Description
The Senior Athletic Contracts Specialist/Buyer will report to the Senior Associate Athletic Director/CFO with the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA), and will identify contracting opportunities, conduct solicitations, and execute and manage the resulting contracts.
The position will serve as a purchasing authority for ICA and is responsible for identifying emerging issues and trends in various commodity areas and assuring compliance with federal, state, and University requirements while meeting the business needs of customers and suppliers.
The position will also have dotted line reporting to the Assistant Director for Strategic Sourcing and Contracts, and serve as a member of the University’s UW Procurement Services Contracting and Sourcing team.
The position will have delegated authority to execute contracts, while collaborating closely with other campus and institutional stakeholders such as Internal Audit, Compliance and Risk, the Privacy Office, the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer, Accessibility, the Tax Office, and the Office of the Attorney General.
Execute Contracts – (25%) Conducts solicitations, review and approve purchase orders, and negotiates contracts in the best interest of the department, applying an understanding of the fundamentals of contract law, University and State rules and regulations, along with the elements of a contract, contracting authority and working with legal counsel.
Identify, assess, and mitigate risks for the department. Contract Management – (25%) Creates contract management plans. Serves as liaison with the customer and the supplier to ensure a seamless procure-to-pay process.
Regularly reviews contract spend analytics, contract life-cycle milestones and communicates with suppliers and customers.
At contract end, review and implement extension or other options in the best interest of the department. Serves as the department point of contact for non-procurement contracts and memorandums of understanding supporting various new and ongoing projects in the department.
Identifies individuals/units who need to be involved in contract development and ensures required review and approval signatures are obtained before the submittal of proposals or execution of contractual documents.
Authors and manages agreements using the Workday Strategic Sourcing application, in accordance with contract requirements and University/State policies and procedures; maintains all correspondence and contract documentation in an organized manner.
Researches and develops contract language and seeks guidance on complex terms and conditions; communicates issues to the Chief Financial Officer and/or legal counsel. Consults with the Office of the Attorney General, Risk Services, the Tax Office, and other resources as appropriate. Procurement Services – (25%) Establishes and updates policies and procedures for key procurement functions in conjunction with University and State requirements as needed.
Provides guidance and training to the department on changing financial and compliance policies.
Develops and reports on financial performance metrics and creates custom reports as requested. Partners with the department’s Information Technology team on technology-related procurement strategies and purchases, including the coordination and negotiation of Data Processing Agreements (DPA), accessibility, and security reviews; escalates risk concerns to UW Privacy Office, Office of CISO and other subject matter experts and stakeholders.
Leads the Department’s Supplier Diversity program in collaboration with UW Business Diversity and Equity and UW Procurement Services, focusing on the awareness and utilization of small, local, and diverse suppliers on campus while promoting avenues of opportunity to the external business community.
Assists requestors with identifying the right purchasing method for goods and services and guides them through the purchasing process. Submits contracts and other procurement documents for review and approval in accordance with the level of SCS’s delegated authority for contract execution.
Demonstrates proficiency in Workday core procurement systems, other applications such as GHX and Workday Strategic Sourcing, Workday reports, Word, Adobe Acrobat, Excel, and other spend analytics and planning tools and assists customers and suppliers to utilize systems efficiently.
Conducts ongoing research to maintain knowledge of emerging market trends and current technical expertise knowledge of commodities. Responsible for managing and resolving any Supplier Invoice match exceptions which requires intervention from a Workday Buyer role, and other ongoing management of Purchase Orders life cycles, including issuance of change order and order cancellation.
Vendor Management – (10%) Develops an interactive relationship and communicates with key suppliers. Identifies metrics for evaluation and develops a scorecard or rating system. Conducts ongoing business reviews with suppliers to identify emerging trends, key issues, and new opportunities to collaborate and improve business efficiency.
Strategic Planning – (5%) Assists department’s Chief Financial Officer with developing short and long-term plans in support of department’s purchasing needs. Utilizes reporting tools to manipulate data for analysis. Identify gap opportunities for creating contracts that would maximize discounts on department spending. Risk Management – (5%) Collaborates with Department IT, UW partner offices (e.g. Privacy, CISO, Procurement), and local stakeholders on the following: Assessing department software purchases for security, privacy, and accessibility. Identifying, escalating.
and contextualizing departmental risks for various audiences. Contract reviews, modifications, and UW riders.
Other Duties – (5%) Develops, organizes, and conducts training programs and presentations on various topics related to this position’s area of expertise.
Performs other duties as required to meet the operational needs of the department.
Compliance with the rules and regulations of the University, the NCAA, the Conference, the State of Washington and any other governing body is of paramount importance to the University.
The overall responsibility of this position is for the successful operation of the program in full compliance with all such rules and regulations.
As a condition of employment, the Employee shall be required to participate in rules education programs offered by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Requirements
A bachelor's degree in business or a related field and three years of progressively responsible experience in purchasing, contracting negotiation and management, or related field.
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
An equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills have been acquired may substitute for a degree. Demonstrated experience successfully managing multiple procurement projects and delivering projects on schedule. Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the delivery of impactful training and presentations.
Ability to lead meetings, give presentations, work with facts, and tell a story with numbers.
Demonstrated success in collaborating with diverse internal and external constituencies, including students, staff, and faculty.
Ability to effectively handle conflict respectfully and positively.
Commitment to working within an organization framework of continuous process improvement.
Application Process
Interested candidates can apply at the following website: https://uwhires.admin.washington.edu/eng/candidates/default.cfm?szCategory=jobprofile&szOrderID=238500&szCandidateID=0&szSearchWords=&szReturnToSearch=1