POLO Team Leader

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Job Function:

Procurement

Job Sub Function:

Contract & Processing Services

Job Category:

People Leader

All Job Posting Locations:

Prague, Czechia

Job Description:

A PO Lifecycle Ops (POLO) Team Leader will lead a team of P2P/POLO Associates who manage the purchase order process and ancillary tasks associated with the PO lifecycle, on behalf of and in partnership with key sector stakeholders. The ideal candidate will be capable of day-to-day people leadership, onboarding and training new P2P/POLO associates; provide guidance and direction to P2P/POLO associates with respect to P2P/POLO responsibilities, end-to-end lifecycle management and ancillary tasks like invoice mismatch, supplier data maintenance, and other tasks, ensuring that the P2P/POLO associate team processes PRs/POs efficiently and accurately. The P2P/POLO Team Leader will be responsible to make informed and timely decisions, considering the input of their team.

As the EMEA POLO team is evolving, some degree of operational process development and refinement will be a part of this role – to develop to-be processes around PO Lifecycle Management on behalf of our stakeholders.

Major Duties & Responsibilities:

• Leads the day-to-day oversight of the P2P/POLO team, overseeing team performance of end-to-end PO lifecycle management, Accounts Payable connectivity, procurement operations and cross-functional capabilities involvement (where required), ensuring service delivery based upon the agreed SLAs, while ensuring policy and legal compliance.
• Prioritize stakeholder management and customer service. Engage directly with stakeholders on a routine basis with a focus on high quality service delivery, to ensure transparency on all elements of PR/PO lifecycle management and high-quality performance of the P2P/POLO team.
• Provide guidance and direction to internal stakeholders on overall P2P/POLO service delivery and support, including the P2P Associate(s) as necessary to ensure clarity on contract creation, HCC needs, due diligence requests, etc. part of activities which need to be completed prior or during PO lifecycle management.

Other Duties:

• Support, and at times, lead, development and implementation of automation and AI (Artificial Intelligence) initiatives within assigned area of responsibility.
• Receive and ensure rapid resolution of escalations related to purchase orders, such as discrepancies in pricing or services / materials delays.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, regulatory requirements, and best practices in procurement.
• Provide support and resources for team members' professional growth is vital. A good leader mentors and encourages their team, fostering their development.
• Promotes diversity and inclusion, ensuring that all team members feel they belong and have equal opportunities to contribute to team improvements, process improvements, et al.

Required Minimum Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Supply Chain Management, or a related field is preferred.

• 4-5 years previous business process / business operations experience
• Previous People Leadership experience highly preferred.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Fluency in English (written & oral) is required.
• Strong attention to detail, organizational and time management skills.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with suppliers and internal customers with an emphasis on the customer experience.
• Demonstrated ability to problem-solve and manage escalations to closure
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize effectively in a fast-paced environment, while ensuring high-quality results / positive outcomes.
• Prior experience in purchasing systems (i.e. Ariba or equivalent) is a plus.

Preferred Minimum Education:

• Bachelor's Degree

Preferred Area of Study:

• Business Administration, Finance, Supply Chain Management, or a related field is preferred.

Preferred Related Industry Experience:

• Sourcing, Contracting, Payments or Finance processes; Stakeholder Management / Customer Service

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Good understanding of Accounts Payable, Payments or Sourcing and Contracting processes and Source-to-settle operations at a high level is preferred.
• Proficiency in English (written and oral) and one other language for the respective region supported, may be preferred.