"Our Company provides a state of predictability which allows brokers and agents to act with confidence."

The Procurement Officer will play a critical role in leading, developing and implementing long-term strategies that focus on category-led strategic sourcing, effective contracting, data analysis, spend analytics and the end-to-end procure-to-pay process.  The  Procurement Officer will provide high quality service delivery to ensure all operating units can efficiently procure and obtain the best value for the goods and services needed to support their operations and the overall mission of W. R. Berkley Corporation.  In addition, coordination with multiple functional areas will be imperative, including Accounting and Finance, Compliance, HR, Information Technology, Information Security, Legal, etc.  The Procurement Officer will oversee the execution of daily management, operations and strategic initiatives across the procurement function, as well as develop measurable plans and procurement metrics to ensure that value, customer service and cost savings goals are met or exceeded.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and oversee a procurement department comprised of 2 to 3 procurement specialists besides the Procurement Officer.
• Provide strategic direction, vision and leadership to the procurement organization; coordination with functional areas; become a trusted advisor to executive leadership and internal stakeholders for procurement matters.
• Work with key stakeholders to develop, maintain, revise and communicate the overall policies, mission, vision, strategies and practices to ensure alignment with the needs and mission of W. R. Berkley Corporation.
• Manage collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including operating unit staff responsible for purchasing decisions. Communicate, develop strategic sourcing initiatives with stakeholder collaboration, solicit feedback and refine the strategic procurement process.
• Create and implement strategies that ensure procurement services are delivered in an effective and efficient manner and achieve high levels of client satisfaction relative to benchmarks and metrics.
• Establish multi-year plan with realistic projected savings. Ensure reported savings are verifiable.
• Establish, monitor and report service level goals, KPIs, and customer satisfaction criteria for procurement.
• Achieve significant ROI on cost of procurement.
• Maintain and establish consistent contracting policies and procedures that comply with existing laws, regulations and W. R. Berkley Corporation policies.
• Work to transform the organization into a best practices model for service delivery while delivering a close partnership with operating units and functional areas.

Skills and Abilities

• Extensive knowledge of category-led strategic sourcing, vendor management, contracting, supplier risk management and supplier relationship management.
• Strong ability to aggregate spend in a highly decentralized environment.
• Experience developing and implementing strategic planning processes, benchmarking and organizational performance measures to drive improvement.
• Communicates effectively, with the ability to articulate analysis, options and conclusions orally and in writing for diverse audiences.
• Exceptional negotiator and proven experience in establishing and maintaining professional relationships, including success in networking and cross-functional collaboration.
• High degree of integrity, tact and ability to direct and influence others while remaining diplomatic.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Proven experience in developing, implementing and running an effective and efficient procurement organization.
• Mimimum of 10 years of experience in procurement, managing a team of professionals and diverse array of spend categories.
• Track record of significant transformational change with procurement.

Preferred:  MBA, Certified Purchasing Manager (“CPM”) and experience with PeopleSoft.