Head of Procurement and Contracts

Roles & Responsibilities

Join a leading international school and enjoy:

• 13th month (AWS) ;
• 5-day work week;
• Paid school closure day and subsidized lunch;
• Competitive remuneration package & benefits (medical, dental, etc.)

Dulwich College Singapore is seeking a skilled and experienced Head of Procurement & Contracts to lead and manage all aspects of procurement and contract management across the College.

Reporting to the Director of Business Administration, this strategic leadership role will ensure that all procurement processes are efficient, cost-effective, and aligned with the College's needs. The successful candidate will also manage supplier relationships, lead tendering processes, and provide procurement expertise to optimize resources while maintaining the highest professional standards.

Dulwich College (Singapore) is a globally renowned international school educating more than 2,900 students from Toddlers (age 2) to Year 13 (age 18). The College was founded in 2014 on the ethos and values of the British independent schooling system and was the seventh College to join the Dulwich family of schools. It has a global outlook and contemporary approach that mirrors Singapore's cosmopolitan nature and reflects the diverse backgrounds of the 50 nationalities that make up its student body.

Regarded as one of the leading international schools in Singapore, our facilities are outstanding, including expansive learning spaces like the state-of-the-art net-zero building, The Greenhouse, a cutting-edge Performing Arts Centre/Theatre, black box studios, playing fields, pools, and large Gymnasiums.

The key responsibilities of the role across purchasing, contract management, and staff management activities are as follows:

Purchasing

• Develop, deliver and maintain a Procurement Strategy across the College to achieve target benefits and financial savings including setting out and monitoring each category 's strategy and efficiency plans, for the benefit of both internal and external stakeholders and within statutory and regulatory compliance
• Lead the daily operations of the Purchasing Department to ensure that the goods and services requirements of the College are met in a timely, efficient, effective and ethical manner, in particular with regards to the annual resources order processes.
• Establish and maintain processes and systems which are fit for purpose for effective procurement across the College, managing and/or executing all purchases, within approved signature authority guidelines; provide a complete commercial procurement function for all the College's expenditure with external suppliers
• Responsible for the provision of professional expertise at the forefront of development and delivery of procurement strategies, processes and procedures.
• Manage key supplier relationships to deliver breakthrough performance in cost, service and quality, including leading on technical and contractual matters relating to negotiations on significant contracts, from RFQ/RFP stage to contract sign off, liaising with other parties as required. (e.g. bussing, catering, maintenance, nursing services, travel services)
• Develop and agree annual departmental cost savings targets for the annual Budget process; develop and agree the annual procurement plan with Heads of Schools and heads of Functions.
• Produce regular reports on performance and provide comprehensive management information and in-depth analysis when requested including spend analysis, savings secured and potential savings – for forecast and budgets. Establish and maintain a schedule of best value and audits of the procurement services delivered by third party contractors (eg Facility Management)
• Provide expertise and maintain up-to-date knowledge of advance purchasing methods and techniques, current technology, vendor competence and competitive marketing conditions, applicable laws rules and regulations, recommending revisions to existing practices maximising efficiency, effectiveness, customer satisfaction and statutory compliance.

Contracts

• Contract tendering, management and maintenance: organise and lead all contractual tenders for goods and services providing both strategic and administrative support , including preparing RFPs/RFQs , thorough evaluation of competitive proposals, setting and monitoring KPIs , in selecting the vendor most appropriate to meet College's needs. Ensure selection is fair and compliant, liaise with group legal office on the drafting and finalization of contracts. On-going monitoring of vendor and product performance to ensure they continually meet the highest standards. Manage the cycle of contract renewals and extensions, keeping a master register and informing relevant parties as required.

Staff Management

• Provide continuous staff development opportunities by mentoring and supporting team members to ensure staff possesses sufficient training and required skill levels to perform their assigned tasks in a proficient manner; ensure proficiency is maintained in current technologies.
• Take performance management responsibility for DCSG Procurement Department, in consultation with the Director of Business Administration:
• Day to day line management of functional staff, supporting, coaching and mentoring as required
• Develop annual performance targets
• Conduct performance reviews
• With the Director of Business Administration, recommend staff adjustments and disciplinary actions when required

The successful candidate will have:

• A university degree in a related discipline, or equivalent professional procurement qualification.
• At least 5 years' experience in a senior procurement role in a high volume medium/large organisation. Experience of procurement and contracts in an educational environment highly desirable.
• Demonstrable experience of leading the organisation and management of tenders for goods and services from inception to on-going monitoring of contract performance.
• Experience of reporting to management on key issues and proposals;
• Demonstrable experience of managing the continuous improvement cycle and implementing policies and procedures;
• Proven experience of auditing and evaluating suppliers' performance and of building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven experience building positive relationships with external bodies and other organisations.

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Having a diverse staff body is a great strength to us as a College and one of the ways that we can help students achieve our College Mission of Living Worldwise. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy or socio-economic status. We support family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational needs allow. We encourage all staff to be their true selves in work. Staff recruited locally are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.

Dulwich College (Singapore) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all the students in our care and expects all applicants to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices which are aligned to the recommendations of the International Task Force on Child Protection. We hold ourselves to a high standard of effective recruiting practices with specific attention to child protection. All appointments are subject to an interview, identity checks, criminal record checks, social media checks, and successful references.

PEI Registration Number: 201027137D

Period of Registration: 09 January 2024 to 08 January 2028

Tell employers what skills you have

Negotiation
Budgets
Leadership
Outsourcing
Interpersonal Skills
Contract Management
Purchasing
Administration
Budget Process
Procurement
Compliance
Audits
Customer Satisfaction
Team Player
Staff Management
Tendering
Pricing
Sourcing
Performance Management
Contract Negotiation

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