Senior Buyer at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Job Description
Basic Qualifications

• Degree level : Bcomm, BSc, Supply chain qualification

Area Of Specialisation

Specialist educational disciplines not essential

Why This Level Of Education

• Role entails a high degree of interaction and influencing with senior managers both within GSK and external supplier organizations
• Research and analytical skills required to develop solutions to complex problems and analyze complex financial proposals
• Marketing, Finance, Procurement
• The role requires the ability to develop sophisticated commercial procurement strategies that align with the business’s needs. A strong understanding of business and financial analysis will facilitate success. Ability to communicate with senior Finance managers is required

Experience Required

• Demonstrated expertise in managing categories is required, particularly with respect to developing & implementing strategies, stakeholder management and supplier relationship management.
• Demonstrated experience in influencing strategy and managing across multiple geographies and business units
• Demonstrated experience in managing global/regional projects with consideration to diverse LOC needs and regulation (eg taxes, law, regulation)

Why This Level Of Experience

• These are key roles in the Procurement organization responsible for complex sourcing and category management. The role holders will be required to operate independently, influence senior management across multiple geographies and negotiate with the external supply base on behalf of GSK

Details

Preferred qualifications:

• To be the interface between the LOC stakeholders and the CBS Procurement community to
• Ensure continuity of business
• Direct to the appropriate Regional Category Manager depending on the business requirement
• Support the business to understand the GSK Procurement policies and ensure that users are trained / supported accordingly
• To support strategy creation, execution and management at regional level, where required, under the supervision and direction of global and regional category leaders and managers

The role will support stakeholder needs specific to local countries or hubs (collections of countries) by

• Leveraging deep category and market expertise
• Operating in a truly global manner
• Utilizing GSK and GSK Procurement policies, procedures, processes, systems and methodologies
• Engaging and building strategic relationships with key senior stakeholders and business partners in GSK
• Understanding the business requirements of key stakeholders and business partners and positioning the Procurement value proposition
• Delivering the needs of key stakeholders and business partners through execution of global sourcing strategies
• Identifying and delivering business benefits aligned to assurance of supply, quality, service, cost and innovation
• Ensuring financial benefit delivered is recognized by affected stakeholder communities and Finance groups to allow benefit capture and transparent decision making on how benefits are allocated by the business units, in line with the Spend Management Framework
• Leading, developing and managing the supply base, globally, for the in scope spend categories
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders and key suppliers
• Driving sustainable value for GSK from key supplier relationships

Key Responsibility

Strategy execution

• Execute global sourcing strategies for multiple spend categories in scope of responsibility, operating with a truly global mindset and ensuring all applicable regional dimensions are accommodated
• Have a clear understanding of how global strategies affect local markets and build an education & communication process for regional Procurement leads and business units
• Be the local expert in the spend categories within scope of responsibility

Benefit delivery

• Ensure financial benefits are managed in accordance with the Spend Management Framework approach, ensuring business unit and Finance agreement to financial value delivered and transparency on treatment of benefits in the budgeting process
• Create and deliver effective budgets (Plans of Purchase) agreed with key stakeholders and Finance in accordance with the Spend Management Framework

Business partnering & stakeholder management in GSK

• Build strategic relationships with local GSK stakeholders, to understand business requirements, identify opportunities to create value and to position Procurement’s value proposition. Align sourcing strategies accordingly
• Influence key stakeholders and business partners to support strategy development, endorse recommended strategies, support execution and agree how benefit delivery will be budgeted

External supplier relationships

• Execute and manage effective contracts with suppliers that will allow GSK to maximize opportunity globally. Ensure global views on supplier negotiations are taken
• Manage the local supply base for the categories within scope through a robust performance management process. Ensure supplier performance is understood and measured.
• Ensure suitable processes and communication links exist between above country supplier organization structures and local & regional networks to ensure effective process and communication cascade through supplier and GSK network and geographies

Supply chain & risk management

• Transform the supply chain to release value and make GSK more responsive to business and customer needs – for example in cost control, complexity reduction, simplification, best practice procurement and use of KPIs
• Identify and manage significant risks in the supply chain. Ensure appropriate mitigation plans are in place and in use and that the risks are communicated appropriately within business units impacted, Procurement and the supply base

Role dimensions

• Reports to Director or Manager level in Procurement organization
• Financial spend responsibility is £15m - £50m pa
• Operate across Stakeholder interface in GSK is typically Director level with a medium complexity network
• Category complexity is low
• Supply market complexity is low
• Seniority of supplier interface is low
• GSK business impact of the category is medium.