Senior Manager, Sourcing and Subcontracts

AIR’s Contracts, Grants & Procurement (CGP) team is seeking a talented Senior Manager, Sourcing and Subcontracts, to join it’s forward-thinking and supportive team. This role will lead enterprise-wide strategic sourcing initiatives and provide functional leadership and oversight for subcontract administration throughout the entire project lifecycle, from proposal development through project execution and closeout.

This role will serve as a key advisor on complex procurement and subcontracting matters, leading a high-performing team while driving sourcing strategies, supporting negotiations, ensuring regulatory and contractual compliance, and delivering reporting and insights that align with organizational objectives and client requirements. The position plays a critical role in strengthening procurement and subcontract management practices, mitigating risk, and fostering effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Subcontracts & Procurement, this position is focused on strategic procurement leadership, subcontract administration, and sourcing excellence. It is distinct from transactional purchasing functions and emphasizes strategy, governance, compliance, and operational impact at an organizational level.

This position has the flexibility to work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of our U.S. office locations. This does not include U.S. territories. Occasional travel required for meetings, training sessions, and conferences.

About AIR:

Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to address some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and globally. We generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all.

Key Responsibilities:

The key responsibilities for the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Leadership

• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives and complex competitive procurements (RFPs, RFIs, RFQs) that support both client-driven and enterprise-wide business needs.
• Develop sourcing strategies, lead negotiations, and proactively manage procurement risks to optimize cost, quality, compliance, and business outcomes.

Subcontract Oversight

• Provide functional oversight and guidance to Subcontract Administrators across pre-award and post-award activities.
• Participate in proposal and project kickoffs to determine subcontracting strategies and subcontract administrator engagement requirements.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex subcontract administration issues, risks, and negotiations.
• Support subcontract negotiations, contract formation, modifications, and issue resolution.
• Develop and maintain subcontracting templates, tools, and standard operating procedures to drive consistency and effectiveness.

Compliance, Risk Management & Reporting

• Ensure compliance with procurement policies, subcontract requirements, and applicable regulations while supporting audits and maintaining audit-ready documentation.
• Monitor and escalate procurement and subcontract risks, and provide management reporting on operational activity, compliance metrics, key issues, resolutions, performance trends, and process improvement opportunities.

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a talented team, promoting engagement, accountability, and professional growth.
• Set performance expectations, provide ongoing feedback, and support talent development, and knowledge sharing across the team.
• Foster a collaborative, customer-focused team culture that drives innovation, adaptability, and high-quality service delivery.

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Lead the standardization and continuous improvement of procurement and subcontract administration processes, tools, templates, and best practices to drive efficiency and consistency.
• Promote operational excellence through streamlined processes, enhanced stakeholder experience, transparency, accountability, and effective service delivery.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with program teams, business development, proposals, legal, compliance, finance, and purchasing to develop and execute effective sourcing and subcontracting strategies.
• Advise stakeholders on procurement best practices, supplier performance, risk mitigation, and issue resolution to support organizational and project objectives.

Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time based on evolving business needs.

Qualifications:

Education, Knowledge, and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or a minimum of nine years of equivalent professional experience.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, subcontract administration, and contract lifecycle management.
• Experience working in compliance-driven environments, preferably within the U.S. Federal Government contracting space.
• Legal background or experience supporting contract drafting, review, and vendor negotiations; J.D. and/or procurement-related certifications (e.g., CPSM, CIPS, CPP) are a plus.
• Proficiency with e-sourcing platforms, procurement technologies, and contract management systems.
• Knowledge of procurement regulations, compliance requirements, risk management principles, and subcontracting best practices.

Skills 

• Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build relationships and engage effectively across all organizational levels.
• Strong strategic sourcing, procurement, and subcontract administration expertise, including competitive procurements, supplier management, and contract negotiations.
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate risks, interpret data, and support informed decision-making.
• Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to coach, mentor, motivate, and develop a high-performing team while fostering collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement.
• Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, complex procurements, and competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accuracy, ensuring high-quality documentation, reporting, and compliance.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, including OneDrive, SharePoint, Excel (advanced), Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat Pro, Copilot, and other AI tools.

Disclosures: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) is not available for this position. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

American Institutes for Research is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braid, locs, and twists), creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition (e.g., cancer), sex, gender, gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, civil union status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, genetic information, or military or veteran status. AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks. AIR maintains a drug-free work environment. 

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to Taliba Boone at tboone@air.org or call 202.403.5000.

Fraudulent Job Scams Warning & Disclaimer: AIR is aware of individuals falsely presenting themselves as AIR representatives. Fraudulent job scams seek to extract sensitive information or money from victims. To protect yourself, please be aware that AIR recruitment will only email you from an “@air.org” domain. Please take extra caution while examining the email address, for example jdoe@air.org is correct and jdoe@aircareers.org is not a legitimate AIR email address. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a communication you have received, please reach out to recruitment@air.org. If you see a job scam, or lose money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report it to your state attorney general. Find out more about how to avoid scams atftc.gov/scams.

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