IFMA Foodverse

Location:             US-Based, Remote Capable

Reports To:         Director, Safer Chemicals and Procurement

FLSA Status:       Exempt

FTE Status:          FTE 1

Supervises:        None

Posting Date:     April 11, 2022

Closing Date:     May 31, 2022. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an application as early as possible as the recruitment panel will be interviewing candidates on a rolling basis.

We are seeking a procurement expert who is looking to make a social impact. At Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, you will have the opportunity to develop strategies that can drive market transformation, and help to build sustainable and resilient supply chains and diverse economies.

Organizational Overview

Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) seeks to transform health care worldwide so the sector reduces its environmental footprint and becomes a leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice. We believe health care, as the only sector with healing as its mission, has an opportunity – and obligation – to use its ethical, economic, and political influence to create an ecologically sustainable, equitable and healthy world. HCWH in the U.S. works to achieve its mission in collaboration with its sister organization, Practice Greenhealth (PGH), the leading nonprofit membership and network organization for sustainable health care that delivers environmental solutions to more than 1,400 members throughout the United States.

Position Description

Responsible for developing strategies, technical resources, learning opportunities and collaborative opportunities to advance sustainable procurement in the health care sector in alignment with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth priorities. This role will support the adoption of sustainable procurement practices by Practice Greenhealth’s network of 1,400 health care institutions.

Primary Objectives

• Works closely with the Director of Safer Chemicals and Procurement and collaborates with other Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth segments to develop strategies and build a nationally-recognized program with successful solutions for decarbonizing and detoxifying the supply chain in health care and fostering a low carbon economy.
• Advises health system partners on how to identify and implement sustainable procurement goals with an emphasis on measurable outcomes, which capture environmental and health equity benefits, strategic organizational priorities and life cycle cost savings.
• Provides technical expertise and advisory services on sustainable procurement to support partner needs with a goal to provide outstanding customer service.
• Creates, updates and refines Practice Greenhealth’s sustainable purchasing tools and resources to support successful program implementation within partner organizations.
• Educates health care professionals on best practices for a sustainable procurement program.

Essential Functions

Leadership and planning

• Supports Practice Greenhealth Sustainability Strategy Managers in managing partner relationships and furthering their defined strategies, with particular attention given to cultivating new and maintaining existing relationships with health care supply chain staff.
• Guides the development of sustainable procurement implementation strategies and identifies opportunities for partners to be leaders in their efforts.
• Establishes relationships with a broad spectrum of external experts, including supply chain entities, academia, and allied organizational partners, to help inform the development of partner resources and stay abreast of current trends and activities, including topic areas such as supplier diversity, supply chain resilience, Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, and labor rights.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with health care facility representatives, clinicians, and community and professional organizations to advance organizational goals.

Engagement and content delivery

• Contributes to new market transformation initiatives, helping to map product supply chains and develop product criteria.
• Researches and writes technical resources to support the implementation of sustainable procurement by health care partners
• Manages the sustainable procurement resources on the Practice Greenhealth website, and regularly considers how the site can provide the most value to health care partners.
• Provides first-rate customer service to partners by responding to needs, providing technical guidance and tools, strategies and resources in a timely manner.
• Participate in the promotion and integrity of organization wide data collection (through such initiatives as Practice Greenhealth’s Awards Program) including annual review, analysis and dissemination of findings from sustainable procurement metrics. 
• Plan and convene educational meetings, forums, webinars and conferences for facility staff, supply chain, key partner organizations related to relevant objectives including but not limited to hosting quarterly meetings of Practice Greenhealth’s Sustainable Procurement Cohort.
• Presents at conferences and trade shows on procurement activities and successes to recruit new health care partners and demonstrate value.
• Promotes health care partnerships and sustainable procurement advisory services to contribute to the financial goals for the organization and to support educational strategies. Travels to partner sites on limited occasions to provide defined advisory services.
• Intersect with value chain players, including but not limited to group purchasing organizations, distributors, processors, aggregators, and manufacturers to model and shift the institutional procurement system.
• Further individual and team knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts and identify opportunities to disrupt existing structures of oppression through our work.  Contribute to organization-wide DEI efforts, when appropriate, to reflect the intersectional nature of climate justice

Administrative 

• Maintain contacts in the organizational database.
• Support Director in maintaining a funding portfolio for sustainable procurement work, including but not limited to: contributing to the writing grants, reporting progress to funders, and engaging partners in the process.
• Develop and manage contracts and consultants for services related to projects.

Qualifications

• Minimum Education: BA or BS. Combined experience/education as a substitute for minimum education.
• Minimum Experience: 5 years’ experience in supply chain, sustainable purchasing.
• Preferred Experience/Expertise: 8 years’ experience working in or with the health care industry purchasing or supply chain sustainability. 

Job-Specific Competencies Required:

• Strategic approach and change management:  Ability to think strategically and creatively, with experience applying change management methodology to change mindsets and insight action. 
• Project Management - Knowledge and experience in project management. Ability to build rapport while managing multiple initiatives at the same time. 
• Team Approach: Ability to work as part of a team with experience providing guidance to others to track, measure, and achieve strategic goals. 
• Healthcare Sustainability: Basic understanding of technical components of healthcare sustainability such as waste management, energy/water conservation, climate change connections to public health, chemical management, supply chain effects, sustainable food, green building design and construction.
• Institutional Supply Chain: Good understanding and experience with working in or with a large scale supply chain, preferably institutional. 
• Written Content: Ability to effectively write email communication, concise web content
• Communication Skills: Comfort speaking in front of audiences, comfort in speaking with and effectively communicating to senior-level internal and external stakeholders
• Computer Skills: Ability to work with Microsoft Office products such as Word, Power Point, Excel and Google products such as Google Drive and Google Documents.   Previous knowledge or ability to easily pick up on use of a CRM and internal communication tool like Slack. 

What’s In It For You?

• Work for an organization where the mission is inspiring and your colleagues care deeply for the mission and the network of people carrying out that mission.
• Play a key role in helping drive growth, influence impact, and advance efforts to create a more sustainable health care sector and community.
• Be part of an inspirational global network.
• Fantastic benefits!

To Apply or Inquire

Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth are committed to cultivating and sustaining culturally and ethnically diverse organizations, and to the principles that promote inclusive practices. We believe that systems can only be transformed when a diversity of voices, perspectives, and lived experiences are a part of the movement for change.  We are dedicated to building a diverse staff with expertise and interest in addressing systemic racism within our organization and to serve the mission of the organizations in respectful ways. Health Care Without Harm/Practice Greenhealth is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

To apply, upload a cover letter along with your resume to John Ullman, Director, Safer Chemicals and Procurement, via this link. Questions can be addressed to jobs@hcwh.org. Only competitive candidates will be invited to participate further in the recruitment process. Closing date to submit applications, resumes and/or cover letters is on May 31, 2022. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an application as early as possible as the recruitment panel will be interviewing candidates on a rolling basis.