Procurement Advisor

Company Description

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Job Description

Position Summary:

The Procurement Advisor reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization's Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines, and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The Procurement Advisor acts in a lead role on behalf of the NMHC Corporate Purchasing Department in maintaining the systems, processes, and providing training across all facets of the procurement of supplies, equipment, capital equipment and service related contracts; interacting with management, department and affiliate personnel, physicians, vendors and other suppliers; facilitates support of NM approved contracts and suppliers; ensures compliance and alignment to NM contracts, may negotiate pricing for non-contract covered categories; acts as a support and training resource for hospital departments and affiliates; lead process improvement activities, documents and updates Standard Work and Training materials; Conducts quality assessments and provides education as needed; Actively manages NM's recall program ensuring all recalls are communicated and acted upon in a timely manner; Consistently supports team members to meet established departmental KPI's in support of efficient and effective procurement transactions.

Responsibilities:

Core Purchasing Functions:

• Manages and Monitors self in relation to meeting established SLAs and KPIs, and resolve issues in a timely manner.
• Processes assigned Purchase Orders using the NM ERP, consistent with NM policies and procedures.
• Consistently follows Standard Work protocols and participates in efforts to streamline, develop opportunities, and improve work processes.
• Responds to questions from internal customers within one business day.
• Supports their team members by serving as coverage for colleagues who are out of the office.
• Actively engages in department/team meetings by contributing and sharing observations and perspectives.
• Communicates and educates end users regarding procurement policies, procedures, processes, back-orders and supports the sourcing of alternative products if necessary.
• Maintains good communication with Accounts Payable, Master Data, Suppliers, EDI transaction center, and Distribution and Logistics Teams to resolve PO errors and match exceptions.
• Demonstrates proficiency in the use of the PeopleSoft procurement module.
• Works in conjunction with the Data Team, PCA's, Vendor Team, and Accounts Payable Team by providing assistance with information to increase accuracy of data elements within the MMIS module of the ERP system and to resolve errors that occur throughout the P2P process.
• Provides Training and Support to internal Procurement colleagues and external end users as needed.
• Directs new vendor requests to the vendor portal for information and registration entry.
• Communicates effectively with others, respects diverse opinions and styles, and acknowledges the assistance and contribution of others.
• Uses organizational and department resources efficiently and effectively.
• Presents a friendly, approachable professional demeanor and appearance.

Advisor Specific Duties

• Resolves complex or critical situations involving systems, customers, staff, IT, and other supply chain management personnel; escalates to leadership as needed
• Works in conjunction with the Data Team, PCA's, Vendor Team, and Accounts Payable Team by providing assistance with information to increase accuracy of data elements within the MMIS module of the ERP system.
• Utilizes established reporting tools to measure department performance in comparison to KPIs, identify areas of opportunity, and collaborate with colleagues to develop improvement plans.
• Leads efforts to resolve P2P match exceptions by identifying pricing issues, macro supplier issues, collaborating with Accounts Payable, Master Data, and Suppliers, and providing recommendations to Procurement Colleagues for PO updates required.
• Develops and updates educational training content in conjunction with NM Academy for P2P programs for the NM organization; i.e. PeopleSoft Requisitioner Training, AP and Purchasing Overview, Procurement Card and New Manager Training and others as required.
• Works with Purchasing Agents and Buyers to facilitate requisition processing in response to Help Desk inquiries. Informs Leadership of potential issues related to unprocessed requisitions and resulting dissatisfied customer departments.
• Supports MDI, daily huddles, training, and standard work development
• Monitors daily activity to ensure compliance with policies and procedures
• Collaborates with Master Data to ensure data integrity in PeopleSoft and EDI tools
• Demonstrates advanced knowledge of healthcare supply chain management and procurement practices.
• Initiates corrective education and training of Purchasing Specialists and Coordinators related to procurement processes and standard work.
• Establishes and maintains proficiency in the use of PeopleSoft Procurement Contracts and contract repository software platforms.
• Conducts quality assurance audits on requisitions over $100,000 to ensure adherence to organization contracting and expenditure policies. Facilitates action and additional communication and follow-up as required.
• Communicates substantive contract provisions and potential business risks to NMHC staff and management as appropriate.
• Monitors the integrity of the ERP Purchasing Module and automated processes (e.g. Open/Closed PO's, Dispatch Transmissions, Batch Jobs, and Requisitions).
• Identifies, investigates, takes action, communicates and follows-up on recurring ERP procurement module related issues or problems and notifies Leadership of any need to dialog with end users and/or their department management.
• Demonstrates a thorough understanding of NMHC Purchase Order Terms and Conditions, contractual policies and procedures; evaluates associated requisition documents to ensure consistency with policies and procedures.
• Has responsibility for the Corporate Purchasing Help Desk and e-Mail; facilitates problem resolutions, answers P2P related questions, educates to organization policies, and identifies necessary resources on behalf of customers and the Corporate Purchasing Department.

Recall Management

• Serves as the subject matter expert, administrates use, maintenance, training, and build of hosted automated recall management systems.
• Processes assigned recall alerts in accordance with the Recall Policy and established procedures utilizing purchase history to properly deploy notices to impacted affiliate sites.
• Notifies and coordinates communications of corrective actions necessary to the appropriate individuals in a timely manner to address recalls.
• Coordinates Recall alerts from Suppliers, Manufacturers, FDA, or other organizations and responding to them with the appropriate degree of urgency.
• Serve as the liaison between NM and suppliers or manufacturers as necessary throughout the recall process.
• Collaborates with Risk Management, Safety, and Infection Control as required.
• Records all pertinent actions and relative documentation (emails, vendor response forms, query results, etc.) in each recall alert to retain sufficient historical activity for auditing purposes.
• Reports on status of system recalls and compliance to system committees and external stakeholders.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Special projects and other responsibilities as directed by Procurement Services Leadership.
• Utilizes MS Office, i.e. Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Superior customer service skills
• Strong and proper communication skills and etiquette
• Well versed in PeopleSoft and EDI Transactions
• Knowledge of MMIS/ERP systems and Procure to Pay process
• Able to adhere and promote proper procedures
• Self-starter who takes ownership of the purchasing process and identifies opportunity for improvement

Qualifications

Required

• 5 Years of Progressive Healthcare Purchasing Experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills
• Outstanding Customer Service Skills
• Comprehensive knowledge of healthcare supply chain processes and management
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data to arrive at valid conclusions and provide recommendations and plans of action
• Superior critical thinking, organization, and priority management skills
• Skilled in the utilization of MS Office

Preferred

• Bachelor's Degree
• 10 Years of Healthcare Supply Chain Experience
• Experienced with managing automated ERP, inventory management, and transaction software systems
• Experienced in ticketing systems such as Service Now
• Experience and with recall management and associated technology platforms
• Experience with supplier management and relationship development

Additional Information

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.

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