Educational & Institutional Cooperative Services, Inc., (E&I) is seeking motivated, passionate individuals interested in working for a member-owned, mission-driven, Deliberately Developmental Organization. E&I is a high-performance and high-engagement Growth Culture that celebrates every individual’s unique, diverse, and authentic self! We are a culture that deeply values honesty, transparency, collaboration, and innovation. We foster personal and professional growth and development for ALL, intentionally providing every individual the opportunity to reach their highest potential, becoming the best version of themselves!

E&I Cooperative Services is the only member-owned, non-profit sourcing cooperative exclusively focused on serving the education community.  Because education is our sole focus, we are uniquely equipped with the knowledge, experience, and passion to meet the specialized needs of educational procurement.

We help our nearly 6,000 member institutions make informed, analytics-driven decisions to capture more spend and optimize their education dollars.  We do this by delivering unsurpassed value and an exceptional experience through a broad portfolio of competitively solicited contracts with industry-leading suppliers, as well as innovative sourcing solutions such as Strategic Spend Assessments and eProcurement solutions.

E&I has an exciting opportunity for a CATEGORY ANALYST, FACILITIES & INTERIORS.  The CATEGORY ANALYST will be responsible for leading the execution of quantitative analyses in support of the Sourcing and Member Engagement teams and select member institutions.

The Category Analyst will drive analytical efforts by conducting spend analyses, developing cost baselines, building competitive solicitation market basket item lists, performing contract benchmarking, and all other types of quantitative analyses required in the sourcing process for a broad range of spend categories.  Additionally, the Category Analyst will provide dashboards and operational metrics to assess supplier and contract performance.

The Category Analyst is expected to work either at the direction of the Manager, Category Analytics, independently with minimal direction, or at times in tandem on a range of different projects.

This position will support the Vice President, Category Management for Facilities & Interiors in the Sourcing Department.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Actively participate in our Deliberately Developmental Organizational (DDO) Culture, with the willingness to be open-minded, identify, and make improvement on your growth edges. Support your colleagues’ development by providing feedback, utilize development tools and practices as a team sport to further the growth, development and ultimately enhance innovation in our organization.

·      Provide quantitative leadership, expertise and support to any and all objectives related to spend analysis and strategic sourcing.  Objectives will range in complexity and vary from project to project, but will broadly include performing spend analysis at various levels of detail, creating bid lists/item market baskets, and measuring cost savings. 

·      Lead and execute the procurement data collection and data management process for various analytics initiatives.  Procurement data can include contract documents, AP payment data, PO data, supplier usage and external benchmarks. Initiatives can include price comparison of E&I contract vs members contract, RFP/Contract development, Spend Cube enhancement, or contract benchmarking. The process will include facilitating requests for specific information from member institutions and/or business partners, researching and identifying available relevant external data sources, or extracting data directly by means of a detailed source document review. 

·      For each initiative, the Category Analyst will be responsible to:

o   Determine the amount of data preparation work needed

o   Decide the sufficient data work and analysis needed to accomplish the objective set

o   Determine the applicability of the approach used in data collection as well as to assess the data constraints presented

o   Consolidate, normalize, cleanse, and manage all the data collected

o   Develop, create, and visualize analyses using the data collected and prepared, in accordance with the agreed objectives

o   Analyze, summarize, document, report, and present findings, in detail and summary levels, as well as be available to address any follow-up questions from E&I Staff and Member Institutions. 

o   Execute contract benchmarking and all other types of quantitative analyses required in the sourcing process for a broad range of spend categories

·      Participate in RFP and Contract Business Review meetings, assist in identifying appropriate questions and decisions on RFP pricing strategy, and address any follow-up questions from E&I Staff and Member Institutions.

·      Develop, maintain, and publish dashboards and operational metrics to assess supplier and contract performance.

·      Collaborate with supplier partners and others to understand and incorporate custom contract pricing into analyses related to specific assignments. 

·      Other duties as assigned.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

·      Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Statistics, or Applied Mathematics is highly desired

·      Minimum of 7 years of experience in a business-related field requiring quantitative skills

·      Work experience in procurement or strategic sourcing related job highly preferred

·    Work experience in procurement or strategic sourcing related job required including proficiency in the competitive solicitation process (RFP)

·   Must have a mastery of Microsoft Excel and Tableau

·      Must be proficient with Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Access

·      Tableau Certified Data Analyst Certification preferred

·      Spend Management and Solutions/Tools/Application experience highly preferred

·      Must have an understanding of data sampling, analysis, and visualization techniques and approaches

·      Experience in AI tool use highly preferred

·      Must exhibit excellent communication skills, both verbal and written

·      Demonstrated ability to work with others both internally and externally

·      Requires a working knowledge of the procurement function

·      Ability to multitask and prioritize

·      Requires 15% travel

E&I offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package which include Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & AD&D Insurance, LTD, STD, FSA, 401(k) plus an employer contribution and other company sponsored benefits. In addition, E&I offers a flexible work schedule.

Interested applicants, please attach your resume, along with a cover letter, indicating salary requirements and apply through the “Apply Now” button on our careers page.  All responses will be viewed with the strictest of confidence.

E&I is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal opportunities for employment and advancement without regard to an individual’s race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law.