A

Reporting to the Manager of Strategic Procurement, this role is responsible for managing the strategic procurement of

the IT software and software services category to support WestJet’s administrative and operational requirements.

The ideal candidate will bring proven procurement experience as it relates to strategic sourcing, negotiations,

contracting, category management and vendor relationship management. The successful candidate will effectively

manage the category, establish and maintain strong internal and external relationships, collaborate with the key

stakeholders and will be expected to constantly challenge the status quo to find opportunities to drive additional value

and support WestJet’s drive towards being a best-in-class Procurement organization. This role may also participate in

sourcing activities for adjacent categories as required.

 

Primary Responsibilities:

•  Drive strategic sourcing activities (scoping, spend analysis, market research, leading Rfx events);
•  Develop negotiation strategies and lead pricing and contract negotiations (including contract drafting), including

service level agreements and key performance indicators;

•  Establish, maintain and foster internal customer relationships: collaborate category and supplier strategies, ensure

organizational requirements are being met and facilitate resolution of vendor issues;

•  Consult with Legal, Finance, Safety and other internal partners, to ensure the mitigation of risk to company through

solid contractual terms and conditions, and identify/communicate potential impacts where risk is contemplated;

•  Using experience, analytics and judgment, develop and implement global procurement strategies necessary to

ensure quality and optimum value for products and services provided to company;

•  Work collaboratively with business units to identify additional areas of opportunity for cost improvement, supplier

optimization, spend consolidation, contract renegotiation and strategic sourcing initiatives through research and

data analysis (e.g. Spend Vis, supplier/market intelligence, industry trends, best practices …);

•  Drive strategic alignment and foster partnerships with key suppliers to create differentiation and accountability for

ongoing improvements and value-add in quality and delivery of services, support of Procurement governance and

adherence to performance requirements;

•  Develop, and maintain a vendor relationship management program with key vendors including metrics,

performance goals and improvement initiatives through ongoing interaction and business reviews;

•  Effectively use available procurement tools and systems to manage RFx initiatives (including e-Sourcing and reverse

auctions), drive accuracy of reporting and perform end-to-end contract lifecycle management (including contract

administration and maintenance);

•  Maintain and communicate the category’s procurement performance metrics against pre-determined performance

standards;

•  Support the timely and accurate reporting of Procurement Key Performance Indicators e.g. cost improvement,

spend under management, contract cycle times, etc.;

•  Participate in the implementation of best practices, continuous improvement processes and the generation of cost

improvement opportunities;

•  Responsible for the communication and clarification of standard procurement processes and providing status

reports and updates to business unit stakeholders, suppliers and Procurement leadership, as required;

•  Ensure compliance to all regulatory, procurement and corporate policies and procedures;
•  Create, drive and implement, with the collaboration of both the Strategic and Operational Procurement teams,

initiatives to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the department’s processes;

•  Work with Procurement leadership to participate in the identification, scoping, validation and execution of special

projects and LEAN initiatives that will result in measurable cost savings and efficiencies;

•  Provide leadership and guidance on both the Strategic and Operational Procurement project teams in executing the

above special projects and LEAN initiatives;

•  Mentor, coach and demonstrate leadership to others within the Indirect Procurement team and the extended

Procurement organization.

•  Other Procurement-related administrative and functional duties as required

 

Qualifications:

•  Recognized Diploma at a College/Technical School, Business degree or equivalent; MBA an asset;
•  SCMP designation or equivalent desirable;
•  Minimum of five years strategic procurement and contract management experience, with overall procurement

experience of 10+ years;

•  Three to five year proven track record of successfully managing the IT Software Licensing and Maintenance spend

category within a large organization;

•  Thorough understanding of procurement and category management as it pertains to the sourcing, negotiation and

contracting of software, software licenses, enterprise licensing agreements, software as a service, maintenance

agreements and IT professional services;

•  Advanced negotiation and contracting knowledge, including contract law, reviewing/writing contracts and

developing service level agreements;

•  Knowledge of e-Sourcing and spend analysis programs an asset;
•  Advanced interpersonal, change management, organizational and problem solving skills, with the ability to develop

and manage strong internal and external relationships;

•  Advanced professional communication skills; written and verbal;
•  Able to work successfully as team player, as well as independently with minimal supervision;
•  Ability to work in a fast paced and dynamic environment;
•  Advanced computer skills including Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
•  Intermediate to advanced project management skills or LEAN Six Sigma experience or certification an asset;
•  Airline industry knowledge / airport operational experience an asset.