GES is hiring a Vice President of Global Strategic Procurement to build and lead a procurement function globally for the company, to support their Exhibitions and Spiro Divisions. In this newly created leadership role the successful candidate will collaborate with GES Exhibitions and Spiro operations teams on the procurement of key goods and services, own vendor and supplier management activities, develop and grow a centralized procurement program focused on cost savings and improved service, recruit and retain an internal procurement and purchasing teams, and develop and maintain procurement policies and procedures, all while maintaining a high degree of business partnership with operations teams and vendors, globally.

• Deliver annual cost savings and margin expansion through establishment and execution of a global purchasing and procurement capability spanning people, process, and technology.
• Set the tone for collaborative work with the GES divisions, and work with the teams “at the pace of the businesses.”
• Develop, communicate and execute on annual procurement business plans; establish, communicate, and implement short and long-term savings targets, key performance metrics and a process and toolset for monitoring and measuring success.
• Lead all aspects of the global strategic procurement initiative, serving as the primary point of contact for procurement strategy development, target setting, policies and procedures, training, staffing, and strategy execution, working in close partnership and collaboration with business leaders to achieve their goals.
• Create a culture of inclusion between the central procurement team and operational personnel responsible for local purchasing, fostering cooperation and encouraging the sharing of information to achieve desired outcomes.
• Take a leadership role in vendor and supplier management and negotiation of commercial terms ensuring all contracts are negotiated and renegotiated in time to support the businesses.
• In cooperation with GES Information Technology, define requirements, perform vendor selection, implement, test and train on a purchase order management system.

• Successful experience building, leading and growing results with an internal procurement function, preferably within the trade show industry, which delivered desired results across a number of geographic locations
• Proven experience in successfully bringing teams together, from diverse areas of the company and multiple locations, to achieve improved enterprise-wide procurement results.
• Experience with sourcing and procurement technology platforms
• Bachelor’s degree or greater in business, logistics or supply chain management, with 10+ years of related experience and at least 5 years of supervisory experience
• Strong orientation to business partnership and collaboration with teammates spanning a variety of business functions and responsibilities, with an open style that lends itself to building relationships, listening, communicating clearly, and creating a collegial environment.
• Carries a strong voice within the organization and possesses ability to positively influence others to adhere to proven methodologies and challenge the status quo regarding purchasing and procurement tactics.
• Data and metrics-driven leader with a bias towards action and delivery of results
• Operates with a strong sense of urgency, consistently striving to deliver actionable financial information to decision-makers quickly and accurately.
• Broad thinker and collaborative partner who understands business issues and geography-specific nuances with ability to define and communicate a clear solution and approach.
• Demonstrates a clear courage and willingness to lead, taking the time to explain concepts and best practices in sound purchasing and procurement tactics.
• Possesses a natural curiosity to understand the story behind the numbers, a willingness to challenge the status quo and desire to improve process efficiency and effectiveness.
• Leads by example and always with sound judgement and integrity; communicates with a high degree of intellectual honesty.
• Extremely high sense of self-awareness, being resourceful, resilient, and adaptable, while knowing when to ask for help when needed.