Soo Yeon (Alex) Cho

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) supports Parliament by delivering objective, fact-based information and expert advice on government programs and activities through audits. Parliamentarians rely on OAG reports to oversee government actions and hold the federal government accountable for managing public funds.

As part of the Contracting and Procurement team at the OAG, I report to the Senior Manager of Contracting and Procurement. My role involves providing strategic procurement advice that aligns with the legal and policy frameworks governing public procurement. I work to ensure our procurement activities achieve optimal results to support the organization's mandates and objectives. In addition to advising business owners, I also help identify any potential business risks related to procurement, and develop mitigation plans to support informed decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research and present the findings to help clients understand and examine various procurement options, with pros and cons of each option
• Develop and implemente procurement strategies for client engagement
• Advise clients on best practices for achieving their goals within various constraints - budget, legal and policy framework, market capability and capacity, etc
• Develop procurement documents, including strategies or plans, statements of work, solicitation documents, evaluation plans, and contracts for the acquisition of goods and services
• Coordinate requests for proposals using electronic tendering, support or participate in bid evaluations, review terms and conditions, and issue contracts
• Support the management of contracts, standing offers, or supply arrangements, including negotiating with various stakeholders and resolving procurement issues

The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) comprises three campuses and employs around 12,000 staff, making it the largest teaching hospital in eastern Ontario, with an annual procurement budget of $400 million. As a publicly funded organization in Ontario, TOH must follow the Broad Public Sector Procurement Directive (BPSPD) to ensure that taxpayer money is spent transparently and compliantly. I managed and coordinated contracting activities for Support Services, ensuring compliance with government regulations and alignment with TOH's corporate objectives. My area included Facilities Management, Planning, Environmental Services, Food and Nutrition, and Logistics. As the sourcing lead and category owner, I oversaw all contracting and procurement initiatives, addressing any issues that arised.

Responsiblities

• Planned short and long-term sourcing strategies for the procurement initiatives within my portfolio in consultation with internal stakeholders
• Delegated the procurement initiatives to a strategic sourcing officer and oversaw his/her work, conducted compliance reviews and provided guidance and support whenever needed
• Conducted end-to-end bidding process for high-profile, high-risk procurement initiatives; competitive bid documents development, job showing, facilitation of proposal evaluations, bids analysis, contract awarding, vendor debriefing, address to the bid disputes
• Handled all contract issues within my portfolio, leading and driving discussions in a direction that is most favorable to the organization
• Provided stakeholders recommendations on the best procurement strategies achieving the program's overall corporate objectives, considering budgets, complexity, resources, and procurement regulations and guidelines from various levels of governments, including but not limited to internal procurement policy, BPSPD, trade agreements, etc
• Worked in collaboration with various stakeholders to identify contracting opportunities, saving and process improvement in the supply chain
• Educated various stakeholders with issues regarding procurement process, regulations
• Planned and developed various competitive bid documents (RFQ, RFP, RFSQ, RFSO, RFI, RFT etc.), providing clear and detailed information to the vendor community with requirements, scope of work to ensure completeness, clarity, client expectation and deliverables, review and edit technical specs
• Acted as a main contracting liaison with relevant stakeholders, maintained effective communications with Programs, Service Areas, Partners and Vendors on a variety of contractual and service issues
• Managed contracts for the contract term, ensuring that suppliers keep up with contractual responsibilities
• Made modification in the contract (amendments) when needed in collaboration with stakeholders and suppliers
• Identified any potential risk in procurement plan or during the competitive procurement process, conducted risk assessment and provided management with identified risks, mitigation plans and recommendations

As a Strategic Sourcing Officer my responsibilities were administering and managing procurement activities in compliance with various legal requirements such as BPSPD, CFTA, CETA, FIPPA, PHIPA, etc.

Responsibilities

• Provided stakeholders recommendations on the best procurement strategies achieving the program's overall corporate objectives considering budgets, complexity, resources and procurement regulations and guidelines from various levels of governments including but not limited to internal procurement policy, BPSPD, trade agreements, etc.
• Conducted end to end bidding process; competitive bid documents development, job showing, facilitation of proposal evaluations, bids analysis, contract awarding, vendor debriefing, address to the bid disputes
• Planned and developed various competitive bid documents (RFQ, RFP, RFSQ, RFSO, RFI, RFT etc.), providing clear and detailed information to the vendor community with requirements, scope of work to ensure completeness, clarity, client expectation and deliverables, review and edit technical specs.
• Managed contracts for the contract term, ensuring that suppliers keep up with contractual responsibilities
• Made modifications in the contract (amendments) when needed, in collaboration with stakeholders and suppliers
• Identified any potential risk in procurement plan or during the competitive procurement process, conduct risk assessment and provide management with identified risks, mitigation plans and recommendations

As a senior trader, balanced responsibilities in both sales and procurement.

Responsibilities

• Generated revenue and profit by trading electronic components with various trading partners
• Developed new clients and prospects through various channels such as cold calling, referrals, conventions
• Worked closely with commodity groups, material coordinators and buyers on a daily basis to maintain effective communication for a smooth execution of scheduling and delivery of materials without delays to avoid customer production inactivity
• Developed and recommended sourcing strategies that maximize value and mitigate risks to various stakeholders;
• Negotiated with suppliers to secure optimum cost and maximum value
• Measured and managed supplier performance
• Developed and maintained effective relationships with suppliers

Responsibilities

• Worked closely with end user department to identify the material for maintenance and repairs
• Developed suppliers and executed end to end bidding process
• Developed MRO purchasing procedures and manuals

Responsibilities

• Assessed project material requirements ensuring the delivery of the right materials at the right time with the right quantity, by processing design packages/bills of materials (BOMs) and purchase order requisitions (PORs)
• Created production and purchase orders (POS)
• Conducted material forecasting and replenishment activities, with the goal of inventory optimization - minimizing overstock and understock