IT Procurement Director

Argo Group is a leader in specialty insurance with a vibrant culture built on respect, equality, wellness and opportunity. We’re an innovative organization that’s small enough to be agile and big enough to make a difference in our industry. 

Our flexible workplace is continuously evolving to ensure all employees feel:

• Comfortable bringing their whole selves to work.
• Confident that they will be treated respectfully.
• Recognized for their performance and provided with equal opportunities to succeed.

At Argo, skill meets opportunity. If you’re wired to raise your hand and ask, “Where can I help?”, you’ll thrive with us.

The successful applicant will join a team focused on delivering maximum value to internal stakeholders through effective, centralized delivery of sourcing and procurement services. You will work with Argo’s CIO, IT leadership, and stakeholders to identify areas where procurement can improve value for money and reduce risk. You will drive sourcing and procurement activities leveraging market intelligence and procurement best practices to reduce costs and improve supplier delivery to meet our corporate goals. You will evaluate, analyze, and recommend category strategies, drive RFIs/RFPs, and negotiate supplier contracts to capture value and drive efficiencies and savings where available. You will be a key contact for suppliers and partners, developing strong relationships to become the customer of choice across our critical supplier portfolio.

 

How You Will Make an Impact:

• Independently performs a variety of complex sourcing and procurement activities to deliver value, cost savings, and risk mitigation.
• Leads the development of IT category management strategies, working directly with the CIO and IT leadership to improve total cost of ownership and meet departmental goals.
• Negotiates complex vendor contracts and monitors contract compliance to ensure terms and conditions are being met and the expected value is delivered.
• Analyzes purchasing patterns, defines priorities for assigned category of goods and services, and develops opportunities for cost savings, demand management, and risk mitigation.
• Researches and reports on industry trends and initiatives; investigates targeted industries, potential suppliers, and critical service factors to develop category strategies.
• Develops and initiates complex requests for proposal documents, reviews supplier proposals, makes supplier recommendations, issues awards, and negotiates supplier contracts.
• Collaborates with IT, business, and operational leads to develop strategic sourcing initiatives and oversees the implementation of key priorities.
• Manages key strategic relationships and is a key resource for resolving vendor disputes.
• Ensures compliance with corporate policies and procedures and applicable legal and regulatory requirements throughout the procurement process.
• Advocates and monitors departmental procurement procedures, and may recommend changes and improvements.
• Ensures high-quality centralized sourcing and procurement services, promoting and advocating Procurement engagement and compliance with policies.
• Monitors procurement system(s), identifies and recommends upgrades and changes.
• Identify and analyze multiple procurement data sources; develop spend trend analysis and key metrics reporting for various stakeholders.
• Supports other category management strategies, providing sourcing expertise when needed.

What We Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Supply Chain, or related field.
• 10 years of professional experience in a strategic sourcing role, with extensive experience in IT category management for a publicly-traded company; experience in other sourcing categories a plus.
• Experience with Oracle, Coupa, Ariba, or other similar procurement systems.
• Experience implementing P2P processes.
• Experience developing category and supplier strategies.
• Experience using procurement market intelligence tools.
• Experience in executive management reporting.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Ability to influence others.
• Knowledge of P2P processes, category management, and other key procurement best practices.
• Knowledge of US/EU regulations impacting procurement and contracting, including data privacy laws.
• Financial acumen, data analytics skills including the use of common tools such as Excel, PowerBi, or Qlik.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple complex initiatives at once, with strong prioritization skills.
• Essential knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access).
• Good judgment in safeguarding Argo’s confidential information.
• Ability to work independently and know when to ask for support, assistance, or direction.
• CPP, CIPS, SPSM, or CSCP are a plus.

PLEASE NOTE:  At this time, Argo Group will not sponsor an applicant for employment authorization for this position.

If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or a similar law and you wish to discuss potential accommodations related to applying for employment at Argo Group, please contact our Benefits Department at 210-321-8400. 

To all recruitment agencies:  Unless you have been requested to work on this position, or other positions with Argo Group, please do not forward any resumes to Argo Group employees.   Argo Group is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. is an underwriter of specialty insurance products in the property and casualty market. Argo offers a full line of products and services designed to meet the unique coverage and claims-handling needs of businesses. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brookfield Reinsurance Ltd. Argo and its insurance subsidiaries are rated ‛A-’ by Standard and Poor’s. Argo’s insurance subsidiaries are rated ‛A-’ by A.M. Best. More information about Argo is available at www.argogroup.com.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin or citizenship (including language use restrictions), denial of family and medical care leave, disability (mental and physical) , including HIV and AIDS, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), race, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex (including pregnancy, child birth, breastfeeding, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, child birth or breastfeeding), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or other status protected by laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. 

The collection of your personal information is subject to our HR Privacy Notice

Our Benefits

Developing our employees professionally and personally strengthens our organization.
Argo Group offers an attractive Total Rewards package that includes:

• A culture that recognizes performance and empowers employees to excel, offering competitive compensation and merit driven profit sharing.
  
  
• Flexible workplace policies that support employee well-being include compressed hours, flex-time, job-sharing, remote work, sabbatical leave, and holiday hours.
  
  
• Comprehensive health, wellness, and financial planning options that employees can tailor to meet their personal and family needs.  In addition to traditional health and wellness plans, benefits include dental, disability, life insurance, medical, and vision insurance, matching 401(k) retirement savings, generous paid time off (21 days of PTO, 11 paid company holidays, 3 floating holidays and a paid voluntary day), paid caregiver and parental leave, paid bereavement, jury duty/court appearances, and military (up to 14 days) leave, employee assistance program (EAP), and an array of voluntary benefits.  
  
  
• Argo Academy, a digital and instructor-led platform that offers continuous learning and professional development – Training magazine lists Argo among the Training "Top 125" Companies.   Argo encourages career mobility and continuing education to pursue and maintain professional and industry designations, in addition to traditional university and higher education programs.
  
  
• An inclusive culture that develops and sponsors diverse teams, encourages cross-functional engagement and collaboration, builds community through employee resource groups (ERGs), and provides an environment that welcomes ongoing dialogue, creative innovation, professional and personal development.
  
  
• Active community outreach and volunteer programs.
  
  
• A generous Employee Referral program that results in approximately 25% of all new hires annually.