Associate, Global Procurement Operations

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values - Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy - and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

The Procurement Operations Associate will provide hands-on operational support to the Procurement team, assisting with day-to-day strategic sourcing activities, contract lifecycle administration, supplier support, and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) compliance with the rest of the organization. This role is critical to maintaining efficient P2P operations, serving as an initial procurement team’s point of contact, and ensuring adherence to established procurement policies, controls, and workflows.

SUCCESS PROFILE

A successful Associate in Global Procurement Operations consistently demonstrates an approachable, collaborative style combined with strong analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities. Delivers accurate, timely execution of procurement processes while maintaining strong data integrity and compliance with policies. Highly responsive, systems-savvy, and proactive in improving workflows, enabling efficient operations and a seamless stakeholder experience.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

P2P / Procurement Transactions

• Execute accurate, timely, and compliant procurement transactions
• Provide operational support to internal business users, vendors, and Procurement team
• Prepare purchase requisitions in Coupa for new engagements, as needed
• Troubleshoot purchase order discrepancies, missing documentation, approval routing issues, and process roadblocks
• Utilize Power BI aging reports to identify POs requiring action or closure

Contract Lifecycle Support

• Submit contracts into the contract lifecycle management (CLM) system
• Monitor and communicate contract status updates to stakeholders
• Report and track contracts approaching renewal and notify appropriate business owners

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing Activities

• Conduct sourcing activities (RFPs, vendor rate analysis, etc.) with guidance from Procurement leads for large spend projects.
• Potential for leading sourcing activities for lower threshold sourcing activities
• Conduct ongoing Spend Analytics support - review spend summary and reporting outputs
• Support data extraction and analysis from Power BI reports, as needed

Information Services Category Management

• Manage the category portfolio:
• ensure effective license utilization
• maintain accurate user data to support governance, contract compliance, stakeholder decision making, and reporting
• Effective collaboration with Accounts Payable to provide accurate validation, tracking, and allocation of subscription and service-related costs.
• Deliver responsive support and ensure a high level of customer service across internal and external partners.

Procurement Inbox & Communications

• Perform daily monitoring and management of the Procurement inbox
• Respond to general inquiries from internal stakeholders and external vendors
• Prepare ad-hoc spend summaries for specific vendors, commodities, and parent categories

Supplier & Stakeholder Support

• Assist suppliers with onboarding, documentation requirements, catalog updates, and system navigation
• Serve as first-line support for internal users on procurement workflows, PO creation, and process questions
• Partner with Accounts Payable to resolve invoice matching issues and blocked invoice scenarios

Process Compliance & Documentation

• Ensure transactions comply with procurement policies, spend thresholds, and P2P controls
• Enforce adherence to standard operating procedures and purchase controls
• Maintain operational documentation, checklists, logs, and audit support materials
• Monitor user activity to ensure process consistency and identify training needs

Continuous Improvement Support

• Identify recurring process issues, delays, or inefficiencies and escalate recommendations
• Support process mapping, metrics tracking, and improvement initiatives
• Assist with system testing, template updates, and validation during system enhancements or upgrades
• Indicate AI applicable process optimizations

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering/ Bachelor’s of Commerce, degree in Business (or other related degree programs)
• 4-6 years of experience in procurement operations, purchasing, or supply chain support
• Solid understanding of Procure-to-Pay (P2P) processes and controls
• Experience with procurement or ERP systems (Coupa preferred)
• Knowledge of contract management and renewal processes
• Experience with Contract Lifecycle Management Tool (CLM) (Icertis preferred)
• Solid understanding of strategic sourcing, direct negotiations with vendors, contract strategy, contract management, vendor relationship management, internal stakeholder management
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Power Point
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with Power BI reporting and dashboards
• Background in spend analysis and vendor management
• Familiarity with MS Copilot

KEY ATTRIBUTES & PREFERRED SYSTEMS EXPERIENCE

• ERP (Required), Coupa (Preferred)
• CLM (Required), Icertis (Preferred)
• Microsoft Power BI (Preferred)
• Ticketing System, ServiceNow or Jira (Preferred)

Reporting Relationships

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.