Strategic Sourcing Lead in Chicago, Illinois at Sidley Austin LLP

The Strategic Sourcing Lead will support the Director of Strategic Sourcing (Head of Strategic Sourcing) , and will work with personnel in all of the Firm's offices at various levels throughout the organization. The incumbent will manage and execute sourcing initiatives for specific functional/operational areas. These initiatives may include complex, high value contracts which support the infrastructure of the Firm. Within these areas, the Strategic Sourcing Manager will be involved with performing requests for proposals, requests for information, supplier analysis, financial analysis, contract negotiation, vendor implementations, reporting, and overall project/vendor management. The incumbent should be comfortable recommending courses of action to the senior level members within the firm.

• Strategic sourcing initiatives in the primary category of Library Research and supporting IT and Professional Services as needed.

• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and business owners to define and negotiate requirements for each initiative within the assigned categories.

• Analyze vendor proposals, contract terms, including the evaluation of scope and cost of services; identify and recommend cost saving opportunities and negotiation strategies.

• Experienced in recommending contract structures, partnering with legal teams, negotiate with key vendors, and perform contract reviews; evaluate and recommend pricing and contract terms.

• Ensure correct suppliers are being used to help reduce risk and cost, while also driving innovative business solutions for our stakeholders and identifying supplier-chain redundancy.

• Provide timely communication of project status/timing to stakeholders, team members; including to perform proper escalation and ability to delegate work with dedicated project managers.

• Perform ongoing vendor management for several key large contracts, addressing service issues, improving services with SLA and changes in scope.

• Anticipate issues; propose solutions working in coordination with project teams.

• Highlight opportunities for business process change, continuous improvement and engage in the solution formation.

• Ability to plan schedules and pipeline workload, review work product, train and coach project manager as needed.

• Collaborate on projects with other departments including: Legal, Accounting, Procurement, IT and IT Security, Data and AI, Privacy, Library, Facilities and Office Administrators.

• Work independently to problem solve, applying in-depth analysis, understanding of business objectives and related disciplines.

• Ability to travel - less than 10%

Education and/or Experience:
Required:

• Bachelor's degree required in Business, Finance, or other related fields

• A minimum of 5 years sourcing experience

• Demonstrated strong oral, written and presentation communication skills in diverse settings: one-on-one as well as small and large groups

Preferred:

• Experience in Professional Services and Library Research

Other Skills and Abilities:
The following will also be required of the successful candidate:

• Strong organizational skills

• Strong attention to detail

• Good judgment

• Strong interpersonal communication skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Able to work harmoniously and effectively with others

• Able to preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion

• Able to work under pressure

• Able to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities

#LI-Hybrid

The target salary range for this role is:

Salaries vary by location and are based on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the relevant market, skills, experience, and education of the selected candidate. Our compensation package also includes bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits program. Benefits information can be found at Sidley.com/Benefits.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the Duties and Responsibilities above satisfactorily and meet the requirements. The requirements listed above are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. If you need such an accommodation, please email sidleytalentacquisition@sidley.com (current employees should contact Human Resources).

Sidley Austin LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.