Supplier Management Specialist

Are you passionate about managing strategic supplier performance, contracts, and partnerships to improve quality, service, cost, and operational outcomes?

Would you enjoy using data, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement to manage risk and strengthen an end-to-end supply chain?

About the Team

Print Supply Chain Management is responsible for printing/manufacturing books, demand forecasting, deciding where products should be produced, and distribution, warehousing, transportation, stocking, and print-on-demand fulfillment.

About the Role

The role requires driving the performance of strategic suppliers to deliver quality, service, cost, and value; build strong supplier partnerships that promote accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement; and collaborate across the Supply Chain to strengthen resilience, manage risk, and deliver end-to-end business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Supplier Performance Management: Manage strategic supplier performance. Maintain scorecards, KPIs, reports, reviews, and meetings. Monitor contracts and SLAs. Address gaps through corrective actions. Improve service, quality, cost, and operations. Build strong relationships and maintain commercial governance.

• Contract Management: Manage supplier contracts throughout their lifecycle. Monitor obligations, pricing, and service commitments. Support renewals, amendments, and extensions. Maintain accessible records. Work with Procurement and Legal to clarify contract terms.

• Tender and Supplier Selection Support: Support sourcing and tender activities. Contribute to RFPs, RFIs, evaluations, and due diligence. Assist with supplier assessments, onboarding, and transitions. Define performance and service expectations.

• Financial and Commercial Management: Track supplier spend, volumes, and cost trends. Measure results against budgets and targets. Support invoice checks and payment resolution. Verify pricing and identify savings. Report spend, volume, and performance.

• Risk and Business Continuity: Work with Risk Management and Operations. Assess operational, financial, geopolitical, cybersecurity, sustainability, and compliance risks. Maintain risk registers and track mitigation actions. Support continuity plans, incident management, and reviews.

• Supplier Governance: Ensure compliance with company policies, regulations, sustainability commitments, and ethical standards. Support onboarding and ongoing governance. Review compliance records and certifications. Escalate issues appropriately.

• Data, Reporting, and Insights: Maintain supplier dashboards and reports. Analyse operational and commercial data. Identify trends and improvement opportunities. Report to key stakeholders. Support forecasting and capacity planning.

• Collaboration: Partner with Procurement, Operations, Finance, Customer Service, Planning, Risk Management, Legal, and other teams. Prevent silos and share expertise. Support cross-training, supplier transitions, business changes, and major projects. Promote an integrated, end-to-end supply chain.

Requirements

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to achieving goals. Monitor progress regularly, take responsibility for group outcomes, and encourage accountability and ownership. Recognise and share credit for contributions.

• Serve as a subject matter expert and provide coaching and mentoring to others. Explain complex technical matters clearly and adapt communication to suit the audience. Remain current within the discipline, build external connections, and apply best practices.

• Provide clear instructions and direction. Listen actively, ask effective questions, and consider different viewpoints. Explain the wider business context clearly.

• Manage unexpected situations independently and act with confidence. Remove obstacles and follow through on agreed actions. Encourage initiative by providing appropriate information, resources, and support while maintaining individual ownership of goals and achievements.

• Ask relevant questions and gather facts from multiple sources. Identify and analyse problems, recommend suitable solutions, and manage routine issues independently.

• Promote cooperation across the team. Remove barriers that affect team performance and support the effective resolution of conflicts.

• Identify opportunities for teams to collaborate. Seek input and expertise from team members, and encourage open, constructive discussion on matters affecting the team.

• Provide support without reducing individual ownership. Help individuals and teams achieve their objectives, and recognise shared contributions to successful outcomes.

• Work in a way that works for you We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organisation. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals. Working remotely from home up to 3 days a week and in our office in a hybrid style Working flexible hours - flexing the times you work in the day Working for you We know that your wellbeing and happiness are key to a long and successful career. These are some of the benefits we are delighted to offer: Comprehensive Health Insurance: Covers you, your immediate family, and parents. Enhanced Health Insurance Options: Competitive rates negotiated by the company. Group Life Insurance: Ensuring financial security for your loved ones. Group Accident Insurance: Extra protection for accidental death and permanent disablement. Flexible Working Arrangement: Achieve a harmonious work-life balance. Employee Assistance Program: Access support for personal and work-related challenges. Medical Screening: Your well-being is a top priority. Modern Family Benefits: Maternity, paternity, and adoption support. Long-Service Awards: Recognizing dedication and commitment. New Baby Gift: Celebrating the joy of parenthood. Subsidized Meals in Chennai: Enjoy delicious meals at discounted rates. Various Paid Time Off: Take time off with Casual Leave, Sick Leave, Privilege Leave, Compassionate Leave, Special Sick Leave, and Gazetted Public Holidays. Free Transport pick up and drop from the home -office - home (applies in Chennai) About the Business A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals' advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. At Elsevier, your work contributes to the world’s grand challenges and a more sustainable future. We harness innovative technologies to support science and healthcare to partner for a better world.

U.S. National Base Pay Range: $59,200 - $98,600. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations to better reflect local market rates.

We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits. Click here to access benefits specific to your location.

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