Director Strategic Sourcing

Wolters Kluwer is The Professional's First Choice for information, tools and solutions that help professionals make their most critical decisions.

We have an exciting opportunity available in our Riverwoods, IL office for a Program Manager / Director of Strategic Sourcing and Operational Excellence. This individual will enhance the reach, effectiveness and speed of Wolters Kluwer's North American Strategic Sourcing program. You will provide sourcing expertise, leadership and dedication for approximately 20% of WK's $600M addressable spend in a category-organization matrix. You will develop and implement key process elements and lead sourcing and operational excellence projects to drive cost savings through cross-business unit synergies.

Key Responsibilities:

oServe as Program Manager for North American Strategic Sourcing program. Track status of 12-15 teams through sourcing process. Work with department financial analyst to track program benefits - savings and cost avoidance. Develop monthly reports for publication to senior executives. Work with supervisor to organize and facilitate periodic North American Strategic Sourcing Steering Committee meetings.

oManage HR, Marketing and Freight & Shipping spend categories at the North American level and lead sourcing projects staffed with customer unit representatives in those areas. Identify opportunities through reviewing spend data and interviewing executives & functional experts. Organize projects and teams in context of overall North American program. Manage team leaders to execute projects and obtain savings and cost avoidance benefits. Develop term sheets and negotiate agreements with suppliers, working with legal counsel. Complete at least 5 projects per year, generating savings and cost avoidance of at least $2 million per year.

oProvide sourcing support to Law & Business (L&B) Business Unit and represent L&B Business Unit in North American Supply Management organization. Understand key requirements for purchased goods and services. Communicate national sourcing strategies to key buyers and monitor compliance.

oDevelop and implement architecture for Supplier Relationship Management - scorecards, continuous improvement planning, national supplier master management, and supplier & category manager recognition. Launch pilot in selected category. Work with IT project manager to develop system configuration and support implementation in enterprise sourcing system.

oLead operational excellence projects to create synergies across units in North America and globally. Initial project is developing a manufacturing and distribution strategy.
REQUIREMENTS
oMBA or equivalent.
oBachelor's degree in quantitative discipline (engineering, economics, science, math, etc.).
oMinimum of 7 years of experience in operations management, supply chain management or strategic sourcing / purchasing and procurement.
oAt least five years (may be included in the above) providing services to internal or external customers, for example, in a centralized sourcing or supply chain strategy group or in a consulting/professional services firm.
oInteraction with senior executives.
oManagement of projects staffed with cross-functional resources that are not direct reports.
oOutstanding quantitative analytical skills, spreadsheet modeling and advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel (e.g. use of lookup tables, pivot tables, regression tools).
oStrong written and oral communication skills.
oExcellent interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team.
oHigh productivity, excellent time management skills and strong work ethic; ability to work as an individual.
oAbility to exert influence and persuade key stakeholders with facts and analysis that may be counter to perceptions.
oFamiliarity with analytical techniques such as total cost modeling, supply base profiling, process mapping, reservation price analysis, supplier scorecarding.
oUnderstanding of supply chain concepts such as forecasting, materials requirements planning, lean manufacturing, warehouse management, logistics, LTL consolidation, procure-to-pay and continuous improvement.
oAbility to travel 10-20% (Typically 1-2 day trips. Minimal, if any, international travel.).

EOE

Wolters Kluwer offers a wide variety of competitive benefits to help meet your needs and to help you balance your work and personal life. Benefits include choices for medical, dental and life insurance; a 401(k)/profit sharing plan; disability plans; a flexible holiday and paid time off program; domestic partner benefits; and tuition and adoption assistance, among other plans and programs.

Wolters Kluwer is one of the world's leading publishers and providers of information products and services. The company's core markets are in the health, tax and accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory, and education sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2004)of EURO 3.3 billion, employs approximately 18,400 people worldwide and maintains operations across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Wolters Kluwer depositary receipts are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. wolterskluwer.com