VP, Global Procurement; REMOTE

Position: VP, Global Procurement (REMOTE)
** We believe in the power and joy of learning*
* At Cengage, our employees have a direct impact in helping learners around the world discover the power and joy of learning. We are bonded by our shared purpose - driving innovation that helps millions of learners improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.

** What You'll Do:*
* + Establish a Group-wide sourcing support model that partners collaboratively with all function leaders to drive better vendor spend. Embed consistent practices across Cengage Group for vendor selection with category-specific criteria for vendor evaluation.

+ Establish purchasing strategies across all Cengage Group spend categories, prioritizing categories based on opportunity (spend, maturity, strategic alignment), balancing cost objectives with other strategic business goals (supply reliability, quality, etc).

+ Drive continuous improvement in Group-wide vendor spend by setting functional procurement targets, running periodic market reviews, tracking vendor spend performance across categories and using analytical insights. Partner with function leaders to help them find opportunities to hit and overachieve their procurement targets.

+ Grow the share of spend from strategic vendors and eliminate duplication of spend.

+ Develop relationships with major Cengage Group vendors to facilitate deeper partnering including facilitating quarterly business reviews with key suppliers.

+ Lead on all aspects of vendor activities including selection with business partners, negotiations, and contracting.

+ Report progress against initiatives to IT, Operations, Finance, and other stakeholders.

+ Manage and modify (as needed) the Cengage Group procurement policy to ensure adequate visibility, appropriate controls and to encourage higher quality purchasing decisions. Ensure adherence to the policy.

+ Collaborate cross-functionally, for example with the IT team to roadmap system configurations to improve the sourcing workflow in Cengage and Finance leadership to influence the transformation of Cengage's overall procure-to-pay processes.

** Experience and

Education:

*
* + Bachelor's degree in operations management, Engineering, Business, or a technical field

+ 10 or more years of strong progressive management experience in Sourcing or Supply Chain Operations role/function with Team leadership and Strategic Sourcing direction setting experience

+ Experience across all types of vendor types such as software, T&E, Professional Services, and Contractors.

+ Ability to develop and mentor others

+ Comfort guiding and interpreting sophisticated spend analysis

+ Decision-making and ability to drive strategic direction

+ Ability to build collaborative relationships

+ Proven negotiating skills with very strong Project Leadership experience

+ Ability to identify and seek needed information/research skills

+ Knowledge and experience with SAP preferred

+ Ability to travel domestically and internationally, 10% of time

Cengage is committed to working with broad talent pools to attract and hire strong and most qualified individuals. Our job applicants are considered regardless of any classification protected by applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws.

Cengage is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities including during our job application process. If you are an applicant with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in our job application process, please contact us at   .

** About Cengage*
* Cengage, a global education technology company serving millions of learners, provides affordable, quality digital products and services that equip students with the skills and competencies needed to be job ready. For more than 100 years, we have enabled the power and joy of learning with trusted, engaging content, and now, integrated digital platforms. We serve the higher education, workforce skills, secondary education, English language teaching and research markets worldwide.

Through our scalable technology, including Mind Tap and Cengage Unlimited, we support all learners who seek to improve their lives and achieve their dreams through…