Job title: Senior Procurement Manager

Location: London - Hybrid working model

Applications deadline: 27th July

About Springer Nature

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About The Role

As the Senior Procurement Manager for Print and Paper you will manage the end-to-end procurement cycle and develop strategic category intelligence for offset and digital printing and paper purchasing in US, UK, EU and LATAM and Asian markets.

You will be the paper and offset/digital print procurement expert and an essential part of our global central procurement team with the goal of supporting the business to meet its objectives whilst delivering significant cost reductions. You will be involved in supporting various supply chain activities, enhancements and projects for expanding our utilisation of SAP/Ariba and lead change for the paper and offset/digital print procurement.

This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference through delivering substantial savings and organisational alignment across our global business.

The Senior Procurement Manager will report into the Procurement Director - Directs. The position is offered on a full-time, permanent basis in our London office on a hybrid working pattern.

Role responsibilities:

• Act as a primary point of contact to manage overall relationships with key offset and digital print and paper suppliers to facilitate long-term robust partnerships for printing category. Provide technical guidance and expertise to both internal and external stakeholders in all questions related to print and paper buying, leveraging strong stakeholder management, networking and communication skills.
• Evaluate existing and design/execute best in class sourcing strategies for printing category applying a strong business and commercial mindset to identify savings opportunities and deliver value to the organisation.
• Develop and manage RFQ/RFP/RFI process, negotiate agreements and long term/volume commitment pricing, manage the contracts for medium to complex sourcing requirements for printing category. Utilise excellent negotiation skills and analytical capabilities to achieve favourable commercial outcomes.
• Utilise appropriate procurement evaluation tools and processes such as building sourcing strategies, contract negotiations and supplier management to develop and manage a robust pool of qualified/preferred/strategic suppliers.
• Research and evaluate potential vendors to determine suitability and sustainability of materials, meet new production requirements and/or to replace poor-performing vendors for the print category. Apply strong problem-solving and analytical skills to assess supplier performance and business impact.
• Routinely evaluate market trends, review technical, trade, environmental and legal publications, and keep abreast of current and applicable regulatory rulings in regards to physical printing and paper production.
• Proactively follow-up to ensure supplier performance and quality is in accordance with contract terms, conditions, and specifications.
• Participate in supplier site visits to qualify, review and audit performance/quality and capabilities. The successful candidate would be expected to travel for up to 20% of time.
• Monitor and analyse internal and external KPIs and work to identify solutions for improvement.
• Attend and participate in a variety of meetings and task force groups to integrate activities, communicate issues, obtain approvals, resolve problems and maintain specific level of knowledge pertaining to new developments, requirements and policies within the printing category. Building effective relationships across a wide range of stakeholders to influence decision-making and support business objectives.
• Implement Springer Nature Group procurement policies, procedures and tools.
• Supervise and direct work activities of Procurement Manager/Procurement Team Lead/Senior Procurement Specialist on different procurement projects and processes.