Purchasing Team Lead
Phoenix, AZ (USA)
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Post Date: 09/29/09 Company: American Express
Compensation: not given Contact:
Job Type: Full Time Phone: 602-537-7563
Education: 2 year degree Fax: 602-537-2959
Experience: 5 - 10 years Mailing Address:
Travel: Negligible
Reference: 115373BR
Job Description:
The Purchasing Team Lead for American Express Global Real Estate and Purchasing Services (GRE&PS) is a procurement professional responsible for creating and accounting for cost-effective contracting for leveraged, high-risk products and services supporting industry-specific activities.

Representative activities include the following:
  • Contract high-volume, high dollar services in a variety of indirect spend areas. Responsible for entire contract management process to include terms and conditions, use of appropriate tools and templates, pricing analysis and decision, project management and resolution.
  • Negotiate contractual terms and conditions; successfully mitigate organizational risk; ensure compliance with appropriate approval process; and analyze terms to account for term length and compliance and ensure advantageous for organization. Effectively negotiate cost savings and ensure reasonable rates to produce market competitive contracts. Understand pricing concepts to determine baseline negotiation starting point, account for fixed price, and discounts.
  • Support internal clients of all major business units and external customers across a broad geographic area to include US-based and international clients (Add geographic-specific area of responsibility).
  • Manage a team of purchasing managers in support of the Mainframe and Midrange computing environments.

Corporate Culture:
The Purchasing Team Lead must successfully manage time pressure, work against deadlines, and deliver strong results on schedule, as well as prioritize work based on customer or business need, urgency, and/or importance. They must be able to work in a fluid, fast-paced, and at times unstructured environment and maintain flexibility to meet the changing needs of the customer, business units, and American Express. This person works independently at times, but more often in diverse work groups and business teams. And manage a team of purchasing managers.

Candidates for the Purchasing Team Lead position should demonstrate mastery of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

In-depth knowledge of contract management: Procurement methodologies and proven project management capabilities; ability to gain in-depth knowledge of responsible commodities

Strong understanding of business principles: Purchasing, materials management, logistics management, business and contract law, licensing, and intellectual property

Research and analysis skills: Identify, and document cost savings opportunities to reduce overall costs, benchmarking

Problem-solving skills: Produce work-arounds based on legal terms/effects, pricing terms/issues, and challenging/changing requirements

Oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills: Proven and sustainable negotiation expertise; ability to successfully facilitate business meetings, diffuse conflict with proven resolution techniques, and achieve desired outcomes; professionally present to all levels of leadership, customers, and work teams

Computer skills: Proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Lotus Notes is essential; proficiency in Microsoft Project, Visio is desired; Working knowledge of Ariba Buyer or other eProcurement platforms a plus

The following experiences represent the level of education, training, and work experience needed to succeed as a Purchasing Team Lead:
  • 5 yrs of extensive, broad-based procurement experience including sourcing, contract negotiations and execution, project management and relationship management
  • Strong leadership skills, ability to assess, develop, retain and nurture talent. Ability to drive team cohesiveness, collaboration and cooperation within team and cross functionally in a multicultural and multiclient environment.
  • Must have proven success in exercising good judgment around financial and economic impacts of purchasing decisions with varying levels of leadership.
  • Strong workload management, analytical, customer service and thought leadership skills.
  • History of direct leadership or managerial experience - preferred.
  • Experience managing and executing high impact projects that can be long-term, complex in nature, include multiple players, and consist of high dollar amounts and large investment
  • College degree in business management, supply chain management, finance is desirable
  • Advanced degree is preferred
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