Sr. Associate Director, Procurement Operations - Princeton University

The senior associate director, procurement operations is accountable for directing all operational activities in support of the Procurement Services organization. Spanning the management of the University’s expense program, the supplier information management program and the accounts payable functions, the leader will drive operational synergy across all three functions leveraging an established team to provide timely, efficient, accurate and well controlled processing of all university requests to establish new suppliers, request reimbursement and disburse payment to vendors and other payees providing goods and services to the University.

To achieve this goal, the individual will direct the daily operations of the Operations function including providing leadership to the Operations team and activities, ensuring consistent application of internal controls and adherence to University policies, maintaining processing compliance with established Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) and supporting a broad range of stakeholder inquiries and requests.

As the University’s subject matter expert and authority on expense management, disbursement and supplier data related processes, the role  is also responsible for driving continuous improvement and transformation efforts across all Operations processes including T&E & disbursements policy, processes and compliance, invoice matching and automation, payment processing and tax reporting and compliance. In addition, the individual will partner with the Procurement Services leadership team to identify and implement strategic and innovative payment solutions that support the University’s growing and diverse payment requirements.

The role requires an experienced leader capable of quickly shifting between the hands-on transactional processing duties of a traditional operations department and providing strategic leadership for an organization rapidly transforming itself.

The Office of Finance & Treasury actively searches for staff members of exceptional ability and promise who share in Princeton University's commitment to excellence, and who present a diversity of viewpoints and cultures. We offer varied professional opportunities spanning all aspects of financial management, analysis, and processing in support of the teaching and research mission. As part of the University community, we respect the dignity and individuality of each member while trying to foster a sense of shared experience and common purpose. We are unwavering in our commitment to both diversity and community and embrace the variety of talents, backgrounds, and perspectives of all our colleagues.

Responsibility for the University’s credit card program:

• Ensures effective oversight of $70M credit card program, including travel & expense card, purchasing card, and e-payables program
• Oversees card profiles, MCCs, and other program components; works with the Financial Service Center team to execute and implement
• Collaborates closely with the Procurement Services department on the management of the purchasing card and e-payables programs
• Partners with quality and compliance analyst to ensure effective monitoring and controls are in place
• Provides regular card program reviews and manages relationship with credit card provider

Responsibility for the University’s supplier management program:

Provides direction to the team responsible for maintaining supplier requests including creation, updates and deactivations

• Resolves complex and non-standard University supplier maintenance requests
• Promotes the use of the University’s supplier portal for new and existing suppliers
• Manages all supplier facing documentation for setup including use of the portal and procure to pay requirements

Responsibility for the University’s accounts payable program:

• Directs staff in the processing of all activity streams including processing of supplier invoices, resolution of PO/Invoice match exceptions, travel and expense reports, credit card requests and usage monitoring and payment processing
• Ensures timely completion of resolution of reconciling items related to bank to and general ledger account reconciliations
• Provides guidance for the University’s information return and escheatment processes
• Ensures compliance with legal and regulatory guidelines including OFAC, AML and FCPA
• Monitors payments for domestic and foreign individuals and entities to ensure appropriate tax treatment

Management of service delivery, policies, processes, reporting and compliance:

• Ensures that staff are appropriately trained; manages and monitors their activity
• Provides timely and comprehensive support and solutions to the Financial Service Center and campus partners to address service issues, inquiries and non-standard requests
• Oversees prioritization and submission of system/process enhancement requests
• Meets regularly with campus constituents to share operational results, identify opportunities to partner and enhance existing processes
• Develops and maintains Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for all processing streams
• Provides leadership for policy and process changes
• Provides technical and procedural guidance in expense policies and procedures to staff and campus partners
• Implements monitoring and reporting mechanisms to monitor policy compliance and operational performance

Staff Supervision and Management:

• Establishes departmental goals and objectives in alignment with the Procurement Services mission; Lead staff in pursuit of those goals and objectives
• In partnership with each associate, establishes professional development plans and monitor ongoing progress
• Provides regular coaching and feedback on job performance, areas of opportunity and strength
• Conducts regular administrative meetings with staff to ensure timely dissemination of important information
• Ensures appropriate staffing levels are maintained at all times to support campus requirements

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Supply Chain, or related discipline
• 7-10 years’ experience leading a business operations team or department with transactional processing responsibilities
• Superior analytical ability to quickly gather facts, perform root cause analysis and draw conclusions
• Strong conceptual thinking skills with ability to lead others through ambiguous and/or complex issues
• Extensive experience managing change and dedication to delivering outstanding customer service
• Proven ability to develop and maintain influential and collaborative relationships at a variety of levels both within the organization and with campus partners
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills, including the ability to translate business needs into systems requirements, process improvements, and policy changes
• Listens carefully to input from colleagues and stakeholders; uses strong consensus building and facilitation skills to achieve successful project outcomes for team members and stakeholders
• Evidence of self-motivation and the ability to work both independently and with teams, with high personal standards representative of Princeton University's commitment to excellence
• Superior negotiation skills to influence campus partners and OFT leadership team on strategic direction, business case value proposition and process improvements
• Ability to manage multiple projects and tasks concurrently and knowledge of business requirement and project management principles and methodologies
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and allocate high volume transactional workload across a processing team
• Experience utilizing internal and industry information to benchmark, measure, and improve processes
• Extensive experience with Source to Pay lifecycle tools and processes including leading practices
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Experience interpreting and applying legal and regulatory requirements to payment processes

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Business, Finance, or Management
• Experience working in a higher education environment
• Demonstrated experience establishing and maintaining operating policies in a large and diverse organization
• Experience implementing new and innovative payment solutions
• Familiarity with Robotics Process Automation and other technologies that drive processing efficiency
• Proficient using business intelligence applications to manage, manipulate and analyze large datasets
• Experience implementing and monitoring Sarbanes Oxley controls

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS