Associate Contract Manager
Job Summary and Qualifications This entry level manager position is responsible for supporting the negotiation of industry leading national agreements for the Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) within the sourcing operations department. The objective is to ensure best in class industry pricing and contract terms and conditions. The goal of this position is to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for professional advancement within the strategic sourcing department or the GPO. The individual will assist in the management of the Core GPOs Portfolio to include Laboratory, Nursing, Surgery and/or Medical Devices. The position's key area of focus will be to gain experience and enhanced knowledge of strategic sourcing processes as well as to provide support for timely execution of strategic sourcing initiatives. The position may have additional responsibilities for the purposes of development and workload allocation. The individual may require time to build knowledge of the industry, organization, processes, suppliers and HealthTrust members. The individual will follow standard practices and policies in analyzing situations with data in order to solve a range of straightforward problems.
What you will do in this role:
Participate, acquire knowledge and demonstrate understanding of strategic sourcing processes, including but not limited to:
• Strategic sourcing goals, strategy development and risk mitigation
• Building strategic relationships with colleagues and supplier base
• Strategic sourcing presentations and communications
• Contract loading, summary sheets, terms & conditions
• Contract life cycle management (CLM)
• Negotiation fundamentals and tactics
• Product categories, features, benefits and how end-users’ interface with products
• Customer issue resolution
• Financial and data analysis
• Interpretation and use of market information provided by global sourcing team
• Supplier profiles and how this supplier knowledge is used for executive strategies, to create leverage, and mitigate risks
• Portfolio intelligence reporting
• Supply chain transparency and resiliency
• Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives
• Contract audit process
• Collaboration with other HealthTrust departments to understand department key roles, functions, and value proposition to providers
Project Management:
• Plan and execute sourcing project timelines for assigned responsibilities with guidance from manager or negotiators
• Translate objectives into project planning priorities, create and manage work plans for multiple projects and priorities within assigned portfolio
• Collaborate with negotiator to finalize projects in the time-frame designated for membership communication
• Monthly workplan reconciliation to include errors and updates on a rolling 18-month calendar
• Manage and track project milestone dates on a weekly basis • Attendance of weekly Portfolio team meetings with negotiators and associated AVP/VP
Sourcing Management:
Under general supervision, the individual may be responsible for the sourcing process for assigned projects including: market research, bid preparation, RFI/RFP, contract negotiations, financial proposal supplier relationship, essential communications, customer/board member interactions, alignment of resources during process and contract launch
• Category strategies and final awards must be presented and validated by customer-led Advisory Boards and/or a customer-led, executive-level Supply Chain Board; individual's board presentations must be well prepared, concise, and articulated clearly
• Collaboration with functional team throughout the sourcing project:
o With legal staff on development and finalization of contract o With financial analysts on assessing supplier proposals
o With board leads on meeting with advisory boards o With contract analysts on product/price loading of awarded agreements
o With portfolio specialists and communications on contract launch/implementation
o With account management in their customer-facing duties related to the portfolio
• Attendance of Clinical Board meetings for assigned Portfolio
• Will coordinate with CART team on upcoming FTM presentations
Contract Management:
• Assist in creation of new/renewal contracts or project sourcing events (BPMs) in CLM
• Creation of contract amendments to include extensions, assignments, minor cosmetic changes
• Utilization of DocuSign for execution of amendments or agreements
• Review of weekly member communications against newly published contract summary pages
• Completion of quarterly cost increase and mitigation reports
• Coordinate quarterly supplier business reviews with Portfolio Director
• Review of RAFT (GPO Fee payments) reporting for assigned Portfolio Supplier
Resiliency Management:
•Will work directly with suppliers and portfolio director to address supply disruptions
• Review of disruptions against what has been published in supply disruption portal (member portal)
• Utilization of EverStream to communicate potential supply issues and mitigation tactics
Policies & Procedures:
• Maintain timely achievement of all assigned sourcing initiatives ensuring activities adhere to all established policies and procedures and standards of business conduct
Customer Service:
• Maintain strong customer relationships and build trust and respect by consistently meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Customers are internal and external.
• Work with HealthTrust audit team to assist and facilitate engagement and finalization of audit projects
What qualifications you will need: • Bachelor's Degree preferred (Supply Chain, Healthcare, Business, Finance preferred)
• 1 - 3 years of relevant work experience (i.e. strategic sourcing, contract negotiation, contract management, supply chain operations, materials management, purchasing, financial analysis) preferred
• Healthcare knowledge is a plus
