Procurement Partner

About the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ)

At BNZ, it's about more than just banking. The company fosters an agile, energising environment focused on innovative solutions, guided by the promise "If you can imagine a better future, let's find a way." BNZ supports employee wellbeing, flexible working arrangements, and offers generous leave. Employees have opportunities for growth, learning, and career development, with no two days being the same.

The Procurement Tīma (Team)

BNZ's Procurement tīma plays a critical role in identifying and negotiating third-party contracts for the bank. The banking sector has seen significant changes in outsourcing over the past five years, with regulatory requirements becoming a key focus during and after supplier negotiations.

The Role: Procurement Partner

BNZ is seeking experienced Procurement Partners with strong attention to detail. This role involves preparing complex market engagements (e.g., RFx), negotiating intricate contracts, adhering to regulated processes, and maintaining robust stakeholder and supplier relationships. This is a six-month fixed-term opportunity based in Auckland with a hybrid work model: three days in the office (anchor days Tuesday, plus Monday or Friday) and two flexible days.

Mō te Tūranga | About the Role

The Senior Manager Procurement highlights key aspects of the Procurement Partner role:

• Tīma Culture and Environment: The team is collaborative, focusing on being strategic partners to internal stakeholders. The aim is to deliver market-leading negotiations that support business growth now and in the future. This is achieved through a category management and technology business unit engagement model, allowing team members to become experts in their managed areas. Opportunities for cross-collaboration and cross-skilling across different categories and business units are also available.
• Projects / Mahi: This role will focus on developing and implementing strategies for key categories, specifically supporting the direction of the BNZ Technology team. This is a major growth area with several large-scale market engagements planned over the next 6 to 12 months. The successful candidate will need to quickly build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders to understand their needs and requirements.

Specific Skills Required to be Successful

BNZ is looking for experienced technology procurement professionals who can easily engage with various stakeholders and collaboratively influence outcomes. Key requirements include:

• Minimum of 5 years' experience as a category manager (or equivalent), negotiating high-value third-party contracts or similar roles, ideally within a complex environment.
• Knowledge and understanding of the financial sector (preferred but not mandatory).
• Ability to establish and implement category strategies.
• Experience working in a highly regulated industry and complying with internal regulatory processes and procedures, including government legislations under Banking Standard (BS) 11.
• Proven experience in leading and delivering market engagement (e.g., RFPs).
• Ability to identify and deliver benefits through cost savings, cost avoidance, and productivity improvements via strategic negotiations and category management.
• Skilled in sourcing and negotiating complex contracts.
• Ability to self-manage, meet deadlines, and prioritize workload effectively.
• Experience in a corporate environment working on large-scale projects and negotiations.
• Ability to effectively manage key procurement portfolios within an organization.

Attributes for Success

Successful candidates for the Procurement Partner role will display:

• Ability to mahi (work) in a highly regulated environment.
• High level of resilience with the ability to prioritize work under pressure.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and influencing skills.
• Acumen in sourcing and knowledge of end-to-end sourcing and procurement practices.

Key skills/competency

• Procurement
• Contract Negotiation
• Category Management
• Regulatory Compliance (BS 11)
• RFx Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Financial Sector Knowledge
• Strategic Sourcing
• Technology Procurement