Responsibilities include:

Category Spend Oversight

• Directly manages a team that will provide Sourcing and Tier based Vendor Mgmt. services for this assigned Category of spend team
• Directly accountable for the Spend Category team’s vision of a global delivery model and clearly articulate the strategic benefits of such model
• Accountable for aligning the diagnostic towards organizational and BU goals
• Advise and consult on innovative models of negotiation and vendor capability i.e. Outcome Based and Solution Oriented
• Maintain a strategic view of business objectives and how various projects fit within those objectives.
• Recommends the criteria against which initiatives are prioritized to ensure alignment with business and functional strategy.

Stakeholder Management

• Responsible for establishing, managing, and maintaining relationships with key C-Level (L2’s) and SVP/VPs (L3) business leaders and stakeholders and building deep one on one relationships based upon trust and delivering results that meet C-Level expectations (i.e. IT, Operations, Finance, Business Unit leaders).
• Partner with the business by gaining an understanding of their strategic plans and priorities which require investments and changes to their third-party needs; And by providing creative solutions that meet their goals and objectives.
• Communicate effectively across all channels to seek alignment with stakeholder expectations.
• Challenges the status quo, seeks resolution and action ensuring that key decision makers and stakeholders are held accountable and responsible for the optimal delivery of the portfolio of strategic initiatives that comprise the annual strategic spend plans.
• Coaches, and trains business partners and other stakeholders on outsourcing processes and best practices.

Consulting

• Provide strategic and operational consulting guidance to Assurant senior leaders in addition to providing guidance to 3rd parties in an effort to drive operational efficiencies.
• Provide process improvement recommendations based upon deep subject matter expertise and tracking of relevant industry trends and best practices to enable the identification of future savings opportunities that lead to long term strategic road map creation.
• Leverage knowledge of human behavior and negotiation strategies to gain alignment between Assurant leaders and third-party leaders so that both are working in partnership to drive tangible value by structuring win win scenarios in an environment where otherwise, the suppliers look at negotiations as win lose.
• Explore and recommend options to not only reduce cost of suppliers but to protect Assurant by reducing risk, automating processes and/or improving operating procedures.
• Communicate with C-Level stakeholders on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis.

Portfolio Management

• Vets and collaborates with business and functional leaders to ensure benefits information and investment packages (as applicable) are complete and accurate before presenting to Assurant’s Management Committee for review and approval.
• Understands the connection of investment with our strategic goals and key business/technology capabilities; understands how corporate level initiatives can have an impact to the portfolio of third party spend reduction initiatives being managed within the portfolio of initiatives that make up the category plans.
• Facilitates the selection, approval, prioritization and sequencing of new enterprise initiatives into the overall portfolio.
• Evaluate and assess risks as part of the lifecycle analysis.
• Ensure engagements and initiatives critical to attaining MCOM savings targets are properly resources and executed upon.
• Partner with BU and Functional Finance VPs to create initiative financials, and to review and approve Business Cases, Cost Benefit Analysis (CBAs) and Value Realization (VR) for applicable savings initiatives.
• Partner with FP&A VPs to ensure savings are realized and removed from the budgets of the impacted cost center owners.

Performance Management

• Accountable for attainment of category share of $100M savings target that has been communicated to the Board of Directors and the investor community.
• Coach and Mentor other team members understand the art of opportunity identification and problem solving
• Leverages relationship with L2 and L3 leaders to make supplier and/or service delivery model changes to increase the likelihood of successful attainment of financial goals.
• Works with L2 and L3 Leaders to establish annual portfolio goals and objectives so that financial commitment can be quantified, and annual operating plan can be reduced.

Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• 6 years relevant experience in shared services and outsourcing advisory or operational consulting
• Financial acumen with 3 or more years of experience in roles involving creating complex business case for outsourcing services (client or provider)
• Experience working with senior executives (including C level leaders) and proven ability to develop effective communications, analysis, content and presentation materials
• Solid experience in Change Management, Strategic Spend Analysis, Portfolio Diagnostic, Process Improvement and be a Self-Starter with an Entrepreneurial mindset
• Be resilient; challenging the status quo and driving execution of the initiatives within the Portfolio Roadmap (does what is required to achieve success)
• Good understanding of the procurement life cycle and service delivery model life cycles leveraged by consulting organizations to drive operational efficiencies
• Understanding of P&C Insurance value chain
• Excellent PowerPoint and Excel skills
• Proven track record in complex negotiations utilizing influencing skills in discussions with C-suite personnel from supplier organizations
• Must have business experience and strong acumen in complex deal structuring
• Experience leading large, complex sourcing projects
• Proven ability to build effective cross-functional relationships
• Deep knowledge of the contracting process along with T’s & C’s relevant to unique assigned categories of suppliers
• Advanced problem solving and critical thinking skills
• Excellent interpersonal, communication & influencing skills
• Demonstrated ability to function in a team environment and a highly matrixed environment
• Travel 10-30%

Preferred Experience, Skills and Knowledge:

• Masters of Business Administration (MBA), MS Supply Chain or Operations Management
• Strong experience with Outsourcing Solution Design
• Experience in a global business and technology environment
• Well versed with automation platforms and digital technologies
• Previous experience in Strategic Consulting (big 4)
• Experienced with applications of Portfolio Management along with Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) concepts.
• Outcome driven and customer centric approach to delivery
• Ability to deal with all levels of the organization in a professional and timely manner
• Independent thinking & creative problem-solving skills
• Proven success managing/leading complex cross functional relationships (i.e. IT, HR, etc.) from sourcing all the way through execution