Procurement and contract management are increasingly popular career paths, and the two are often combined into a singular job role. Since the 2008 financial crash, businesses have been more conscious of their spending and budget and hiring procurement. Contract managers have even been put in place to ensure that they are not spending any more than they need to on contracts with suppliers of goods and services. In fact, it has become vital for many companies.
A career in procurement and contract management can be extremely rewarding both financially (procurement managers usually earn significantly more than the national average salary) and personally. Procurement managers often have a major influence on the decisions and directions of companies, with some even taking a seat on the board of directors!
If you are interested in starting or advancing a career in procurement and contract management, we will explore some of the ways that you can make that happen!
Formal Qualifications
While there are procurement and contract managers who have landed those job roles through just experience and transferrable skills, a more sure-fire route to starting this career is by gaining formal industry qualifications in the field.
There is a number of Procurement and Contract Management undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from various institutions. There are even many online certificates, such as the UVA Online Contract Management Certificate, that are designed to teach students about procurement and contract management policies, practices, and laws and regulations to prepare them for the industry.
Soft Skills
In addition, you should make sure that you have the required “soft skills.” While hard skills are technical skills, often specific skills such as computer programming, soft skills are more generalized skills and personality traits such as good communication. The soft skills you should work on include:
- Communication and negotiation
These are vital for a procurement and contract management career, as you will frequently be meeting new people and developing and maintaining professional relationships while representing the company that you work for.
- Time management
This is also a highly important skill. You may be largely responsible for creating your own busy schedule that may need to fit in meetings with many different people. A good manager is both efficient at time management and is also hard-working.
- Team player
An effective procurement and contract manager should also be a team player. Not only will you be trying to get the best deal for your company and co-workers, but you will also be working alongside contractors to implement a working relationship that benefits both companies!
Experience
Having the correct experience is usually very important to employers when they are hiring for the procurement and/or contract management position. Thankfully, you do not necessarily need to have worked in procurement and contract management before – there are various skills that you may have used before that can be transferred into the field.
Any experience that you have in working in finance, working with data, and/or working in or studying law are big draws for employers when they are looking for a procurement and contract manager!
