Have great communication and customer service skills, is good at influencing others, negotiating, and finding solutions with all kinds of people inside and outside the College

• Combine entrepreneurial and innovative thinking with strong ethical standards and best business practices.

• Ensure the responsible management of College resources.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field

• Ten years of relevant experience, preferably in Higher Education

• Five years of supervisory experience, or combination of experience and education

• Experience with Workday or other enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and e-procurement tools

• Strong computer skills, particularly Excel

Preferred skills:

• Detail-oriented with a solid work ethic, unquestioned integrity, good written and oral communication, effective interpersonal skills, and the ability to handle sensitive information in a confidential manner.

• Possesses solid analytical and quantitative skills, with the ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple projects/responsibilities independently and as part of a team; is willing and able to learn new technologies and skills; is able to work accurately under time constraints

• Experience or knowledge with e-procurement, contracting, export controls, and Uniform Guidance as it relates to sponsored research

Hiring Range: $112,368 - $129,027

What we offer:

• 403(b) Retirement Plan (College contributes 10.5% of salary)

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

• Disability and Leave Benefits

• Life Insurance (College paid coverage 1x salary)

• Employee Assistance Program

• Tuition Benefits (to Mount Holyoke College or others)

• Generous Paid Time Off

Background Checks:

Mount Holyoke College is committed to providing a safe and secure environment, supported by qualified employees that will allow all of its students, faculty, staff and those associated with them to successfully carry out the mission of the college. As a condition of employment, the College will conduct appropriate background checks for all new hires. Mount Holyoke has designated the Office of Human Resources as the office responsible for ensuring that background checks (CORI, SORI, Credit History, & Driver Credential) are completed and utilized in the hiring process and Five College Office of Compliance and Risk Management as the office responsible for facilitating background checks as articulated in this policy.

Special Instructions for Applicants: 

Apply online; application materials must include:

• A cover letter summarizing interests and qualifications

• A complete resume or curriculum vitae

• For faculty positions, statements on mentoring, teaching, and research will also be required.