Title: Sourcing Professional Services - Senior Consultant
Chicago, US
At Chain IQ, your ideas move fast.
Chain IQ is a global AI-driven Procurement Service Partner, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, with operations across main centers and 16 offices worldwide. We provide tailored, end-to-end procurement solutions that enable transformation, drive scalability, and deliver substantial reductions in our clients' indirect spend. Our culture is built on innovation, entrepreneurship, ownership, and impact. Here, your voice matters - bold thinking is encouraged, and action follows ambition.
Join our Team
It is an exciting time at Chain IQ and our team in Chicago are looking for a Senior Consultant in Professional Services.
Chain IQ generate value far beyond cost reduction. We transform our client’s indirect procurement towards a world-class, resilient, ethical and digitalized end-to-end function. We promote a culture of collaboration and shared excellence while encouraging an open and honest exchange of ideas. We offer the potential for significant corporate growth and career development.
Our ambition is to strengthen the existing highly experienced team to provide the best in industry support to our growing client base.
Role Purpose
The primary purpose is to deliver value-add sourcing services to clients in a structured, professional and consistent manner.
Responsibilities
We are currently seeking a Senior Consultant to join the Professional Services Americas Team. The Sourcing Professional Services - Senior Consultant needs to be a dynamic, highly client-focused individual with proven experience within Professional Service (including but not limited to Consulting, HR, and Legal Services).
Main responsibilities will include:
- Strategic Intake, Requirement Gathering and Demand Shaping:
- Working with client stakeholders to define business needs, project scope, deliverables, timelines, budget expectations, and success criteria for the sourcing request
- Partnering with senior business leaders to shape and challenge demand before requirements are finalized, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities and optimized project design
- Translating business objectives into multi‑year sourcing roadmaps and proactively surface strategic sourcing opportunities across the Professional Services portfolio.
- Category Strategy Alignment and Continuous Optimization:
- Determining whether the request aligns with the broader professional services category strategy, preferred supplier programs, frameworks, and rate cards
- Ensuring all sourcing efforts reinforce global category strategies, preferred supplier frameworks, and governance models—while influencing updates where market conditions or business needs evolve
- Advanced Market Intelligence and Supplier Ecosystem Development:
- Conducting deep market analysis, including macro‑trends, emerging delivery models, rate inflation drivers, and consulting/managed services landscape shifts
- Building and curating a high‑performing supplier ecosystem, identifying strategic partners, niche providers, and innovation opportunities that align with future business requirements.
- Strategic Sourcing Approach Design: Architecting sourcing strategies that maximize long‑term value—leveraging performance‑based structures, multi‑phase competitive events, capability assessments, and alternative delivery models
- RFx Creation & Management (RFI/RFQ/RFP):
- Developing and issuing sourcing documents, including requirements, scoring criteria, commercial templates, and evaluation frameworks
- Leading complex, multi‑round RFx events including strategic problem‑statements, advanced scoring frameworks, risk overlays, and executive governance touchpoints
- Driving alignment across stakeholders and ensure evaluation criteria reinforce strategic priorities, innovation, and measurable outcomes
- Bid Evaluation & Analysis
- Analyzing supplier proposals across cost, capability, risk, diversity, technical approach, delivery methodology, and compliance to determine best fit
- Identifying supplier‑led innovation opportunities that create measurable competitive advantage for the client
- Financial Analysis & Cost Modeling:
- Performing rate benchmarking, TCO analysis, cost breakdown validation, negotiation preparation, and scenario comparison to drive savings and value
- Influencing business cases with TCO insights, ROI modeling, and financial risk assessments to guide executive approvals
- Supplier Shortlisting & Recommendations:
- Facilitating evaluation workshops with stakeholders to identify finalists and prepare recommendation decks documenting the sourcing decision
- Clearly articulating sourcing outcomes, tradeoffs, and long‑term value potential.
- Negotiation Strategy Leadership & Execution: Leading complex commercial and operational negotiations—including pricing, rate cards, milestones, SLAs, deliverables, and performance-based incentives
- Contract Development & Redlining:
- Driving completion of the SOW, MSA, or contract—overseeing redlines, aligning commercial terms, managing legal reviews, and resolving open issues
- Architecting contracts that optimize commercial outcomes, ensure supplier accountability, and protect the client from delivery, financial, operational, and regulatory risks
- Stakeholder Alignment & Governance Approvals: Ensuring alignment with business stakeholders, category leadership, finance, legal, and any required procurement governance boards
- Contract Execution & Documentation: Overseeing final signatures and archiving executed agreements in the contract management system
- Supplier Onboarding & Handover: Coordinating with vendor management, AP, and operational teams to ensure supplier onboarding, PO creation, kickoff readiness, and smooth transition post‑contract
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as Business Administration, Supply Chain, Finance, or Economics. Advanced degree preferred
- 5+ years of hands‑on sourcing or procurement experience (including conducting commercial evaluations and contract executions) with at least 2 years specifically in Professional Services category sourcing (e.g., consulting, HR services, training, legal services, audit, tax, or contingent labor)
- The ideal candidate will also have prior experience collaborating with legal, finance, and global category teams, along with a proven ability to manage suppliers and stakeholders (including executive-level stakeholders) across regional and cultural boundaries
What We Offer
We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to the business. The salary range for the Greater Chicago Area is $110,000 to $145,000, plus individuals may be eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. Individual salaries within those ranges are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, qualifications, skills, location and applicable employment laws. In addition, our Total Rewards package includes medical, vision and dental coverage, 401(k), and a wide range of paid time off options.
Join a truly global team.
We offer a dynamic and international environment where high performance meets real purpose. We're proud to be Great Place to Work-certified and even prouder of the people who make that possible. Let’s shape the future of procurement - together.
Chain IQ – Create. Lead. Make an impact.
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