Chief Procurement Officer & Director of Strategic Sourcing

Position Overview:  The University of Kansas seeks a Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) to provide strategic leadership in building and enhancing best-in-class procurement activities and processes.  The successful incumbent will be able to focus on initial campus location needs while evolving processes, systems, and building relationships to work toward comprehensive results across all KU campus locations and partnering organizations while maintaining a strong customer focused culture.  Experience being an effective change agent with both internal and external business partners and suppliers is required.

The CPO will work towards leading sourcing and procurement activities to move the enterprise forward to the next level of strategic sourcing and procurement results focusing on developing a a university-wide perspective to maximize leverage and overall effectiveness of supply, when possible.  The CPO’s responsibilities and leadership will be expected to grow as a key procurement and sourcing member for all University related activities and possibly for a greater consortium of purchasing activities across other State of Kansas institutions or organizations where applicable. 

Additional responsibilities include sourcing strategy development and implementation, common process definition and deployment, procurement organizational development and leadership, and delivery to support the University's business model, strategies, and financial operating plans. The CPO is directly responsible for material deflation, indirect savings and supplier development and performance, including quality and lead time reliability.  This position will also lead a team of sourcing and procurement professionals and is responsible to ensure best practices are followed to ensure efficiency, compliance, and a high level of customer satisfaction.

This position is a full-time, unclassified professional staff position that reports to and serves at the pleasure of the Chief Financial Officer.  Accomplishment towards the initiatives set may result in professional growth and compensation opportunities as set forth by the University’s Chief Financial Officer.

Situated in the picturesque, historic, and culturally vibrant city of Lawrence, and located approximately 40 miles from downtown Kansas City. Founded in 1865, KU is a designated Carnegie comprehensive doctoral / Research I University and one of only 36 public members of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU). The University enrolls more than 27,000 students and offers students and faculty opportunities to collaborate in its graduate and professional programs which include education, public health, medicine, law, and a number of allied social science disciplines. The University of Kansas is the largest of six public universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. KU is committed to excellence and fosters a multicultural environment in which the dignity and rights of every individual are respected.

Job Duties:  Operational and Strategic Leadership 40%
Provides leadership, oversight, and supervision of the daily operations of KU Purchasing Services. This includes overseeing the departmental budget and ensuring that all earned vendor rebates are collected in a timely manner.

The Chief Procurement Officer will collaborate with other senior members of the KU administration and senior departmental officials in recommending, establishing, and implementing University business policies, procedures, and systems that insure effective and efficient operations. Responsible for the implementation and enforcement of purchasing policies and procedures to carry out KU’s strategic plan while ensuring sound internal controls are maintained.  Leads a constant cycle of improvement in all areas of procurement processes.

Works with the Vice Provost of Finance and other members of the university administration and departmental officials on projects related to cost savings and administrative efficiencies.  The CPO will partner with Jayhawk Community Partners to drive strategic partnerships with university suppliers to achieve efficiencies and revenue growth.  Prepares detailed financial analysis of various purchasing data to identify cost saving and strategic partnership opportunities.

Develops and implements contracts to procure services, equipment, materials, and supplies required by the University.  Writes, negotiates, interprets, and administers contracts for the maintenance, purchase and lease of material, equipment, and real property.

Manages the full purchasing scope of the bidding process, pre-bid meeting, bid opening, and award recommendations for new University agreements in addition to reviewing existing service/supplier agreements for cost savings and consolidation opportunities.

Ensure compliance with University and government regulations; interact with government, internal, and external auditors; evaluate and implement audit recommendations.  Develop and implement internal controls to ensure compliance

Project Development 40%
Responsible for the development and implementation of strategic sourcing strategies for the university within general policy parameters.  The Chief Procurement Officer must keep current on the latest e-Procurement technologies and tools to maintain optimal efficiency in the university’s procurement processes.

The CPO is responsible for developing appropriate spend/procurement oversight in partnership with senior department leaders and IT to ensure resource alignment and minimize system/resource overlap for University spend.

Responsible for partnering with KU Financial Services, KU Financial Management Systems, IT staff and other campus stakeholders to continue the development and operation the KU Procure to Pay system. Responsible for developing and driving enhancements to the Oracle Financials system.


Procurement Card Coordination 5%

Serves as the Procurement Card Coordinator and works in partnership with the KU Financial Services to administer the program and work to optimize the program’s utility for university operations.

Communication, Collaboration, Training, and Professional Development 10%

Effectively communicate with university stakeholders through direct communication, training seminars, newsletters, departmental audits and meetings, an e-mail network and the Oracle Financials system regarding how to operate effectively within the established systems, policies and procedures to ensure compliance with policy and procedure while pursuing excellence.

Responsible for building professional partnerships to align stakeholder needs with the Strategic Sourcing vision of the University of Kansas.

Responsible for coordinating and collaborating with the University of Kansas Medical Center, KU affiliated corporations, auxiliaries, and other Kansas Board of Regents Institutions for purposes of pursuing cost savings and administrative efficiencies in areas of common interest for all entities.

Represents the University at national, regional, and local meetings as appropriate.

Represents the University of Kansas or the Board of Regents on committees and projects as assigned.

Actively participates in national and regional procurement organizations and committees such as E&I Cooperative Services, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Midwestern Higher Education Compact and the Educational Advisory Board.

Other Duties as Assigned 5%

Required Qualifications:  

1. Master’s degree and 5 years of related experience or Bachelor’s degree and 7 years of related experience in the field. Related experience must include all of the following:
   1. Experience leading an organization in areas of purchasing, contracting, and/or sourcing.
   2. Experience in planning and scheduling buying activities for efficiency and service.
   3. Experience working, leading, managing, and aligning procurement strategies with large, complex organizational strategic goals.
   4. Demonstrated effective negotiating skills to lead procurement activities and manage contractual agreements.
   5. Experience performing detailed financial data analysis and the use of data management, reporting, and spend analytics tools.
   6. Demonstrated ability to create and communicate clear purchasing strategies and working documents to various stakeholders.
   7. Working knowledge of the legal aspects of contract administration and best purchasing practices.
   8. Experience with electronic procurement systems and related technologies such as office productivity software.
2. Five years of progressive leadership responsibility.
3. Seven years supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications:  

1. Master’s degree in Business or closely related field.
2. Completion of Certified Purchasing Professional (CPP) and completion of, or work towards completion of Certified Professional Purchasing Manager (CPPM).  If hired without certification, needs to be completed within one year.
3. Minimum of 10 years of purchasing and contracting experience in a wide variety of commodities/services in a college/university or government setting.
4. Experience in driving substantial change/change management in a large, complex organization. 
5. Experience implementing an eProcurement system.
6. Experience in coaching and developing staff.
7. Experience in working with corporate and community partnerships.

Candidate Instructions:  A complete application consists of a resume/CV, cover letter, and a list of three professional references.

• Review of applications will begin September 20, 2021 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants is identified. 

For a complete job description and to apply please go to: https://employment.ku.edu/staff/20179BR