Senior Sourcing Specialist

Posted May 1

Great Minds, a rapidly growing challenger brand in the PK–12 instructional materials space, seeks a Senior Sourcing Specialist to join our dynamic, growing Operations team.

Company Profile

Great Minds, a mission driven Public Benefit Corporation, brings teachers and scholars together to craft exemplary instructional materials that inspire joy in teaching and learning. Our English curriculum, Wit & Wisdom®, Eureka Math™ and PhD Science™, all support teachers as they take students beyond rote learning to provide a deeper, more complete understanding of the humanities, mathematics, and the sciences. Founded in 2007, Great Minds now employs more than 1000 people.

For additional information please visit: www.greatminds.org

Our Market Position

Great Minds’ Eureka Math is the most widely used curriculum in the history of American education. It enjoys an unrivaled 40+ net promoter score. Eureka and its sister products, Wit & Wisdom English and PhD Science, embrace much higher expectations for all students and teachers. In a market dominated by scripted, procedural materials that drive expectations down, Great Minds produces curricula that celebrate knowledge, respect the craft of teaching, and acknowledge the true capabilities of students.

Role Overview

The Senior Sourcing Specialist is responsible for sourcing product development / production work for GREAT MINDS K-12 education materials, both print and digital. GM works with suppliers who deliver quality product within budget and on schedule. (Product development and production work includes design, illustration, page composition, copy edit, page proof review, language translation, file conversion, WCAG remediation, audio/video work, etc.) The Senior Sourcing Specialist attends Scope of Work planning discussions between members of the Content and Production Services teams to define product specifications, workflow, and project bid requirements. The Senior Sourcing Specialist prepares project bid forms, reviews and negotiates rates; submits contract requests; evaluates change orders; and reviews and approves invoices. The Senior Sourcing Specialist develops and maintains relationships with strategic partners, both print and digital. The person in this role may propose alternatives to traditional sourcing methods and may recommend new types of relationships/agreements with our suppliers.

Reporting to the Director, Production Services or Sourcing Manager, the Senior Sourcing Specialist will be responsible for sourcing Great Minds product development and production work for both print and online delivery with suppliers who deliver quality products within budget and on schedule. This role will attend Scope of Work planning discussions between members of the Content and Production Services teams to define product specifications, workflow, and project bid requirements. The Senior Sourcing Specialist will prepare project bid forms, review and negotiate rates; submit contract requests; evaluate change orders; and review and approve invoices. This role will develop and maintain relationships with strategic partners, both print and digital, may propose alternatives to traditional sourcing methods, and may recommend new types of relationships/agreements with our suppliers.

Specific Responsibilities:

Understanding of Project Scope
Collaborate and/or drive the completion of the Scope of Work (SoW) documentation for development work for print and digital products.
Maintain a Thorough understanding of SoW documents, product guidelines, content development, processes, and workflows.
Inform and improve our suppliers' understanding of tasks and scope when bidding for work or regarding change in scope.
Ensure SoW details include and define all supplier tasks, deliverables, and quality expectations so that our internal customers are satisfied with the work performed and that the suppliers' efforts match the allocated budget.
External Resource Planning
Work with Content, Production Services, Translation, Operations Project Management and platform teams to determine which parts of projects will require supplier support.
Investigate and inform others at GM about which suppliers are unavailable or underperforming in order to make appropriate assignments in relation to supplier capacity and performance.
Strategic Sourcing
Possess a track record of contributing to successful, complex assignments; coordinate several projects simultaneously.
Oversee the bidding process in order to obtain an advantage of quality, cost, or schedule, as needed.
Award and manage suppliers to ensure they perform work that accurately represents the tasks required of them.
Negotiate the best possible rates for each project without sacrificing quality at the supplier.
Negotiation, Budget, and Contract Management
Exhibit basic level of knowledge of publishing industry best practices.
Exhibit the ability to prepare and effectively lead negotiation sessions.
Work with Business Manager to request contracts, define deliverables and associated spend to ensure contracts are executed before the vendor start date commences.
Ensure an overall 100% adherence to budget or agreed estimate and strive for negotiated savings against initial bids.
Actively support the Change Order review process, and as required negotiate rates for out-of-scope work to ensure approval and compliance.
Evaluate and approve final invoices through completion of project.
Help determine, maintain, and update rate scales.
Track metrics information as requested.

Job requirements

Required Qualifications:

5+ years of educational publishing or relevant equivalent experience
5+ years of sourcing experience or relevant equivalent experience with learning solutions for the K–12 market
Communicating Effectively:
Ability to provide clear, direct, accurate, and professional written and verbal communication at all times.
Ability to collaborate with supplier and GM teams on issues and risks and to propose solutions or mitigations in a timely manner.
Project Management:
Ability to exhibit a proficiency in prioritization to ensure that tasks are completed on time.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to ensure that status, risks, and issues are managed and communicated.
Willingness to participate in initiatives focused on vetting, implementing, and onboarding suppliers.
Ability to provide clear, direct, accurate, and professional written and verbal communication at all times.
Ability to facilitate meetings and effectively lead discussions.
Collaboration and Building Partnerships:
Ability to work effectively and cooperatively with others.
Ability and willingness to establish and maintain good working relationships across diverse groups.
Ability to comfortably execute cross-functional projects and work with teams both in person and in a virtual environment.
Willingness to offer to help others achieve goals.
Ability to provide value add to project teams.

Education

Required:

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in business or relevant discipline

Selected candidate will be required to pass a criminal history background check.

Any communication to applicants relating to the Great Minds hiring process will only come from email addresses with the domains greatminds.org or greatminds.recruitee.com. If in the course of the application or hiring process with Great Minds you are contacted through another domain, are requested to provide banking or other sensitive information, or you note any other suspicious activity, please contact security@greatminds.org

Great Minds is an equal opportunity employer. We will extend equal opportunity to all individuals without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, disability, age, genetic information, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws. Our policy reflects and affirms the organization’s commitment to the principles of fair employment and the elimination of all discriminatory practices.

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