Job Overview
The Procurement Program Coordinator, brings to life the Vision and Mission of the NLBWA-IE through her proactive actions of fostering collaborative relationships among the organization’s entrepreneurial Affiliate member base (minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, disadvantaged small businesses, veteran-owned and other diverse businesses) and its corporate, educational and community procurement representatives. These collaborations will improve the procurement practices of participating companies/organizations and yield a variety of benefits, including: helping brands live up to their values on inclusion and social responsibility; boosting innovation; gaining access to new products and services; and finding creative solutions and cost savings from smaller and more nimble, diverse businesses. The primary goal of the Procurement Program Coordinator is to “create unity in diversity and prosperity” for the NLBWA-IE Affiliate members and the communities they serve by growing their customer base and their business’s bottom line.
General Responsibilities:
- Develop, implement, and manage minority and supplier diversity program for NLBWA-IE
business owners, procurement buyers, supplier diversity representatives, certification
liaisons, and resource partners - Promote and grow community engagement, awareness, membership, and adoption of
NLBWA-IE programs by being a key connector between members and management teams
and answering member questions - Encourage connections and collaborations among NLBWA-IE member small businesses
- Align purchasing processes
- Manage group procurement requests
- Facilitate online and in-person business matchmaking events
- Identify opportunities for procurement process improvements
- Consistently evaluate and improve procurement program capacity
- Build technical framework for improved communication and efficiency
- Develop, implement, and maintain live and virtual procurement operational procedures by identifying new business opportunities, supporting business owner purchasing priorities, and meeting buyer and vendor expectations
- Develop, organize, and track operational metrics/performance around procurement activities and program performance of membership by tracking and identifying business improvements, access to resources, cost savings, and vendor engagement, etc.
- Function as a liaison to Affiliate members and provide exceptional customer service to business owners and key stakeholders to implement sourcing, contracting strategies, develop buyer checklists, preferred lists with buying preferences, alternate processes, and escalation process and instructions
- Identify opportunities to reduce manual administrative processing and more fully automate end-to-end activities of the discovery of suppliers through tactical buying activities
- Develop communication content and campaigns for current and new members, including the creation of public relations press releases, event manuscripts, copywriting, and weekly newsletter
Professional Qualifications:
- Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Supply Chain Management,
Business Management, or related field - 5+ years of experience in business development, supply chain management, purchasing,
and directly related work experience - 3+ years of experience in communications, community management or marketing
- 3+ years of experience in creating content for online community programs
Specialized Skills:
- Knowledge of non-profit and/or business administrative work experience
- Knowledge of current regulations, standards, and best practices for Procurement, and internal policies for compliance, related to assigned responsibilities, such as purchase order policies, buying methods, and contracting requirements
- Excellent organizational, customer service, analytical and problem-solving skills
- Knowledge of and proficiency of categories in The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This system of categories is the standard used by Unites States Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments.
- Knowledge of technology of office equipment, including but not limited to: Microsoft Office Suite, Google Business Suite, and advanced knowledge of supplier or third-party database management software and portals.
- Must be able to communicate in a professional and articulate manner with internal and external partners at all levels of the organization both written and verbal.
