The Accounting Department is seeking a Vice President of Procurement to develop a strategic approach to the corporate procurement and material management process for the purchase of direct and indirect goods and services. In this leadership role, the successful candidate will direct the procurement of goods and services, develop policies and procedures, and develop a centralized procurement program that will add value and efficiency to the organization. This role will have the tactical responsibility of implementing systems that support the company’s acquisition and materials management of goods and services.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development, implementation and alignment of procurement strategies to achieve cost-effective business objectives
• Develop and implement policies, procedures and objectives necessary to obtain products and services at the lowest costs consistent with approved quality and delivery standards in alignment with corporate initiatives
• Develop and implement forward thinking procurement strategies to both optimize spending and minimize risk and generate savings
• Encourages and enhances supplier diversity and sustainability efforts to increase the overall percent of goods and services purchased through applicable suppliers
• Provides leadership to the team, including utilization of performance management to ensure results are delivered and team members are developed for future growth opportunities
• Ensure synergies between people, processes, and strategies to drive flawless execution of business objectives
• Build strong customer relationships, both internally and externally, and drive cross-functional partnerships to execute on the company’s objectives
• Operationalize the management of the Procurement function and reporting to executive management
• Develop strategic approaches to consistently improve Fair's procurement impact on corporate results and financial bottom line
• Serve as a day-to-day discussion partner and interface closely with senior corporate and business unit leaders on procurement issues
• Partner with department heads and staff to work through the procurement impact of new business initiatives

Required Qualifications:

• At least 10 - 15 years of experience in supply chain, procurement and supplier contract management; ideally with at least 5 - to 10 years of indirect procurement experience
• Minimum 5 years in leadership/management role
• At least a Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, economics, finance, operations, engineering or related area, with a Master’s degree preferred
• Proven track record of delivering large savings and operational efficiencies
• A proactive, self-directed approach with the ability to multi-task, think critically, meet deadlines and learn quickly in a high-volume environment
• Proven track record of strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong leadership skills
• Team player at executive levels to collaborate with business units and functional partners like IT, finance, HR, legal, etc.
• Solid operational management and general business skills and savvy
• Working knowledge of finance and/or accounting in terms of budgeting, cost management, financial accounting, treasury, risk management, etc.
• Excellent communication skills and even better listening skills to understand the “voice of the internal customer” and to understand the company culture and how to best communicate procurement’s value to it
• Ability to “sell” procurement’s value and to run procurement as a services business like any other well-run professional services business
• In-depth knowledge of sourcing and procurement principles and best practices
• Strong negotiation skills
• Experience with modern sourcing and procurement systems
• Change management skills and self-awareness to take varying approaches with a dynamic set of stakeholders