By the Interim Headhunters team. Updated
- Assignment detail
- Ask the candidate to describe a specific contract they negotiated that involved conflicting internal stakeholders.
- Assignment detail
- An owner focuses on the terms, the data supporting the price points, and the legal language used to mitigate risk.
- Assignment detail
- Request that they detail a time they identified a significant process failure in a purchase to pay system.
What should the brief say about Questions that expose personal ownership?
Ask the candidate to describe a specific contract they negotiated that involved conflicting internal stakeholders. Watch for whether they explain the negotiation strategy or if they focus on mediating interpersonal drama. An owner focuses on the terms, the data supporting the price points, and the legal language used to mitigate risk.
Request that they detail a time they identified a significant process failure in a purchase to pay system. Look for a description of the audit, the specific control gap they identified, and the technical changes they made to the ERP to close that gap. A candidate who merely says they improved communication or tightened oversight lacks the technical depth required to fix broken procurement systems.
What should the brief say about Strong answers versus rehearsed answers?
A rehearsed candidate describes their accomplishments as a series of strategic initiatives. A strong candidate describes their work in terms of specific tasks and data outputs. If they spend time on corporate strategy, push them to return to the mechanics of the procurement process.
A rehearsed candidate describes their accomplishments as a series of strategic initiatives. A strong candidate describes their work in terms of specific tasks and data outputs. If they spend time on corporate strategy, push them to return to the mechanics of the procurement process. Ask how they configured their approval workflows or how they categorized raw material spend in their last assignment.
Note the difference between describing a process and executing one. If a candidate says they implemented a new sourcing policy, ask for the documents they authored to support that policy. Ask for the specific metrics they used to track compliance after the policy went live. A strong candidate points to tangible artifacts like spreadsheets, contract redlines, and system configuration logs.
What should the brief say about Documents and work samples to discuss?
Ask candidates to bring a redacted version of a supplier scorecard they developed. The document should clearly display a set of KPIs, the source of the data, and the mechanism for supplier accountability. If the scorecard relies on subjective ratings without a defined baseline or historical data, the candidate may not have the analytical rigor needed to manage supplier performance.
Review a sample of a sourcing event project plan. Look for a detailed timeline that accounts for requirement gathering, supplier outreach, proposal evaluation, and contract finalization. A candidate who presents a high-level project management slide deck instead of a detailed execution plan is likely more accustomed to consulting than to the daily tactical work of managing a procurement function.
What should the brief say about Questions about constraints and judgment?
Present a scenario where an operation manager demands an immediate purchase from an unapproved, higher-cost supplier to prevent a line stoppage. Ask the candidate how they handle the request. An effective procurement manager approves the immediate need to prevent downtime but mandates a secondary process to bring the supplier into compliance or find a replacement within a set timeframe.
Present a scenario where an operation manager demands an immediate purchase from an unapproved, higher-cost supplier to prevent a line stoppage. Ask the candidate how they handle the request. An effective procurement manager approves the immediate need to prevent downtime but mandates a secondary process to bring the supplier into compliance or find a replacement within a set timeframe. They should never ignore the control failure.
Inquire about their approach to single-source risk. Ask them to explain how they determine if a component is truly irreplaceable or if the current supply chain is simply lazy. They should describe an analysis of the market, identifying alternative vendors, and the cost-benefit trade-off of diversifying the supply base. They must demonstrate a clear process for evaluating the risk of staying with a single supplier.
How to handle confidential examples?
When candidates express concern about sharing details of past projects due to nondisclosure agreements, ask them to strip the specific company names and dollar amounts. They should be able to explain the situation, the technical problem, and the solution using abstract terms.
When candidates express concern about sharing details of past projects due to nondisclosure agreements, ask them to strip the specific company names and dollar amounts. They should be able to explain the situation, the technical problem, and the solution using abstract terms. If they cannot explain the underlying logic of a complex negotiation without the identity of the client, they likely did not do the work themselves.
If a candidate continues to struggle with confidentiality, offer to skip the specific project and ask a hypothetical question about a similar industry problem. If their hypothetical answer is generic and lacks technical depth, treat it as a warning sign. A competent professional maintains a mental repository of processes and solutions that can be applied to new problems, regardless of specific past client identities.
What should the brief say about Choosing without relying on the title?
A manager who focused entirely on team leadership might lack the hands-on system skills to manage a P2P implementation or a complex sourcing event. Conversely, a specialist who has spent years in a single category may struggle to adapt to the generalist nature of an interim manager who must oversee a wide range of goods and services.
Disregard their previous job titles and focus on the technical tasks they performed. A manager who focused entirely on team leadership might lack the hands-on system skills to manage a P2P implementation or a complex sourcing event. Conversely, a specialist who has spent years in a single category may struggle to adapt to the generalist nature of an interim manager who must oversee a wide range of goods and services.
Evaluate the candidate based on the immediate needs of your environment. If you need a data-heavy cleanup, select someone with a background in ERP system administration and spend data analytics. If you have a chaotic supply base and need to stop value leakage, prioritize a candidate with a background in aggressive contract negotiation and supplier relationship management. Do not try to find a candidate who is perfect for every aspect of the role.