Supplier Operations Associate

Overview

Princeton University's Office of Finance & Treasury is seeking a Supplier Operations Associate (SOA).

The creation and ongoing maintenance of supplier master data records is the precursor to all university purchasing and payment activity with suppliers, guests of the university, and other payees. The SOA serves as the enabler of those activities by evaluating and processing over 20,000 supplier onboarding requests, registrations, and updates annually. Collaborating with internal partners, suppliers, payees, and other stakeholders, SOA collects required documentation, evaluates and determines permissible methods to transact based on the nature of each engagement, creates new supplier records, and maintains existing records.

In this capacity, the SOA's primary responsibility is to ensure the legal, regulatory, and policy compliance of all supplier management processes and supplier create/update requests spanning employment/independent contractor law, regulatory and geo-political considerations, restricted party screening, university policies, tax treatment, and banking requirements. In addition, the SOA is responsible for ensuring the ongoing accuracy of supplier data while meeting established service level agreements in a highly transactional, volume driven, and service focused environment.

This position also analyzes supplier data in support of Procurement and Accounts Payable functions, identifying opportunities to rationalize suppliers and migrate suppliers to preferred payment terms and methods. The role is also accountable for supporting the University's supplier portal including documenting new business requirements to improve transparency and efficiency and prepare for emerging needs including supplier diversity, sustainability, risk/governance, and establishing guidance for prospective suppliers on how to become a supplier.

Responsibilities

Supplier Request Review and Evaluation

• Collect and review campus supplier creation and maintenance requests
• Apply an understanding of applicable laws, policies, and regulations (e.g. employment, worker classification, tax treatment, banking, conflict of interest, immigration, restricted parties) to evaluate each request
• Use critical thinking and judgement to determine 1) permissibility of each request to engage with the University, 2) appropriate treatment including tax and employment status, and 3) required documentation to substantiate the request, and 4) all recordkeeping systems updates required for campus users to transact with the counterparty
• Process supplier requests, registrations and pending changes in accordance with established SLA's
• Serve as an escalation contact to resolve complex and non-standard case tickets, restricted party screenings, and resolve sync issues
• Identify and implement process improvements for all onboarding and maintenance processes within supplier management
• Document processes and formulate recommendations backed by data to improve the current state

Supplier Cleansing and Maintenance

• Conduct supplier cleansing efforts including collection of missing data elements such as dispatch methods, regulatory and University forms and contact information
• Execute periodic maintenance processes including supplier deduplication and deactivation of dormant suppliers
• Process IRS Notice of Levy statements and IRS B notices
• Process ACH return notices and initiate supplier outreach to reduce/eliminate

Special Projects

• Support key university initiatives with touchpoints to supplier management
• Conduct periodic sampling of supplier records to ensure compliance with requirements
• Conduct formal and ad-hoc training for campus as well as process partners
• Develop or revise guidance documents to improve stakeholder knowledge
• Support departmental initiatives that promote efficiency

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Accounting, Finance or related field
• 3-4 years' experience in vendor management, procurement or accounts payable functions
• Customer focused
• Self-starter with ability to multitask and prioritize effectively
• Ability to communicate effectively and present findings
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Strong collaboration and team work ethic

Preferred Qualifications:

• Audit or compliance background is a plus
• Familiarity with Peoplesoft Financial Management or other ERP suites
• Experience in a Higher Education environment
• Experience with master data management solutions and methodologies
• Experience documenting business requirements and workflow processes