Career Center

This position is responsible for the development and management of UMHS Agreements as well as the ongoing stewardship of these Agreements.  Procurement Agents are responsible for the Legal, Risk and Regulatory content of contracts regardless of stakeholder requesting the agreement.

UMH Procurement Agents are individually responsible for a yearly average spend of $70 million dollars.

SIGNING LIMIT - $5M per agreement

Contracting activities include:

• Collaborates with stakeholders on the acquisition of goods and services including advising them on the appropriate course of action per SPG 507.01.
• Manages bid events, RFQ, RFP, RFI and Sole Source Acquisitions per SPG 507.01.
• Recommends overall contracting strategies and negotiates legal and business terms in UMH Agreements to support goals of the requester in alignment with contracting and regulatory requirements for UMH and University of Michigan and strategy for University of Michigan Health.
• Collaborates with Legal, Risk Management, Compliance and other support departments as necessary to complete contracting activities.
• Collaborates with departments outside of Procurement, like HITS, Information Assurance, Infection Control and Regulatory Affairs to ensure contracts conform with organizational priorities and other regulatory or compliance requirements.
• Reviews purchasing, contract, and supplier engagement requests to determine any additional oversight needed by other key areas of the health system and ensures that those groups are including in routing and signoff of any agreement.
• Develops routing documentation to support engagements following SPG 507.01 rules in order to obtain the appropriate signature on the agreement when projects are outside of their signing authority
• Engages with UMHS stakeholder departments to solve problems related to existing or future contracts.  This often takes the form of mediating disputes between UMH Stakeholders and Vendors, including assessing and recommending appropriate actions to resolve the dispute.
• Engages with Shared Services and other stakeholder departments on payment issues to prevent or resolve credit holds that could negatively impact patient care.
• Engages with department stakeholders, suppliers, UMH Value Analysis, Vizient (Group Purchasing Organization business partner) and other data sources on strategic sourcing cost reduction initiatives and to formulate effective contracting strategies to support. Contracting strategies may involve approach to product selection, volume commitments and product variety reduction.  Data analysis may be required to identify and verify savings and contracting strategies.
• Engages with clinical and administrative stakeholders to review and estimate impact of new product, technology, or services requests against current contracts and sourcing and contracting strategies. This includes analyzing and reporting the downstream impact of requests for new products or services against other UMH contracts relative to the introduction of new products.   These impacts address potential deterioration of spend on committed contracts for similar items that can impact pricing on the committed contracts, potentially increasing cost to UMH. 
• Lead individual teams of Procurement Agent Associates and Intermediates and manages all PA activities associated with the commodities and departments assigned to their team. Supervises and executes daily plans for procurement agents on their team.
• Creates procurement process plans and work assignments for procurement agents assigned to their individual teams.  Procurement agent seniors meet regularly to review work assignments, prioritize and distribute work to the full team.
• Mentors Procurement Agents Intermediates and Associates and works within their teams to educate Stakeholders and other UMH departments on the University Procurement Process.
• Maintains customer relationship with assigned clinical areas and other stakeholder departments

• Typically requires a BA/BS or equivalent work-related experience and 3-5 years professional experience in a procurement agent or contract administration role or other supply chain related role.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Demonstrated experience drafting recommendations or proposals for multiple stakeholders groups 
• Ability to develop and deliver presentations.
• Demonstrated knowledge of contract law, accounting principles, and finance
• Demonstrated negotiation and mediation skills to resolve risk
• Possesses superior attention to detail in order to spot inconsistencies in contracts
• Able to work productively independently and as part of a team
• Must have excellent analytical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities
• Proficient computational skills using excel and other software
• Demonstrated knowledge of accounting principles to understand the flow of purchasing.
• Demonstrated experience in executing a portfolio of agreements for a clinical area or stakeholder department 
• Ability to provide contractual and risk guidance and leadership to technical staff in area of specialty.
• Ability to use independent judgment and to manage and impart information to a range of clientele and/or media sources.
• Ability to analyze and interpret financial data and prepare financial reports, statements and/or projections.
• Advanced analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments.
• Skilled in the formulation, negotiation, and establishment of complex, integrated contractual arrangements.
• Organizing and coordinating skills.
• Knowledge of costing and pricing methodology.
• Knowledge of contractor compliance issues and procedures, as applicable to a public institution.
• Ability to assess contract compliance and product/service quality.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills and the ability to work effectively with external contracting executives at all levels.
• Advanced knowledge of health care or public sector contracting procedures, specifications, and documentation requirements.
• Conflict resolution and arbitration skills.
• Ability to effectively manage complex and involved contracts of high value to the University

• Health Care Administration or Supply Chain Experience
• Previous experience in customer service and strong communication skills
• Previous experience as a project manager, or coordinating large projects is an asset
• Should exhibit strong organizational and time management abilities
• Good understanding of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and occupational, safety and environmental regulations and law
• Familiarity with continuous improvement concepts like A3 thinking

Monday-Friday Day Shift

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings.  Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally.  Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.

About University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

A great university is made so by its faculty and staff, and Michigan is recognized as one of the best universities to work for in the country. The Michigan culture is known for engaging faculty and staff in all facets of the university to create a workplace that is vibrant and stimulating.For two consecutive years, the Chronicle of Higher Education has placed U-M in its "Great Colleges to Work For" survey. In particular, the university earns high marks for strong relations between faculty and administrators, a collaborative system of governance, strong pay and benefits, and a healthy work/life balance.

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