Operational Lead: Procurement Intelligence and Value Delivery at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

About the Position

SARS is looking for a motivated, passionate person who can work with multiple cross-functional teams and various stakeholders to enable strategic sourcing and procure to pay teams in support of the Manager – Value delivery and Procurement intelligence.  S/he will contribute towards the higher purpose and service orientation of SARS by ensuring that their responsibilities are carried out timeously in support of the procurement division to enable that they meet the requirements of Section 217 of the Constitution.  The incumbent will be responsible to manage and monitor the implementation of procurement plans through the production of intelligence reporting and data analysis activities and end-to-end processes in order to deliver on approved operational plans and to continuously enhance service, in addition S/he is required to participate and provide commercial/value for money inputs on pricing as a member on Bid Specification / Evaluation Committee for all sourcing projects.

The incumbent we are looking for, should be able to support procurement to demonstrate cost savings through the application of superior strategic sourcing principles e.g. benchmarking, cost analysis and breakdown, effective negotiation, and ensuring that the process meets the fundamental pillars of a competitiveness, fairness, equitability, transparency and cost-effectiveness.

The successful incumbent will join a highly motivated and capable team responsible for Procurement intelligence, pricing analysis, Spend and performance Reporting.

Experience in working in a Supply Chain Management Environment will be a key consideration for applicants, as this role is located with the Procurement function within SARS.

Job Purpose

• To plan, manage and monitor the implementation of procurement plans through the production of intelligence reporting and data analysis activities and end-to-end processes in order to deliver on approved operational plans and to continuously enhance service delivery.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• BCom or other Relevant Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) AND 5-7 years' experience in a Procurement / Finance environment, of which 1 year ideally at supervisory level.
• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 10 years related experience in a Procurement / Finance environment.

Minimum Functional Requirements

Job Outputs:

Process

• Develop plans with stakeholders to improve supply chain management by reducing prices and costs, improving quality and lead/support the negotiation and pricing team.
• Analyse threats, opportunities and potential markets by conducting benchmark/cost comparison, industry trends and internal spend analysis exercise and produce intelligence reports for contract negotiation.
• Participate and provide commercial/value for money inputs on pricing as a member on Bid Specification Committee for all sourcing projects.
• Recommend the commercial viability of the results to ensure commercial astuteness in procurement contracts by applying total cost of ownership principles in all commercial evaluations.
• Ensure compliance to PFMA in relations to strategic sourcing and tendering initiatives.
• Develop costing schedules and evaluation methodology, keep and update database for business intelligence.
• Identify potential partners for projects, establish and maintain liaison channels with relevant role-players locally and internationally.
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives through continuous research, collecting data and analysis in order to produce reports that will enable effective business decisions.
• Monitor and manage forecasts and expenditure budgets (quarterly and annually).
• Liaise with business units for compilation of the organisational demand plan to National Treasury and monitor the adherence and progress within procurement and the relevant business unit.
• Accumulate information to report on work progress and use for decision making purposes and the identification of improvement opportunities.
• Apply discretion and judgement to diagnose symptoms, causes and effects and to make decisions to overcome problems and to provide solutions.
• Apply the necessary discretion and judgment in making decisions and overcoming obstacles in order to attain set goals and objectives for area of accountability.
• Deploy resources appropriately and anticipate and resolve problems to ensure that tactical targets are achieved within agreed deadlines & standards.
• Ensure procedures, policies and mandates are clearly understood and complied with.
• Ensure the development, alignment and implementation of end-to-end processes within area of accountability for continued process improvement.
• Frequently report on progress of unit and or team against pre-defined objectives and standards, ensuring accurate representation of facts.
• Implement change & provide guidelines to direct reports defining the impact of change, the change itself & new requirements as a result of the change.
• Implement resource plans in line with delivery and performance objectives, on budget and in partnership with specialised areas.
• Link and communicate unit's objectives back to mandate, schedule and prioritise activities and allocate work to meet identified work outputs.
• Manage a work function or unit by focusing on the delivery and achievement of set objectives within specified time frames, costs and standards.
• Plan and organise multiple work outputs by assigning priorities and continuously reviewing objectives and goals.
• Provide input into the development of the tactical strategy as well as develop and implement a supporting operational strategy.

Governance

• Implement and use governance & compliance procedures & processes effectively to identify and manage risks and expose previously unknown liabilities.
• Implement risk management, governance and compliance policies and processes to identify and manage risks and expose liabilities.
• Understand and implement governance control processes and role segregation requirements in area of accountability.

People

• Build strong relationships through providing direction and leadership to own team and expressing positive expectations.
• Encourage and enable teamwork, by enabling collaboration with others and commitment to pursuing set goals.
• Implement appropriate people capacity plans in line with delivery and efficiency targets, on budget and in partnership with specialised areas.
• Monitor and actively manage team performance to meet specified objectives against required targets, deadlines and quality standards.

Finance

• Draw up a budget aligned to operational delivery plans, monitor and report on variances.
• Ensure team's adherence to specified policies, standards & procedures to prevent & reduce wastage on financial resources & escalate associated risk.
• Implement, manage and report on cost improvement objectives and communicate or escalate any shortfalls.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of customer service excellence, which builds positive relationships & provides opportunity for feedback & exceptional service.
• Develop and implement processes which builds client service delivery excellence and encourages others to provide exceptional service. 

Behavioural competencies

• Honesty and Integrity
• Developing Others
• Trust
• Respect
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Adaptability
• Fairness and Transparency
• Accountability
• Conceptual Thinking
• Championing the Mandate
• Influencing Others
• Mobilising Teams
• Driving for Excellence
• Leveraging Diversity
• Accurate Understanding
• Building Sustainability

Technical competencies

• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Tax Knowledge
• Managerial Budgeting
• Project Management
• Relationship Building
• Effective Business Communication
• Problem Analysis and Judgement
• Planning and Organising
• Decisiveness
• Business Acumen
• Expenditure Management
• SARS Systems Products
• Supply Chain Management
• Communication skills (Fundamental)
• Procurement Knowledge

Compliance Competency

• GOC  Confidential
• Finance for Procurement Professionals
• Compliance to Procurement Principles and Legislation.
• Procurement Process Management (PPM)
• Procurement Contract Selection and Legal
• Supply Chain Analysis (SCA)
• Risk Management (Risk)
• Negotiation Skills (Neg)
• Contract Management (CM)
• Supply Base Analysis (SBA)
• Customer/Client Management
• Spend analysis (Procurement)