About Us
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continually seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.
Position Summary
The Procurement Excellence Specialist (PES) position is a position in the Procurement Department under the Finance & Administration Division. The incumbent reports to the Procurement Business Manager and will Support Procurement in decision-making, communications, collaboration, and strategic priority implementation and develops training.
The PES will work with the Procurement Business Manager, the Procurement Director, Chief Financial Officer, in driving cross-team collaboration to support departmental and organizational goals. The PES will partner with internal business partners to drive excellence in procurement, business processes, solutions in support of departmental priorities, strategies and objectives. The PES will also support the delivery of procurement operational solutions that enhances organizational value and can be measured and communicated.
This individual will collaborate with the Procurement Business Manager and serve as liaison for various activities, as driven by the organization, relative to supporting process efficiencies, creating operational scale, technology enhancements, and proactive support for strategic projects & initiatives. Other responsibilities include developing and maintaining efficient business processes for the Procurement process in supporting business operations and monitoring efforts (e.g., visuals, reports, dashboards, identifying areas for more training), and managing special projects.
The incumbent should be a self-starter and possess technical proficiency working with a variety of tools. In addition, they should be a strategic thinker who understands organizational goals, priorities and have superior written and verbal communication skills, strong analytic and organizational capacities, professional judgment, and a results-oriented, collaborative, and resourceful approach to their work.
Project Management
- Provides comprehensive meeting and project management support for multi-faceted strategic activities, workgroups, and special projects. May include:
- Scopes and manages projects (e.g. use of Charter, Gantt charts, cross functional communication)
- Developing and maintaining project tracking tools, monitoring progress of project against key milestones to ensure timely delivery of work products and providing key progress updates throughout the timeline to stakeholders.
- Identifying areas of improvement or opportunities and working collaboratively with key stakeholders to propose solutions.
- Creates agendas, slides, or other visual documents, staffing meetings, capturing notes, and tracking action items.
- Maintaining and sharing accurate project files (e.g., centralized resources, templates, etc.) and internal documentation
- Ensuring relevant parties remain knowledgeable of project direction and progress made, including by identifying key issues, problems, approaches, timelines, and resources required. May also include creating, updating, and distributing reports.
- Serving as a liaison to teams across PCORI to ensure effective and efficient information transfer on activities
- Measure, track, and report on value realization, performance metrics, and customer satisfaction relative to procurement projects delivered.
Training
- Supports Procurement communications and messaging related to strategic projects and cross-Procurement initiatives.
- Participates in continuous improvement planning, goal setting and measurement. Recommend actions by analyzing and interpreting data and making comparative analysis based on knowledge of current and planned continuous improvement activities.
- Manage workstreams and projects aligned to the Procurement Strategy, including training & communication.
- Selects or develops training aids, including training handbooks, demonstration models, multimedia visual aids, and reference works.
- Develops and delivers compelling presentations to business partners and teams related to Procurement initiatives.
- Assists in analyzing and assessing training and development needs for individuals and departments.
- Conducts effective new hire training sessions.
- Ability to design, develop, implement, and evaluate training plans, curricula, and methodology.
- Skilled in preparing instructional aids and plans.
- Proficient in all Microsoft software applications including power point, excel and office
Communication and Collaboration
- Build and develop relationships with all employees for increased efficiency and effective responsiveness into existing operations
- Supports cross-departmental communications and reporting efforts, trainings, presentations, briefings to the leadership team, and stakeholder outreach.
Incumbent(s) in this position may be required to perform other duties and special assignments not specifically stated above.
Statements outlined in this section are designated as essential job functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Required Skills
- Strong project management skills, including superb organizational skills. Keen attention to detail
- Demonstrated ability to think independently, to be proactive and responsive, to be flexible and to juggle multiple, competing priorities, and to work with minimal supervision.
- Ability to adapt quickly to changing and competing priorities and complex tasks. Tolerant of ambiguity
- Proficiency in managing-up and keeping leadership on track regarding key timelines and/or deliverables, as needed.
- Collaborative team player orientation with the ability to develop and maintain cooperative relationships with colleagues across PCORI and other stakeholders.
- Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills; collegial, energetic, able to develop productive relationships with colleagues across PCORI, consultants, external stakeholders, and others.
- High level of maturity and professionalism; must interact effectively with staff at all levels.
- Strong work ethic with the highest personal and professional integrity, sense of accountability and good judgment
- Excellent editing, oral and written communications skills. Communicates, both written and orally, on complex issues relating to projects to internal and external teams
- Personal motivation to support PCORI’s mission and goals; work independently and in teams to think imaginatively about opportunities; to create and respond to novel and innovative approaches to addressing an issue; to inspire others to work towards achieving team goals.
- Proficient project management and dashboard tools.
Required Experience
- A minimum of a bachelor’s degree or a combination of education and requisite experience. At least 5 years of project management and/or analytical experience.
- 3-5 years of Training and Development experience
- Preferred: Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or higher
- Preferred: Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification
- Advanced experience in MS Office Suite, especially Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Experience handling and managing multiple projects and priorities effectively, including superior time management and organization.
- Knowledge or background in nonprofit administration, public administration, or operations a plus.
The health and safety of our employees is a top priority. As part of that commitment, PCORI requires all employees, regardless of remote work status, to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As a prospective and/or new employee at PCORI, you will be required to comply with PCORI's vaccination policy, report your vaccination status, and provide proof of vaccination. Compliance with the policy does allow for exceptions, but those exceptions will only be granted in circumstances related to medical conditions, disabilities, and sincerely held religious beliefs. Continuing with this application indicates your intent to comply with PCORI's Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.
PCORI conducts background checks on all applicants.
PCORI’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
PCORI is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity both internal and external to the workplace. You can learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion here. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.