Senior Principal Procurement / Subcontract Manager

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

 Northrop Grumman Strategic Space Systems has an opening for a Senior Principal Supply Chain Procurement Specialist for our Chandler, Arizona location.

What is a Procurement Specialist generally?

A Procurement Specialist role at Northrop Grumman is similar to roles at other defense/aerospace companies with the job title Subcontract Manager, Subcontract Administrator, Buyer, or Procurement Agent. The Procurement Specialists work in commodity groups to procure or subcontract specialized goods and services ranging from commercial or commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware to material built to print / drawing / specification, to complex assemblies and systems developed from a Supplier Statement of Work (SSOW). Some of the essential functions shared by all Procurement Specialists include:

• Pre-Solicitation: Responsible for evaluating purchase requisitions (program/project requirements) for compliance to policies and procedures; responsible for creating a sourcing strategy in consultation with program stakeholders to ensure maximum competition, best value to the government/customer, and selection of responsible and qualified suppliers / subcontractors. Develops and maintains a strong knowledge of the Procurement Specialist’s assigned commodity, keeping abreast of the companies which make up the supply base in that commodity, the capabilities of those suppliers, the solutions those suppliers offer, and the ability of those suppliers to meet Northrop Grumman’s quality requirements, mission assurance requirements, contract flowdowns, and terms and conditions.
• Solicitation: Crafts and issues Requests for Quote (RFQ) and Requests for Proposal (RFP), ensuring all required elements and flowdowns are contained and that all pre-solicitation requirements have been met. Ensures that the requesting program and supplier / subcontractor are aligned with regard to the requirements contained in the solicitation, and ensures that any questions or clarifications with regard to technical documents are fully vetted. In the case of fair and open competition, ensures a level playing field for all competitors.
• Quote/Proposal Evaluation: Vets quotes/proposals received to ensure adequacy based on the requirements contained in the solicitation. Thoroughly identifies and fully addresses all clarifications, ground rules, assumptions, and exceptions contained in the quote/proposal. Analyzes the proposed price to identify fair and reasonable pricing. Crafts a negotiation strategy in cooperation with program stakeholders, identifying tactics and opportunities for reducing cost, improving efficiency, and managing risk related to the anticipated award. In the case of competition, leads a multi-functional down-select process to ensure that a winner is selected fairly and in accordance with the competitive criteria established in the solicitation.
• Award: Leads negotiations on behalf of Northrop Grumman, ensuring that the final agreed price, schedule, technical/quality requirements, and terms and conditions represent the best value both for the customer/government and for Northrop Grumman. Creates a compliant Purchase Order in the Launch Vehicles system of record, Costpoint. Assembles all documentation required by law and by company policies / procedures in a compliance file. Promptly addresses any findings on the file issued by compliance officers. Issues award to the winning supplier / subcontractor. Ensures prompt acknowledgement / signature by the subcontractor.
• Post-Award: Administers Purchase Order / Subcontract, ensuring that subcontractor performs in accordance with the order, including cost, schedule, technical/quality requirements, and the terms and conditions of the contract. Performs root cause corrective action (RCCA) when supplier performance is not up to expectations, escalating to leadership both at Northrop Grumman and at the subcontractor as needed in order to successful mitigate. Assesses ongoing supplier performance, health, and responsibility. Aggressively engages to resolve post-award issues affecting Northrop Grumman factory readiness, program milestones and schedule, and urgent facility/installation needs. Manages Purchase Order / Subcontract close-out through completion.
• Beyond Awards: Cultivates and maintains strong working relationships with suppliers, customers, and internal stakeholders. Utilizes process tools such as Lean Six Sigma with suppliers to drive quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement, and internally to contribute to Northrop Grumman process improvement efforts. Takes a selfless team-based approach in helping colleagues through difficult tasks, training and being trained by other members of the team to ensure a broad-based and portable skillset, and by modeling the kindness and positivity that gives Launch Vehicles Global Supply Chain its strong people-first culture.

What is the level / grade of this position, what does the level / grade mean, and what are the basic and preferred qualifications for the role?

You are applying to be a Senior Principal Supply Chain Procurement Specialist. This is a supply chain position for very highly qualified procurement / subcontract managers with extensive demonstrated experience managing ordering activities in a high compliance FAR/DFARS environment. The successful applicants for this position usually have management-level knowledge of FAR/DFARS procurement / subcontracting, a willingness and ability to teach others these topics, the ability to competently peer review FAR/DFARS procurement compliance packages, the ability to operate successfully with relatively little supervision or escalation, and the willingness and ability to both initiate and successfully participate in effective process or supply base improvement projects.

Basic Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s Degree combined with at least 10 years of supply chain management experience, preferably with this experience predominantly in a buyer role operating under FAR/DFARS compliance requirements.
• Alternately, a Master’s Degree combined with at least 8 years of supply chain management experience, preferably with this experience predominantly in a buyer role operating under FAR/DFARS compliance requirements.
• Without a Bachelor’s Degree OR Master’s Degree, at least 14 years of supply chain management experience, preferably with this experience predominantly in a buyer role operating under FAR/DFARS compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated experience and proficiency placing FAR/DFARS compliant orders over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.
• Demonstrated experience and proficiency obtaining and evaluating Small Business Subcontracting Plans.
• Demonstrated experience and proficiency evaluating proposals and placing FAR/DFARS orders compliant to Truthful Cost and Pricing Data and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS).
• Experience with flexibly priced subcontracts. The ability to understand and evaluate the trade-offs between Firm Fixed Price (FFP), Time & Materials (T&M), Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF), Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), and Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF), and to compliantly execute each subcontract type.
• Experience with undefinitized contracting vehicles, such as Letter Subcontracts (LSC), Undefinitized Change Orders (UCO), Authorization to Proceed (ATP), and Pre-Contract Cost Authorizations (PCCA).
• Demonstrated experience with contract change management. Be prepared to discuss the strategies you used to contain cost and schedule in an environment with frequent engineering change orders.
• Risk mitigation experience and experience successfully implementing root cause corrective action (RCCA).
• Demonstrated experience negotiating complex or high-risk corporate terms and conditions.
• Experience training others and mentoring others and a desire to perform those functions at Northrop Grumman.
• Experience leading a cross-functional team to develop a complex business negotiation strategy. Please be prepared to discuss the price analysis techniques used to arrive at such strategies, the negotiation methodologies leveraged, and the results obtained.
• Experience conducting oral presentations to executive leadership.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Costpoint is a major advantage. Experience with other Enterprise Requirement Planning (ERP) software is desirable.
• Possession of a Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM) certification or a Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM) certification from National Contract Management Association Certification (NCMA), and demonstrated understanding of the body of knowledge, is a major advantage.
• Demonstrated experience with change management in a developmental subcontracting environment.
• Knowledge of Earned Value Management System (EVMS).
• Although not required for this position, possession of or ability to obtain a DoD Secret Security Clearance is desirable.
• A deep knowledge of business law.
• Though not required, former experience as a working lead or supervisory manager, and demonstrated proficiency with the tools needed to successfully serve in either role, is a major advantage. Be prepared to discuss these experiences in detail and to share whether you would be willing in the future to serve in these roles at Northrop Grumman on an emergency basis, interim basis, periodic basis, or permanent basis. Please also be prepared to discuss your leadership style.
• JD preferred
• MBA preferred
• JD/MBA preferred

As an employee of Northrop Grumman, you are eligible for our robust benefits package which includes:

•      Medical, Dental & Vision coverage

•      401k

•      Educational Assistance

•      Life Insurance

•      Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions

•      Paid Time Off

•      Health & Wellness Resources

•      Employee Discounts

This position’s standard work schedule is 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows an employee to work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday and take every other Friday off work.

Salary Range: $84,100 USD - $126,100 USD

Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The health and safety of our employees and their families is a top priority. The company encourages employees to remain up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. U.S. Northrop Grumman employees may be required, in the future, to be vaccinated or have an approved disability/medical or religious accommodation, pursuant to future court decisions and/or government action on the currently stayed federal contractor vaccine mandate under Executive Order 14042 https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/.

Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO/AA and Pay Transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for most positions.