Associate, Procurement & Strategic Sourcing - Marketing Category

Location: City of Edinburgh

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** Associate, Procurement & Strategic Sourcing - Marketing Category**## at###
** Description
* * About this role Business Unit Overview:
Black Rock Finance consists of finance professionals across several disciplines such as Financial Planning & Analysis, Treasury, Tax, Finance Controls, Global Strategic Sourcing (“GSS”), Finance Platform Support and Controllers. GSS is a global team, with team members primarily based in New York, Gurgaon, Edinburgh, and Budapest. GSS aims to be an organization of trusted strategic sourcing advisors enabling Black Rock to achieve more value.

The GSS team advises and supports business functions on all their supplier-related initiatives whether they involve supplier identification, evaluation, selection, negotiation, performance management or escalation management. GSS seeks to avoid certain costs, deliver tangible cost reductions, furnish reliable analytical data and insights for improved decision making, and enable a socially responsible and diverse supplier base. Background: GSS seeks a seasoned professional in procurement with a focus on strategic sourcing to support the overall Marketing Category for Black Rock at a global level.

The subcategories within this space include external affairs, creative agencies, creative production, events and sponsorship, promotional merchandising, market research, paid media, and digital marketing This professional should be responsible for end-to-end management of strategic sourcing activities-- from understanding stakeholder needs and available suppliers in the marketplace, to performing supplier assessment & due diligence, to negotiating, redlining, and executing supplier agreements in a timely fashion.

Principal duties include:
Strategic Advisory:
Serve as a strategic advisor to all levels of management on all matters related to sourcing and procurement, offering insights and recommendations to optimize processes and achieve business objectives. Sourcing Strategy Development:
Develop and implement comprehensive sourcing strategies through competitive bidding, proofs-of-concept, demand management, supplier consolidation, and process reengineering efforts that align with the company's overall business goals, ensuring cost-effectiveness, quality, and social responsibility. Supplier Relationship Management:
Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, negotiating and drafting favorable terms into contracts, ensuring the highest standards of quality and service. Market Analysis:
Conduct thorough market research and analysis to identify trends, risks, and opportunities within the supply chain, and prepare PowerPoint decks to support informed sourcing decision-making. Cost Management:
Implement cost-saving initiatives and strategies including leading competitive RFPs and vendor negotiations to reduce overall expenses without compromising on quality or performance.

Risk Management:

Identify potential risks within the supply chain and develop mitigation plans to ensure business continuity and minimize disruptions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Work closely with internal stakeholders, including Marketing campaign owners, Corporate Affairs/Communications leads, Business Function Leads, Category Leads, Third Party Risk, and Legal teams around the world in the negotiation of General Services Agreements, Engagement Letters, and Statements of Work. Compliance and Ethics:
Ensure all sourcing and procurement activities comply with corporate policies, ethical standards, and legal requirements. Experience required:
At least 5 years of strategic sourcing experience at a consulting, marketing, technology or financial services institution, with a proven track record of success in a strategic sourcing advisory role. A passion for the marketing and creative agency sector, including a comprehensive understanding of market drivers, trends, and dynamics. This should include knowledge of how to negotiate technology agreements in the digital marketing space.

Expertise with category planning, competitive bidding techniques (RFI, RFP, RFQ), creation of business cases, vendor selection, vendor risk due diligence, operations…