Investor and providing operational guidance to an expanding Spa in the fast growing area of Bedford West in Bedford, Nova Scotia.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, I oversee the Purchasing/Inventory/Warehouse/Logistics and the Information Technology Department. The Purchasing/Inventory team consists of 2 staff, the Warehouse/Logistics Group consists of 4 staff and the IT Department is currently supported as part of an outsource contract.

VNC specializes in the areas of procurement consulting, cost reduction initiatives, systems review and implementation and training and professional development.I work with ValueNet Canada as a principal and lead advisor for their strategic procurement activities. I am called on as a resource for current ValueNet clients who are looking to transform their procurement activities from a tactical nature to a strategic approach. I also work with ValueNet and their clients with respect to identifying training gaps and needs, including the development, preparation and delivery of specialized training and workshops. Clients include Kohler Windows, Clearwater Fine Foods, Nautel Communications, Poly Cello, McCain Foods, IMP Aerospace, Trenton Works, Dalhousie University, Digital Gateway (Utah) and Hurricane Industrial Equipment.

Reporting to the Director of Procurement I was responsible for the development and implementation of procurement strategy and activities that are designed to create competitive advantage and cost reduction for the organization. This was accomplished through a proactive approach to supply management that ensures opportunities are identified to customers, a structured approach to strategic procurement, understanding customer requirements and a decision support role provided in a team setting. I managed approximately $80M in spend, interacting with hundreds of vendors/partners and internal staff from operations to senior management. In 3 years, I delivered nearly $14M in savings and ‘avoided’ costs. My primary internal customers included Information technology (IT), shared services, customer service and call center, outsourcing contracts and new acquisitions. As Procurement Lead, I was responsible for the identification of key stakeholders and team members, team member role and responsibility definition, meeting facilitation and project management. Each initiative had approximately 6-8 team members as direct reports. Other Relevant experience:- Responsibility for the Nova Scotia Power Print Center (10 employees). This included contract management, weekly and monthly reviews, annual budgeting and general operations. Services provided included black & white high volume print, color print, offset press work, graphic design services, document creation, mail and courier management and records and forms management- Negotiated, implemented and managed numerous outsourcing contracts including, Emera bill print and mail, and Emera Remittance processing. - Led a number of other strategic outsourcing initiatives, including the outsourcing of Emera’s IT Infrastructure, Nova Scotia Power Call Center Telephony Infrastructure, Emera Metering project, Emera Vegetation Management, Bangor Hydro warehouse and fleet operations review