Procurement Operations Specialist (18 Month Project)

SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group headquartered in Tokyo with a 400-year history, offering a diverse range of financial services including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group operates over 130 offices with 80,000 employees worldwide across nearly 40 countries. In the Americas, SMBC Group serves corporate, institutional, and municipal clients through entities such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., and SMBC Capital Markets, Inc.

About the role

The Procurement Americas Division is building a centralized, strategic, and value-driven procurement function to enable the timely delivery of high-quality goods and services. The Procurement Operations Specialist supports the full Procure-to-Pay lifecycle, ensuring alignment with category strategies, approved buying channels, and established procedures. Reporting to the Director of Procurement Operations, this role facilitates purchase transactions and supports users through the Coupa platform while contributing to technology transformation and process improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Review and validate new purchase requisitions for proper structure, required information, contract alignment, and completed due diligence.
• Assist with purchase orders, including order changes and related inquiries from suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Support resolution of requisitions, purchase order, and invoice issues.
• Facilitate contract request processing through established Coupa workflows, ensuring completeness and proper routing for review and approval.
• Maintain procurement catalogs by updating item, pricing, and supplier information to ensure accuracy and usability.
• Advise suppliers and internal stakeholders on procurement policies and procedures to promote governance and compliance.
• Regularly evaluate processes to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements and enhanced stakeholder experience.

Requirements

• 2 to 5 years of specialized experience in procurement or related fields.
• Demonstrated functional knowledge of Procure-to-Pay processes and technologies, including supplier onboarding, purchase requisitions, catalogs, and purchase orders.
• Experience creating, processing, and supporting purchase requisitions and purchase orders.
• Experience reviewing executed agreements, interpreting commercial terms, and translating them into accurate purchase requisitions.
• Experience supporting contracts through drafting, review, approval, and execution.
• Proficiency in using Coupa or comparable procurement platforms.
• High School Diploma or equivalent; BA/BS or equivalent experience preferred.
• Business fluency in English.

Skills

• Relationship management and ability to champion procurement processes and technology adoption.
• Experience with Coupa, ServiceNow, and Fieldglass.

Schedule

SMBC operates under a hybrid workforce model, requiring employees to live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Specific hybrid work schedules will be discussed during the interview process. Certain roles, such as FINRA-registered positions, may require full in-office attendance.