Strategic Procurement Specialist

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At NAIT, we’re passionate about building a team of talented, dedicated professionals who share our commitment to excellence and innovation. Your skills and experience can shape the future of education and make a real impact in our community.
If this opportunity feels like the right fit for you, we encourage you to apply and join us in creating a brighter future – together.

Important Application Deadline Notice
Applications must be submitted by 11:59pm MST on the day before the posting end date shown above , as Workday automatically closes postings at that time.

Internal NAIT Employees
Current NAIT employees are welcome to apply for this opportunity. To be considered, please submit your application through the NAIT Jobs Hub rather than the external career site.

About the Opportunity

NAIT is seeking a Strategic Procurement Specialist, to provide advanced procurement, commercial, contracting, and contract-management expertise for complex procurement initiatives, with a primary focus on supporting Facilities Management and Development (FMD).

As a senior individual contributor, the Strategic Procurement Specialist independently manages procurement initiatives from early planning and stakeholder engagement through competitive solicitation, evaluation, negotiation, contract execution, and transition to contract management.

The successful candidate will proactively engage FMD Capitals Projects and Maintenance and Operations to understand their needs, upcoming initiatives, existing contracts, and procurement priorities. This position will help stakeholders assess procurement readiness, develop sourcing strategies, manage procurement and contractual risks, and establish realistic timelines and contract management.

This opportunity is well suited to an experienced procurement professional in construction, capital projects, facilities or construction-related procurement and contracting with strong attention to detail, sound commercial judgment and demonstrated ability to interpret and negotiate construction and consultant contract terms and conditions.

This position does not have formal people-leadership or supervisory responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities:

- Proactively engage FMD Capital Projects and Maintenance & Operations to understand upcoming initiatives, operational requirements, contract expiries, market conditions, procurement priorities, and sourcing opportunities.

- Assess procurement readiness with stakeholders, including scope and specification completeness, design maturity where applicable, budget and approval status, scheduling dependencies, market conditions, and allocation of responsibilities.

- Develop procurement and contracting strategies, solicitation documents, evaluation methodologies, pricing structures, negotiation plans, timelines, and defensible award recommendations appropriate to the scope, value, complexity, risk, and market conditions of each requirement.

- Advise project teams on procurement and commercial considerations associated with construction delivery and contracting approaches, including stipulated-price contracting, construction management, design-build, and other appropriate delivery models.

- Lead complex competitive procurement processes, including contractor and consultant prequalification's, public tenders, RFX's and other approved procurement methods.

- Lead procurement activities throughout the competitive process, including bidder inquiries, site meetings where applicable, addenda, compliance reviews, evaluations, clarifications, negotiations, approvals, awards, and supplier debriefings.

- Review, interpret, prepare, and negotiate construction, consulting, maintenance, and other commercial agreements, including supplementary conditions, within approved authorities, standards, and risk parameters.

- Coordinate specialized reviews with General Counsel, Finance, Risk, Insurance, Health and Safety, technical project leads, and other subject-matter experts.

- Provide post-award commercial and contract-management support, including amendments, renewals, construction change orders where applicable, contractor or consultant performance matters, corrective actions, claims, disputes, and contract closeout, in collaboration with the designated project or contract owner.

- Ensure procurement activities comply with applicable legislation, trade agreements, NAIT policies, delegated authorities, procurement procedures, and principles of fairness, transparency, accountability, consistency, and defensibility, and maintain complete and audit-ready procurement and contract records.

Skills & Abilities:

- Strong strategic sourcing and competitive procurement expertise across complex procurement environments.

- Strong knowledge of construction procurement, contracting, and contract-management practices, including contractor and consultant procurement, construction delivery models, pricing structures, insurance, bonding, contract changes, and commercial risk allocation.

- Advanced contract interpretation, commercial negotiation, contract management, analytical, and risk assessment skills.

- Exceptional attention to detail when reviewing solicitation documents, agreements, supplementary conditions, specifications, pricing, qualifications, exclusions, and proposed contract changes.

- Sound professional and commercial judgment, including the confidence to constructively challenge incomplete requirements, unrealistic timelines, unsupported procurement approaches, and unacceptable commercial terms.

- Strong stakeholder-management, consultation, facilitation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence outcomes without formal supervisory authority.

- Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational, and project-coordination skills, with the ability to independently manage multiple complex priorities.

- High standards of integrity, confidentiality, fairness, consistency, and professional accountability, with proficiency in enterprise procurement, contract-management, document-management, and Microsoft 365 applications.

Qualifications:

- A post-secondary diploma in supply chain management, procurement, business administration, commerce, finance, construction management, engineering, law, or related discipline. Degree is an asset.

- Four to five years of progressively responsible experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, contracting, or commercial negotiation, including direct experience supporting construction, capital projects, facilities, or construction-related procurement and contracting.

- Demonstrated experience independently leading complex construction-related competitive procurements from planning and solicitation through evaluation, negotiation, award, and contract execution.

- Demonstrated experience reviewing, interpreting, preparing, and/or negotiating construction and construction-related consulting agreements.

- Demonstrated experience providing post-award construction contract-management support, including amendments, change orders, contractor or consultant performance matters, claims, disputes, and contract closeout.

- Demonstrated experience working with project and technical stakeholders to assess procurement readiness, identify commercial and contractual risks, and develop appropriate procurement and contracting strategies.

- Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple procurement and contract-management initiatives of varying value, complexity, and risk.

- Equivalencies may be considered.

Preferred Qualifications/ Assets

- A recognized procurement or supply chain designation, such as SCMP, CPPO, CPSM, or equivalent designation.

- Experience in a public sector, post-secondary, broader public sector, or other regulated environment.

- Applied knowledge of public sector procurement principles, governance, applicable trade agreements, and competitive tendering obligations.

- Experience with CCDC contract forms and supplementary conditions.

- Experience supporting the procurement, negotiation, or commercial administration of Integrated Project Delivery arrangements(ex CCDC 30).

- Familiarity with construction-related legislative and commercial requirements, including prompt-payment and lien considerations.

- Experience with Workday, Workday Strategic Sourcing, or another enterprise procurement and contract-management system.

Classification – Advisor/Specialist III

This position is covered by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) Collective Agreement.

Remuneration : Refer to salary range noted on this posting, plus a comprehensive benefits package.
The compensation range for this job posting is : $85,165.22 - $114,186.44

Applicants with education credentials earned outside of Canada should have their credentials evaluated by a recognized agency in Canada - Foreign Credential Validation against Canadian Standards - Canada.ca .

NAIT is committed to a transparent, fair, and human-centered hiring experience. All candidates are assessed directly by our recruitment and hiring teams.

Please submit a resume and cover letter to be considered for this opportunity.

About NAIT
We are known as one of Alberta’s top employers. Being part of a community that makes a difference in the lives of students, staff, industry clients and partners, NAIT’s culture reflects our shared values of respect, collaboration, celebration, creativity, and accountability.

People are what make NAIT great, and we prioritize the employee experience. For eligible positions, we offer benefits and unique perks focusing on health and wellness, work-life balance, recognition, and professional and personal growth. In addition to excellent vacation time, eligible employees receive paid time off between Christmas and New Year’s.

NAIT supports a flexible work environment, enabling staff to request approval for on-campus, off-site, or hybrid work arrangements based on the nature of the role. Please note that remote positions require employees to reside within Canada.

NAIT is committed to fostering a safe environment that supports equity and cultivates inclusion through our Centre for Community and Belonging (CCB) . We are a proud partner of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion. While we encourage all qualified applicants to apply, only those being considered will be contacted. If you require any assistance or accommodations please connect with us at careers@nait.ca .