Contract: Strategic Sourcing Specialist at Transnet

Position Purpose:

• Reporting directly to the General Manager Procurement Management, leads Strategic Sourcing for the Division, and
• Supports Group-wide Strategic Sourcing Centre of Excellence (CoE) initiatives.
• Accountable for holistic profiling of spend, demand specifications and embedding best practices in the sourcing process per category for the Division
• Accountable for leveraging strategic sourcing best practices, data insights for sourcing strategy and engagements
• Accountable for supplier negotiation process and execution of the sourcing process across category for the Division
• Accountable for collaborating across categories and the Division to leverage economies of scale and best practices / learnings
• Leads sourcing of strategic commodities with the goal of achieving significant cost savings, year-on-year productivity improvement in the total cost of goods and services procured while maintaining or improving product quality and supplier service levels. This includes formulating strategies for the Division’s strategic commodities, from anticipating and consolidating demand signals to procurement strategies for execution by the Procurement Operations function.
• Monitor the performance of cross-functional sourcing teams; execution of portfolio-based commodity strategies; and ensuring the overall sustainability of commodity-based initiatives in the Division.
• Accountable for delivery of savings targets for a designated portfolio of commodities.

Research / Analysis

• Monitor performance; comparison of actual versus expected against SLAs/KPIs, collaborating with end users and other teams
• Research and analyse the supply market and supplier capabilities to remain informed of all sourcing strategy / execution relevant insights
• Provide analytical support for new targets and expectations

Strategic Sourcing Support

• Ensure alignment with ODs performance expectations
• Monitor adherence to established contracts and realisation of savings, collaborating with contract management. and Supplier Relationship Management teams as required.

Position outputs:

Strategic management of strategic sourcing at the Division:

• Implement and create focus around the medium- and long-term strategic direction for strategic sourcing in the Division, to transform the Division’s strategic sourcing function into a world class organisation, within the framework of Transnet’s iSCM strategy and the Strategic Sourcing Centre of Excellence (CoE);
• Develop and manage the Strategic Sourcing budgeting process i.e. develop budgets based on targets and monitor progress against budget, delivery of benefits targets against action plans; and
• Ensure effective integration between the Division’s Strategic Sourcing function and Group Strategic Sourcing through participation in the Strategic Sourcing CoE.

Oversight of strategic sourcing function:

• Implement standards and procedures for the overall Strategic Sourcing programme and Contract Management pertaining to strategic commodities (as contemplated in the SS COE and ratified by the Group iSCM Council);
• Deliver savings in terms of Degrees of Attainment (DOA) methodology and track attainment of these savings;
• Manage all procurement and related process for core business commodity purchasing;
• Consolidate demand signals from the business for core business commodities;
• Prepare Divisional Bid Adjudication Committee (DBAC) submissions;
• Drive consistent supplier relationship management (SRM) strategies, processes and systems across the Division, including monitoring, reviewing and reporting on strategic SLAs in collaboration with Senior Contracts Manager;
• Advocate supplier development initiatives as part of sourcing, in close collaboration with the Supplier Development function; and
• Sign-off strategic sourcing strategies.

Functional leadership and management

• Provide high-level operational support to Commodity Teams as part of the overall Strategic Sourcing programme. This includes: providing functional leadership and management, lobbying senior executive support and buy-in for relevant strategic sourcing initiatives; and mediate on conflict points between commodity teams and other functions of Procurement Management within the Division, including end-users and external stakeholders;
• Manage Strategic and Tactical Sourcing Managers to plan and resolve resource constraints in respect of staffing, information, systems or physical infrastructure; and
• Ensure good governance in all aspects of overall Strategic Sourcing programme by monitoring Business Critical Controls (BCCs), maintaining close integration and cooperation with the Governance and other relevant CoEs.

Manage strategic initiatives:

• Contributes to the delivery of the Strategic Sourcing CoE;
• Monitor the consolidated achievement of strategic and tactical objectives, formulate and implement plans for corrective action, if required;
• Report on the overall performance of the Strategic Sourcing programme within the Division and progress against achievement of strategic and tactical targets on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis, in line with Divisional dashboard reporting;
• Monitoring and reporting on the Division’s strategic sourcing Key Performance Indicators for upward integration into the Transnet-wide Strategic Sourcing CoE KPIs;
• Manage commodities and report monthly of savings and project roll-out; and
• Drive savings by consolidating commodity spend and suppliers across Transnet for the Division’s natural owned commodities and for other commodities; and converting regular buying to contracts and reducing acquisition costs and processing costs.

Stakeholder management:

• Communicate the vision and objectives of Strategic Sourcing to relevant internal and external stakeholders;
• Ensure close collaboration is established with top strategic suppliers and work together closely to resolve operational challenges as appropriate.
• Contribute to effective integration between Strategic Sourcing and the other components of SCM;
• Act as the executing officer for the directives, mandates and initiatives set by the iSCM Council and other bodies and persons in authority; and
• Provide regular feedback on progress and highlight or escalate issues and problems immediately as they occur.

Capability development

• Drive capability development initiatives for Strategic Sourcing within the Division;
• Approve performance measures, ongoing performance management and appraisal for direct reports;
• Approve skills development plans for staff;
• Implement and manage succession planning in the Strategic Sourcing function as part of talent management within the

Division;

• To lead capability development for sourcing within the Division and across Transnet, by providing focused training initiatives on strategic sourcing strategies, processes and systems; and
• Drive the values and behaviors required to create a positive motivational culture in Transnet’s iSCM arena, with specific reference to Strategic Sourcing.

Strategic Sourcing Centre of Excellence

• Improving operational efficiencies with regards to Systems and Procedures to ensure sourcing optimization and efficiencies are improved
• Data-analysis and interpretation, comparative studies and dashboard creation
• Develop and maintain benefits tracking models in support of client commercial agreements
• Identify, shape and drive continuous improvement initiatives
• Track and report tactical sourcing performance metrics
• Identify, shape and drive continuous improvement initiatives including local procurement and B-BBEE objectives.

Qualifications & Experience:

• 8-10 years of relevant experience in large enterprise preferably in the built environment
• Bachelors degree in relevant field
• MBA or related postgraduate qualification advantageous
• Hands-on line-management experience of Procurement organisations across multiple divisions
• PFMA and public sector Procurement experience
• MCIPS certification and CIPS membership advantageous

Standard Job Requirements

• Driver’s license code 08
• Travel as required and approved

Competencies:

• Problem Solving / Resolution
• Formulates strategies and business plans to achieve the category’s / Division’s strategic sourcing direction
• Generates new ideas or solutions by thinking "outside of the box"
• Understands and deal with various business situation using obtained knowledge and a broad spectrum of expertise
• Thinks in a systematic way but is open to new approaches
• Identifies areas of risks and implements corrective actions to mitigate the impact of risks to ensure overall sustainability