Senior Supply Chain Project Manager

Job Description

The Senior Supply Chain Project Manager provides the University with a forward-looking, data-driven view of its supply base and leads the initiatives that improve it. Reporting to the AVP, Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), this role will partner with the Assistant Director of Strategic Sourcing to manage commodity spend, market trends, and savings efforts across the institution, while leading cross-functional projects that modernize procurement and supplier payment operations. This is a senior, hands-on role for a proven supply chain and operations professional. The successful candidate will, bringing the operational depth and market insight to turn spend data into savings, and plans into results. This role will lead strategic and project-based work.

Education and Experience

• Required Qualifications -Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, operations, business, or a related field
• Significant progressive experience in supply chain and operations management, typically 10 or more years, including direct responsibility for supply chain, commodity management, and large-scale operational programs
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional projects and teams with measurable savings or efficiency results
• Strong analytical skills, with experience in complex spend analysis, market and commodity analysis, and cost modeling.
• Advanced experience with ERP (Oracle, SAP, Peoplesoft) and analytics systems (Excel, BI, Smart sheets, Anthropic AI).
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to brief senior leaders
• Proven ability to build relationships and influence without direct authority
• Preferred Qualifications
• Master’s degree (MBA or similar)
• Professional certification such as CPSM, CSCP, CPM, or PMP
• Experience in higher education, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing or another complex public-service or nonprofit environment.
• Experience with travel and expense, booking, or supplier payment systems
• Advanced experience analyzing and implementing supplier rebate programs, leading contract negotiations, and establishing PPV/PPI programs
• Familiarity with public procurement requirements and grant-funded purchasing

Skills and Knowledge

• Core Competencies
• Strategic thinking with strong operational follow-through
• Data-driven decision making
• Project and change management
• Supplier and stakeholder relationship management
• Sound judgment, discretion, and integrity
• Collaboration across departments and levels

Responsibilities

• Commodity and Market Management
• Monitor pricing, supply disruptions, and market trends for the University’s major spend categories, and brief the CPO and leadership on risks and opportunities
• Develop commodity strategies and category plans in partnership with Strategic Sourcing, using spend data to set priorities
• Anticipate cost pressures and recommend timing, volume, and supplier strategies to mitigate them.
• Savings and Supplier Programs
• Lead the identification, tracking, and reporting of cost savings and avoidance across the University
• Develop and manage leveraged supplier programs, including rebate and discount agreements such as airline, hotel, and rental car programs
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing to consolidate spend, strengthen supplier relationships, and increase contract coverage.
• Project and Initiative Leadership
• Lead cross-functional projects from scope through implementation, including the evaluation and rollout of a unified travel booking and expense platform
• Develop project plans, timelines, budgets, and risk registers, and communicate status to the CPO and stakeholders
• Engage campus partners, including large traveling and purchasing groups, through surveys, feedback sessions, and change management.
• Operations and Process Improvement
• Analyze procurement and supplier payment processes to reduce manual work, cycle times, and errors
• Design and maintain spend analytics, dashboards, and performance measures for leadership
• Support policy development and compliance and promote consistent use of University systems and contracts.
• Support to the Chief Procurement Officer
• Provide analysis, briefings, and recommendations that inform enterprise procurement strategy
• Represent Procurement on committees and in meetings as delegated by the CPO
• Partner with the Assistant Directors of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing to keep strategic and day-to-day work aligned

Physical Requirements

Not Applicable

Tools/Equipment

Not Applicable

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings, and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York State, with a global footprint, and over 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience.

The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors, 100 minors, and 200 advanced degree programs offered across the University’s 13 schools and colleges; over 15,000 undergraduates and over 6,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.syracuse.edu.

About the Syracuse area

Syracuse is a medium-sized city situated in the geographic center of New York State approximately 250 miles northwest of New York City. The metro-area population totals approximately 500,000. The area offers a low cost of living and provides many social, cultural, and recreational options, including parks, museums, festivals, professional regional theater, and premier shopping venues. Syracuse and Central New York present a wide range of seasonal recreation and attractions ranging from water skiing and snow skiing, hiking in the Adirondacks, touring the historic sites, visiting wineries along the Finger Lakes, and biking on trails along the Erie Canal.

EEO Statement

Syracuse University is an equal-opportunity institution. The University prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, ethnicity, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law to the extent prohibited by law. This nondiscrimination policy covers admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs, services, and activities.

Commitment to Supporting and Hiring Veterans

Syracuse University has a long history of engaging veterans and the military-connected community through its educational programs, community outreach, and employment programs. After World War II, Syracuse University welcomed more than 10,000 returning veterans to our campus, and those veterans literally transformed Syracuse University into the national research institution it is today. The University’s contemporary commitment to veterans builds on this historical legacy, and extends to both class-leading initiatives focused on making an SU degree accessible and affordable to the post-9/11 generation of veterans, and also programs designed to position Syracuse University as the employer of choice for military veterans, members of the Guard and Reserve, and military family members