Procurement Specialist - Facilities Management

Role Overview

The Category Senior Specialist is tasked with overseeing procurement tasks within specified Human Capital categories such as outsourcing agencies, recruitment firms, travel, and consultancy services across multiple countries of operation. The role emphasizes executing sourcing strategies, managing tendering and negotiations, and ensuring proper contract enforcement.

Primary Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with internal business units to collect procurement requirements aligned with cost-saving goals.
• Support and implement cost optimization initiatives under the direction of category leadership, driving continuous enhancements.
• Deliver strategic insights and supply market intelligence to influence business decisions and facilitate procurement operations.
• Coordinate negotiation processes, contract drafting, deployment, and guarantee compliance with supplier agreements.
• Create, implement, and report meaningful performance KPIs to stakeholders.
• Lead supplier and supply chain stakeholder engagement through effective communication and awareness programs.
• Maintain adherence to procurement protocols and promptly resolve issues encountered by stakeholders.
• Handle complex sourcing, contracting, and supply management tasks applying structured sourcing methodologies such as RFx.
• Analyze complex datasets to extract insights and enable sourcing strategies.
• Conduct market research specific to categories, provide supplier market intelligence, and capitalize on savings opportunities.
• Regularly review cost analyses to support sourcing efforts within verticals.
• Build and preserve strong internal and external stakeholder relationships.
• Become a subject matter expert concerning product and service descriptions, and evaluate suppliers’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Work collaboratively with Legal, Finance, and other departments to achieve organizational objectives, meet SLAs, and mitigate operational risks.
• Perform continual supplier performance reviews to ensure conformance with contractual terms and service levels.

Scope and Financial Impact

Responsible for executing and managing sourcing processes, including tenders, proposals, quotations, e-auctions, negotiations, RFIs, and EOIs, involving contract values ranging from 100,000 AED up to 15,000,000 AED.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Strong verbal and written communication for accurately assessing product needs and fostering vendor relationships.
• Capability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, with effective planning, delegation, and monitoring toward goal achievement.
• Proficient negotiation skills with an insightful understanding of pricing and vendor contracts.
• Problem-solving aptitude to handle product or service deficiencies that adversely affect quality or business objectives.
• Experience using SAP Ariba, e-RFx platforms, and other digital procurement tools.
• Stakeholder management proficiency.

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum three years in a senior procurement role with related responsibilities.
• At least six years of overall procurement experience.
• Background in extensive indirect and direct procurement operations, managing diverse contract types, including marketing and digital marketing services.
• Proven experience overseeing all sourcing processes (RFX) to facilitate seamless operational delivery for category managers.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, finance, or a related discipline; professional procurement certification such as MCIPS is advantageous.

Additional Information

• Familiarity with procurement and contract management software is highly beneficial.
• In-depth knowledge of procurement best practices, contract terms, and applicable laws and regulations.
• Customer-orientation with a focus on understanding business requirements.
• Strong partnering, influencing, and negotiation capabilities.
• Effective communication skills in English, both oral and written.