Strategic Sourcing Specialist - Global Procurement

Job Description

Everyone at Kite is grounded by one common goal – curing cancer. Every single day, we seek to establish a direct line between that purpose and our day-to-day work. Would you like to join us in this mission?

We are seeking a highly motivated, innovative individual to join our Global Strategic Sourcing and Procurement team as a Strategic Sourcing Specialist supporting indirect procurement at Kite’s state-of-the-art Santa Monica, CA headquarters.

The Strategic Sourcing Specialist will be responsible for procuring goods and services and will ensure an effective Source to Settle process with seamless selection of suppliers via competitive bids/quotes. Further, the Strategic Sourcing Specialist will onboard suppliers and will partner with the Category Lead(s) to negotiate advantageous business terms and conditions. This partnership will focus on transaction maintenance, including PO hygiene and Invoice Reconciliation, support of the business sourcing needs, management of preferred suppliers, reconciliation of issues during the P2P process, and aid in the development of category strategic planning.

Responsibilities of the Strategic Sourcing Specialist include, but are not limited to:

• Act as the point of contact for internal business stakeholder’s day-to-day interactions related to suppliers, purchasing, and payments

• Work closely with Category Lead(s), the business, and the supplier to assure reliability, quality, and continuity of supply or service

• Collaborate with the appropriate Kite functional teams to assist in the resolution of issues such as: work order or contract expiration, purchasing agreements, requisitions, invoice holds, open POs, losses, returns, cancellations, and discontinuations

• Analyze performance and issues related to Source to Settle process and systems

• Support competitive bids, onboarding of suppliers, and collaboration with business stakeholders, Finance, and Legal

• Collaborate with Category Lead(s) to execute category or procurement strategies and execute preferred supplier list

• Assist with change management activities associated with purchasing process and system

• Support negotiation of pricing, low risk contracts, and cost savings initiatives

• Ensure suppliers’ service agreements meet the quality and service standards

• Ensure compliance to Purchasing, Legal, and Financial procedures and policies

• Track, report, and escalate supplier issues and coordinate resolution between internal & external stakeholders

• Aggregate, consolidate, and communicate regular service needs to suppliers

Basic Qualifications:

• MS/MA degree with 2+ years of Supply Chain and/or Buying and/or Purchasing experience

• BS/BA degree with 4+ years of Supply Chain and/or Buying and/or Purchasing experience

• AA degree with 5+ years of Supply Chain and/or Buying and/or Purchasing experience

• High School degree with 6+ years of Supply Chain and/or Buying and/or Purchasing experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• 2+ years of experience in purchasing of goods or services specific to Site Services, Research, Development, and/or Consulting  

• 1+ year of experience operating in regulated industries, preferably with an understanding of the pharmaceutical industry

• Experience working with ERP (Oracle EBS, SAP or similar) and Contract Lifecycle Management systems as well as with Microsoft Suite products (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)

• Experience running competitive bids using Sourcing Tools (SCOUT/ARIBA/Coupa/GEP) as well as negotiating work orders or statement of works related to Research

• Knowledge of the Procure to Pay processes

• Excellent organizational skills and ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment

• Comfortable in a fast-paced expanding company environment and able to adjust workload based upon changing priorities

• Demonstrates respect, focuses on delivering value, and embraces learning and continual improvement

• Collaborate well in cross-functional matrix environment; ability to communicate and work independently with scientific/technical personnel

• Ability to adjust workload based upon changing priorities and manage in an ambiguous environment

• Strong team player with excellent communication skills (verbal and written)