UNext Learning is headquartered in Bengaluru, India, part of the prestigious Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG). At UNext, our mission is simple yet profound: to make higher education affordable and accessible for all. We provide full stack tech platform for universities and colleges to offer online courses and degree programs.

Our focus is to bring online higher education to a rising number of learners looking to level up in their careers. The online programs offered on our platform, through universities, are designed for re-skilling, up skilling, and workforce development.

Our endeavour is to empower our learners and university partners to achieve tangible outcomes and make a significant impact. We aspire to serve as a lifelong learning companion for our learner community, unlocking their full potential without constraints related to cost or location.

We are seeking a highly experienced and detail oriented Senior Manager Procurement to lead procurement operations, strategic sourcing, and supplier management activities across the organisation.

The role requires a strong understanding of procurement governance, contract management, and vendor performance frameworks, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross functional teams and external partners.

The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in procurement processes, strong analytical capabilities, and a commitment to operational excellence.

Critical Accountabilities:

Procurement Operations:

- Oversee end-to-end procurement activities, including the processing of Purchase Requisitions (PRs) and Purchase Orders (POs) within MS Dynamics.

- Ensure adherence to procurement policies, internal controls, and compliance requirements.

- Manage vendor onboarding, vendor master creation, and periodic updates in alignment with organisational standards.

Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management:

- Lead strategic sourcing initiatives, including market analysis, supplier evaluation, competitive bidding, and negotiation of commercial terms.

- Support contract lifecycle management, including drafting, reviewing, and executing amendments, extensions, and renewals.

- Monitor supplier performance through structured evaluations, audits, and feedback mechanisms.

- Conduct supplier risk assessments, sustainability checks, and due-diligence activities to ensure alignment with organisational expectations.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

- Work closely with internal stakeholders such as Marketing, Products, HR, Finance, Legal, Operations, and Business team to ensure seamless procurement support.

- Serve as a key point of coordination between internal teams and external suppliers to resolve issues, clarify requirements, and ensure timely fulfilment.

Data Analysis & Process Improvement:

- Analyse procurement data to identify cost-saving opportunities, efficiency gaps, and process optimisation areas.

- Recommend and implement best practices to enhance procurement efficiency, transparency, and governance.

- Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and digital transformation efforts within the procurement function.

Skills, Knowledge & Competencies:

Required Qualifications and Experience:

- Bachelors/masters degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Operations, or a related discipline.

- 10 -12 years of experience in procurement operations, strategic sourcing, and supply chain management.

- Proficiency in MS Dynamics or equivalent ERP procurement systems.

- Demonstrated experience in vendor governance, compliance, and risk management is preferred.

- Ability to manage multiple priorities, work under pressure, and deliver results within defined timelines.

Essential Competencies and Skills:

Strategic & commercial:

- Vendor evaluation, negotiations, and long-term partnerships with a strong focus on cost optimization, compliance, and performance management.

- End-to-end procurement experience with focus on digital marketing, branding, content development, IT Hardware, software, product development, and corporate gifting, ensuring quality and timely delivery.

- Contract strategy & commercial structuring (framework agreements, SLAs, payment terms, performance-linked clauses).

Operational excellence:

- End-to-end procurement processes (requisition PO receipt invoice payment).

- Supplier selection & RFx design (RFI/RFP/RFQ management, fair evaluation).

- Spend analytics & demand planning (use data to prioritize savings and mitigate risk).

Supplier & risk management:

- Strategic supplier relationship management and segmentation (KPI/scorecards, development plans).

- Supplier risk management (financial, geo, continuity, compliance).

- Alternate sourcing and contingency planning.

Negotiation & value capture:

- High-impact negotiation skills (structured BATNA, concession planning, multi-variable negotiation).

- Cost-saving and cost-avoidance techniques (bundling, reverse auctions, value engineering).

Systems & data:

- Familiarity with MS Dynamics and/or SAP/Oracle or equivalents; PO invoice matching.

- Spend analytics tools, Excel modelling, SQL/Power BI/Looker familiarity desirable.

- Automation mindset (AP/PO automation, process improvement)

Leadership & stakeholder management:

- Collaborates closely with marketing, technology, HR, Finance, legal and business teams to align procurement strategies.

- Team leadership: coach, build capability, set clear KPIs.

- Change management implement procurement policies, reduce maverick spend.

Compliance & governance:

- Procurement policy design and enforcement (vendor onboarding, conflict-of-interest, anti-bribery).

- Regulatory/compliance awareness relevant to industry (tax, import/export, environmental where applicable)

Key Performance Indicators:

- % annual cost savings (and % cost avoidance) vs baseline.

- Contract coverage (% of spend under contract).

- Maverick spends as % of total indirect/direct spend.

- Supplier on-time in-full (OTIF) or service-level attainment.

- Supplier risk score distribution (reduce high-risk suppliers).

- PO cycle time (requisition PO).

- Number of supplier issues escalated / resolution time.