procurement Commodity Specialist

Absa Group Limited (“AGL”) is a leading African bank with significant growth prospects across the continent. The Group Procurement Function is key in supporting the banks strategic goals of cost management, Enterprise & Supplier Development, Risk and Governance. The successful candidate will manage a procurement portfolio and provide direct support to the Procurement / Category Manager and related Business stakeholders of the Absa Business unit applying their procurement & sourcing skills, analytical capability and supply chain knowledge.

The high-performance procurement team is seeking a motivated candidate that will seamlessly integrate into the team and consistently deliver results.

• Support the Procurement / Category Manager and Head of Procurement by preparing information and analysis for negotiation processes and with the preparation of related information.
• Collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative information to assess suppliers’ capabilities and performance.
• Manage the RFP / RFQ / RFI (“RFx”) processes and analyse, develop and execute results.
• Ensure contracts comply with contract standards, legislation and AGL policies.
• Collect, investigate, and analyse information as requested by Procurement / Category Manager and Head of Procurement using data from internal and external sources.
• Provide input into the category and commodity strategy development processes and support category and commodity plan execution.
• Draft and maintain strategic contracts.
• Understanding of Services, Service Level Agreements (“SLA’s”) and contracting based on deliverables’.
• Supplier screening and due diligence using the Bank’s preferred tools / systems.
• Evaluate suppliers and manage their performance in collaboration with Supplier Management or business driven Service Management.
• Maintain constructive working relationships with internal stakeholders and strategic suppliers.
• Participate constructively and drive personal development within procurement / category team.
• Run ad hoc reports and queries based on team requirements.
• Develop, compile and analyse statistical data for procurement / category management reports.
• Assist in the Development of Total Cost of Ownership (“TCO”) and other cost improvement models.
• Collaborate and support supplier diversity in driving enterprise development and preferential procurement objectives.
• Collaboration and interaction with other procurement teams for the purpose of continuous strategy improvement.
• Conduct market research.
• Perform benchmarking on price, cost, and supply chain effectiveness.
• Execute procurement cost savings plans and track against targets.
• Load and maintain procurement documents on the procurement system.

• Bachelor’s qualification, preferably in Business, Commercial, Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Business Economics, Economics, Finance, or Accounting fields.
• Post Graduate qualification will be an advantage.
• CIPS / MCIPS qualification will be an advantage.
• 3 to 5 years of experience in procurement and sourcing.
• Managing cross functional team collaboration.
• Business and financial acumen, cost management tools, spend analysis, cost savings reporting, etc .
• Multi Category experience will be an advantage.
• Banking procurement experience will be an advantage.
• Supply chain tools knowledge – Procure to pay systems, purchase orders, payment, supplier assessments.
• Understanding of commercial matters and business environment.
• Strong knowledge of contractual agreements and some exposure to relationship management.
• Knowledge of end-to-end RFx and sourcing processes.
• Hands on experience in working with an Enterprise Resource Program (“ERP”) System (Coupa experience will be an advantage).
• Strong negotiation and presentation skills.
• Expert level efficiency in Microsoft Excel and MS-Word.
• Strong computer literacy (Power Point) and Microsoft Office Suite is required.
• High level analytical and communication skills required (written & verbal).
• A team member that can also operate independently with an ability for problem solving.

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)