Senior Manager, IT Procurement

About Us

The Ontario Cannabis Store provides safe, responsible access to recreational cannabis for adults 19 and older. We operate the sole legal online store for recreational cannabis in Ontario and are the provincial wholesaler of cannabis for private retail stores.

Working at the OCS is a unique opportunity to be part of an agile start-up in a ground-breaking new industry.  We’re a diverse team passionate about delivering a great customer experience, working together with mutual respect and building value out of our differences.  We’re an inclusive organization that understands that delivering great results comes out of ensuring every voice is heard.  

About the Role

We're seeking an exceptional Senior Manager, IT Procurement to join our Procurement team. The Senior Manager, IT Procurement will partner with lines of business to collaborate on annual and on-going business plans for strategic information technology sourcing. They will participate as a member of assigned functional area’s senior leadership team as the procurement point of contact, provide comprehensive support to senior management on a variety of strategic, tactical, and operational matters related to functional area, and/or enterprise level procurement business planning, requirements, and initiatives.

The Senior Manager will provide overall leadership, strategy and execution related to all phases of the IT Procurement function and processes covering IT hardware, software, and services by ensuring all purchases comply with the procurement policy. They will take a holistic view of the organization and identify opportunities for consolidating and enhancing services and develop and recommend strategies and plans for strategic sourcing. They will also provide strategic advice, guidance, recommendations, and consultation to internal stakeholders at all levels. The Senior Manager will ensure that business areas receive optimal benefits and best value for money. This role will shares ownership for business value results and outcomes.

The Senior Manager will develop and enhance procurement service excellence, governance protocols, identify and reduce potential blockers and risk, and build productive and positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders across the OCS. They will be responsible for all escalations from internal and external stakeholders and vendors, manage bid disputes and challenges, as well as develop action plans and strategies to enhance client relationships and delivery of procurement services. 

The Senior Manager will manage a team responsible for the delivery of Procurement Services. They will lead, manage and foster a team environment to drive best practices in strategic procurement activities.

About Your Day

• Maintain an organizational view of planned procurement activities to develop strategies, identify opportunities for consolidation and efficiencies that consider organizational goals and objectives, resulting in better business value
• Apply expert knowledge to develop innovative category and procurement solutions in compliance with policies and directives in order to drive best value and successful outcomes for clients, influence and guide adoption
• Act as a corporate liaison within assigned categories on all procurement matters; provide presentation/briefings to the executive team up to and including Chiefs; lead and facilitate regular planning and status meetings
• Develop, implement, and provide on-going education and support to business areas on processes, policies, new technology and program rollouts
• Establish and maintain effective communication processes and channels within and across categories, identifying opportunities for enhancement
• Identify and address blockers, inefficiencies and other issues to the delivery of effective procurement services
• Establish procurement operational processes, guidelines, standards and best practice for procurement through proactive problem solving and issues management 
• Develop and monitor resources plans to ensure competent resourcing is available to enable execution of procurement business plans; develop and negotiate mitigation strategies where constraints exist
• Manage Non-Competitive Business Case development where appropriate; develop strategies and provide education to clients to minimize compliance risks
• Maintain up to date knowledge and awareness of industry trends pertaining to procurement, assigned categories, and the OCS to enhance the delivery of procurement services
• Identify synergies by collaborating with external parties including ministries and other public sector agencies and entities 
• Leverage procurement and category specific expertise to partner and collaborate with business areas for assigned categories to develop, maintain and monitor annual operational plans aligned to organizational goals and priorities which include:
• identification of opportunities for strategic sourcing
• assist with the definition and strategy of future opportunities that may impact business or service delivery models
• develop strategies and solutions to deliver significant cost reduction and/or service improvement opportunities 
• direct and influence adoption
• identification of impacts to services and/or business continuity
• identification of risks and development of mitigation plans
• negotiation of timing, prioritization and reprioritization of initiatives across functional areas, divisions, departments, and sections to ensure objectives are met
• identify and address blockers, inefficiencies and other issues to effective procurement service delivery
• Develop and maintain sophisticated reports on active/planned procurements and existing contracts including but not limited to risks, status, spend, usage, expiry, extensions, etc.
• Actively participate in strategic planning sessions with internal stakeholders
• Oversee complex, high risk, politically sensitive and/or contentious RFP processes through the provision of leadership guidance and support
• Support the Director and collaborate with other Procurement staff and business areas on overall organizational business planning aligned to strategic objectives, priorities, and operational goals, taking into both account category projects and enterprise projects and objectives, as well as short term and longer-term/future state goals and objectives
• Manage annual plans and relationships with category client’s areas to ensure all current and future activities meet the needs of the business by strategically allocating work, providing updates and reporting on metric results in a timely manner
• Be the point of contact to work with category business areas, build relationships and be the strategic partner to the business
• Develop and maintain customer service excellence and strong positive working relationships internally with category business areas and support areas (legal, IT, Privacy, etc.), external stakeholders, vendors and the supplier community to achieve optimal business outcomes
• Understand enterprise, category and client objectives, and participate in annual and on-going procurement business planning
• Develop and maintain effective communication linkages and relationships internally with business partners and externally with stakeholders to discuss and resolve issues and exchange information of mutual concern
• Champion category partnerships by taking a leadership role with clients to proactively ensure organizational and category procurement plans effectively address short and long-term business area objectives to ensure business value
• Establish an environment of mutual trust, respect and accountability
• Advocate for an awareness and focus on collaboration in the development of strategic plans, champion the value of early procurement involvement
• Develop a deep knowledge of business areas within assigned categories and build positive relationships, both horizontally and vertically
• Provide strategic advice, consultation and recommendations to client areas at the executive level, in order to mitigate risk and realize client objectives, direct and influence adoption
• Collaborate and facilitate joint initiatives across categories as required to support the realization of organizational strategy and goals
• Build and lead a team of highly qualified professionals developing their skills and competencies by planning effective development activities and allocating decision-making authority and task responsibilities as appropriate
• Establishing aggressive performance goals, coaching, training, and evaluating for maximum performance
• Identifies and enables development and stretch opportunities where appropriate
• Conducts the hiring and performance management process
• Allocates work, establishes and monitors performance objectives, ensures effective performance management of staff, and provides expert guidance and expertise to staff 
• Drives collaboration and development to maximize individual and team growth
• Identifies resource requirements and constraints and develops action plans to mitigate 
• Ensures current policies, procedures, and processes are understood by staff and team and are being applied consistently in decision making and execution on RFx projects
• Provide leadership and education through effective communication and guidance to ensure the staff is engaged, informed and understand new developments within the division/organization, legislative changes, policies, procedures, and guidelines so they can provide knowledgeable and high-quality procurement services to clients
• Research the supply market to identify and understand the potential supply base with supplier cost drivers’ analysis and trends in the industries. Analyzing the different options by ease and benefit and provide full market analysis and differences in all covered demand points within the line of business client(s) 
• Ensure that market intelligence, benchmarking activities, and vendor performance measurement process all deliver value-adding information – maintain market knowledge intelligence
• Enable early involvement of business areas as part of annual business planning and ongoing procurement planning
• Enable VMF discussions in the development of procurement strategies, collaborating with EVRM
• Develop strategies and approaches for the inclusion of Vendor Management across the procurement life cycle including the RFX templates and associated documentation
• Provide consultation/recommendations to business areas and the procurement team
• Coordination and collaboration with EVRM pertaining to amendments, SOWs and/or extensions and including VMF scorecard results as part of options and planning
• Proactively develop internal and external relationships by making efforts to listen, understand, and support business needs
• Establish and cultivate strategic relationships with strategic suppliers
• Collaborate, anticipate and provide solutions giving high priority to internal and external business needs satisfaction
• Foster a culture of collaboration, efficiency, transparency, and accountability within the department and throughout the organization
• Lead and participate in the implementation and delivery of procurement improvement initiatives and enhancements
• Ensure risk management, quality management and continuous improvement monitoring, information and performance metrics are established to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness procurement 
• Review and analyze existing programs and processes for effectiveness and efficiencies, and develop strategies for improvement
• Introduce and promote innovative and value-based procurement solutions and initiatives, which will deliver cost reduction and/or enhance and improve service delivery, and mitigate risk to actualize optimal business outcomes 
• Promote an inclusive, diverse, and welcoming culture that encourages empowerment and encourages innovation, the free flow of ideas, questioning reasons for process, and proposing efficiencies and solutions

About You         

• Post-secondary education in a related field or equivalent
• Bachelor’s degree in business/commerce with a specialization (or post grad) in supply chain management or procurement, or equivalent is preferred
• Formalized leadership training is preferred
• 4-6 years in a strategic sourcing and supplier management role
• 4-6 years Category specific experience including but not limited to: IT, Consulting, HR, Corporate Services, Facilities, Operations, Supply Chain, or other relevant categories
• 2-4 years’ experience managing direct reports within a Procurement department
• Experience knowledge of the public sector procurement environment, including the Ontario Public Sector Procurement Directives and applicable revisions. Understanding of political environment and how this can influence and impact procurement outcomes
• Understanding of public sector (Federal and Provincial) buying groups and programs including but not limited to the Ontario Buys VOR Program, Centralization of Ontario’s Public Procurement Activities, Ontario’s Travel Meal & Hospitality Expenses, Ontario’s Open Data Directive, and other related provincial policies and directives
• Expert level knowledge of the public sector procurement environment, including the Ontario Public Sector Procurement
• Directives and applicable revisions
• Understanding of political environment and how this can influence and impact procurement outcomes
• Supply Chain Management Association (SCMAO), Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO), Certified Professional Public Buyer(CPPB), Public Sector Procurement Program (PSPP) certification or equivalent   are preferred
• Other relevant preferred certifications which could include: Project Management Professional (PMP), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), Business Relationship Management (BRM) certification 
• Intermediate MS Office skills
• Sound knowledge of, or certification in procurement / Supply Chain Management
• Sound knowledge of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing processes 
• Strong conflict resolution, negotiation, and interpersonal skills
• Proficient in the use of applicable software including Microsoft Suite of programs, collaboration tools (SharePoint), electronic bidding systems (Merx, Biddingo Bids & Tenders, Jaggear, and others), Business-to-business (B2B) applications, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) programs such as Dynamics 365, Oracle, SAP, etc.
• Experience with ServiceNow or other Procurement/Contract Management software
• Expert level knowledge of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing processes, including innovation and value-based procurement initiatives
• Sound knowledge of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing processes within a public sector environment 
• Expert level conflict resolution, negotiation, facilitation, and interpersonal skills

About the Job

• This position currently offers a hybrid work schedule. The current in office requirement is a minimum of 3 days/week (may be more depending on business needs). The OCS office is located near York Mills and Yonge Street. However, OCS reserves the right to change this policy and its office location at any time.
• City: Toronto, ON 
• Employment Type: Permanent, Full-Time
• Required Travel: Rare, usually within the GTA

Compensation

The target hiring range for this position is $115,000- $125,000. Placement in the salary range will be based on factors such as market conditions, internal equity, and candidate experience, skills, and qualifications relevant to the role.

We are committed to providing an accessible, equitable and inclusive candidate and employee experience. We provide reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process and in employment. If you require an accommodation please let us know, we will work with you to meet your needs.