Context of the mission / Objective(s) of the job

As buyer, the consultant will directly report to the head of CPO and will be responsible for following tasks:

• Take the lead of each acquisition project during the buying phase (market scan, supplier selection, negotiation, contracting)
• Requirements definition: Define the scope, gather the relevant data and information and get approval from the business managers.
• The buyer will manage the Strategy preparation and presentation (approach, team, timing), RFx preparation, RFx evaluation, negotiation and the contract implementation (creation, approval, signature).
• Act as an interface in the defined scope on all issues between internal customers and suppliers during each buying phase.
• In this process where quality is and will always remain the main aspect, the Buyer is personally responsible to optimize the contractual and financial conditions (“target = at true market conditions”) of each purchase.
• Manage existing tools, assuring that the information is up-to-date in order to guarantee the quality of the process end to end and in order to document the key points of any procurement process (audit trail).
• In collaboration with the team and business partners, evaluate existing procedures and proposing improvements.
• Build good and productive working relationships with the team and internal clients.
• Give advice to internal clients and proposing solutions in case of difficult situations.
• Supplier Relationship management: the buyer assumes the primary responsibility for maintaining ongoing relationships with suppliers and controls their interaction with other functions.
• Management of the administrative activities linked to the process
• Regular reporting of activities to the manager of the department.
• The buyer assures compliance to the CPO methodology and the ethical code.
• Assume all administrative tasks shared between all CPO team members.

Required Knowledge and Experience

• Ability to work self-sufficient according general guidelines.
• Respects strong ethical and deontological principles.
• Eye for details and pragmatic.
• Ability to analyse large quantities of information
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Open minded and positive personality.
• Discretion, diplomacy, flexibility.
• Able to take on an advisory role towards internal clients.
• Good presentation.
• Experience as IT buyer (including complex negotiation – Microsoft, …)
• Able to handle a complete purchasing process (demand management, RFI, RFP, proposal analysis, contract & price negotiation,…)
• English, Dutch, French