Director of Strategic Procurement & Sourcing

About the role

The Strategic Director of Procurement will lead the development and execution of a modern, enterprise-wide sourcing strategy that drives value, mitigates risk, and enhances operational efficiency. Reporting directly to the Managing Director of Procurement within Administrative Services, this leader will drive the development of a forward-looking procurement roadmap aligned with organizational priorities and financial planning cycles. The director will collaborate with other departments and senior management to maximize strategic and operational success and oversee and implement process and system improvements that optimize value, efficiency, and internal controls.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the design and execution of a standardized, enterprise-wide RFP, RFQ, and RFI framework.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate a 6–18 month procurement roadmap aligned to spend categories, risk, and organizational priorities.
• Oversee and lead complex, high-value RFPs end-to-end.
• Drive procurement and negotiation efforts to support established KPIs; ensure sourcing decisions reflect total value, including risk mitigation.
• Oversee bid analysis, reporting, and benchmarking for internal partners as needed.
• Negotiate, manage, and execute complex, high-value contracts based on internal customer needs, prior to agreement expiration.
• Lead strategic supplier negotiations, achieving measurable cost savings and value improvements.
• Lead the team in sourcing and negotiation best practices and provide negotiation coaching to the team.
• Develop negotiation strategies and lead negotiations with key suppliers and preferred vendors; develop staff to do the same.
• Collaborate with the Office of Legal Affairs to maintain accurate and timely records of contracts and established standard goods and services contract compliance procedures; educate and monitor staff and vendor compliance.
• Implement industry-standard metrics for both Procurement service levels and value-adding achievement.
• Maintain a productive working environment; lead people and/or processes as required to maintain a model workplace.
• Assist the Managing Director of Procurement in development and oversight of the Procurement budget.
• Ensure that Procurement activity is conducted legally and ethically and in compliance with organizational policies and procedures.
• Communicate clearly, concisely, and timely to the national office staff regarding policy, procedure, and the value added by the Procurement team.
• Represent the Managing Director of Procurement in meetings and events as necessary and assist in presentations to senior leadership and external parties.
• Support the annual budgeting process by providing sourcing insights and cost forecasts.
• Identify savings opportunities and vendor strategies that align to budget targets and financial plans.
• Partner with FP&A leadership to incorporate procurement strategies into long-term planning.
• Prepare for and support internal and external audits, with effective communication and accountability.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, or a related field.
• 5 years of management-level experience in purchasing and procurement functions in an organization of at least 500 employees; 5–10 years preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex RFP processes and sourcing strategies.
• Proven track record of successful vendor negotiations with measurable financial impact.
• Demonstrated experience developing and managing Procurement roadmaps and strategies.
• Demonstrated exceptional leadership skills.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to identify process improvements, cost savings, and policy enhancements; ability to build effective relationships with business leaders and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to influence a broad range of constituents toward achievement of common goals with excellent communication skills (oral and written); ability to communicate complex or difficult messages to all levels of an organization.
• Adept at MS Office Suite.
• Experience with Oracle Cloud ERP systems and Zip preferred.
• Knowledge of procurement processes and latest technology related to strategic sourcing and procurement.
• Demonstrated ability to meet aggressive deadlines while maintaining professional composure, strong customer service focus, and a motivated, high-performance staff.

Core Competencies

• Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for measurable, high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results; determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work; accepts responsibility for mistakes; complies with established control systems and rules.
• Attention to Detail: Allocates cognitive resources to achieve thoroughness and accuracy when accomplishing tasks, no matter how small or large.
• Effective Communication: Exchanges ideas, thoughts, opinions, knowledge, and data so that the message is understood with clarity and purpose.
• Critical Thinking: Examines issues and ideas to identify good and bad reasoning across varied fields with differing assumptions, contexts, and methods.
• Managerial Courage: Provides current, direct, complete, and actionable positive and corrective feedback; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems quickly and directly; is not afraid to take necessary negative action.

Estimated travel required: less than 10%. Position based in Indianapolis, Indiana; current work environment is hybrid (2 days in office, 3 days remote).