Commodity Specialist at Discovery Limited

Key Purpose

•  The main purpose of Procurement Specialist is to implement sourcing strategies for marketing products and services that will drive the objectives of increased savings and inclusive procurement while adhering to governance and managing the objectives of internal stakeholders. The specialist will effectively manage the assigned portfolio and departmental objectives. An important aspect of this role is optimizing cost efficiencies, supplier performance, stakeholder management and supporting Discovery’s business plans.

 Responsibilities, including but not limited to the following:

Vendor Management

• Work with your marketing stakeholders to identify, evaluate and select new suppliers, such as media agencies, content creators, and event/activation vendors.
• Increase Spend Under Procurement Management (S-UPM) to maximise opportunities and reduce maverick spending across the business. Work towards achieving an 80% target.

Contract Negotiation

• Negotiate contract terms, pricing, and service level agreements with suppliers to secure favorable terms and quality of supply, in line with the company’s Procurement Policy and Procedures.
• Work with cross functional team to increase contract coverage.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with key suppliers to foster collaboration and ensure ongoing performance.
• Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR) with strategic suppliers to identify changes in the environment that could impact Discovery.
• Implement Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) with strategic suppliers to ensure proper remedies are in place for poor performance.

Cost Optimisation

• Conduct market research and analyse data to identify cost-saving opportunities and ensure the most cost efficient use of marketing budgets.
• Optimise and maximise procurement savings within the marketing category.

Compliance and Quality

• Ensure that all procured products and services meet company standards, brand guidelines, and relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Engage suppliers that do not meet Discovery’s minimum B-BBEE requirements and implement collaborative plans to improve their B-BBEE status.
• Scan the market to identify B-BBEE suppliers that we can potentially onboard to plug any shortfalls (i.e. EME and QSE suppliers).

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with marketing, legal and finance departments to understand their needs and requirements.
• Lead assigned sourcing initiatives, which vary in terms of scope and scale.
• Develop marketing category strategies and obtain internal client mandate to deliver against identified opportunities.
• Record savings achieved into the relevant savings register and ensure validation and approval by internal stakeholders.

Reporting and Analysis

• Generate reports on procurement performance, supplier relationship, and spending to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Support the Senior Procurement Manager with developing and implementing sourcing strategies based on existing and forecased spend.

Category Administration

• Ensure that all buying guides are relevant and kept up-to-date to ensure proper understanding of procurement processes for marketing, especially self-service channels.
• Review all planned orders and ensure that these are correct before directing to the transactional team.  
• Assist the shared service transactional team to match and receipt orders, where required, to ensure payments are made in line with negotiated payment terms.
• Create supplier catalogues to improve purchasing efficiencies, where applicable.

Personal Attributes and Skills:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, or any other related field.
• Studying towards an MCIPS qualification.

Experience

• Proven experience in procurement, supply chain or a related role, with a strong understanding of the marketing industry and its unique needs.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing marketing sourcing strategies.
• Demonstrable knowledge of tender processes (RFx).
• Must be able to operate independently and under pressure.

Negotiation Skills

• Exceptional ability to negotiate contracts and achieve optimal commercial terms with marketing suppliers.

Analytical Skills

• Strong analytical skills to interpret data, conduct market analysis, and make informed purchasing decisions to support our marketing stakeholders in delivering their goals and obectives.

Communication Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to liaise effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Confidence and ability to liase and communicate with senior stakeholders.
• Decisive and driven by deadlines.
• Ability to challenge ideas and provide suggestions which are in the best interests of the company, while always maintaining respect and proper decorum.
• Team player.

Organizational Skills

• Strong organizational and time-management skills to handle multiple priorities and maintain accurate records.

Vendor and Risk Management

• Experience in managing supplier performance, conducting risk assessments, and ensuring compliance with contracts and regulations.