VP Procurement - Technology and Digital
Northwestern Mutual · Milwaukee, WI · 1 wk ago
Purchasing$160k/yrFull-time
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary procurement strategic partner and day-to-day relationship leader for the CIO, CDO, and senior technology executives.
- Partner with IT leaders to translate technology strategy and roadmaps into multi-year category strategies, sourcing plans, and vendor ecosystem decisions.
- Build and sustain executive-level trust through proactive engagement, transparent governance, and clear articulation of value, risk, and tradeoffs.
- Shape technology demand and investment decisions by leading early engagement and intake with IT teams—clarifying business outcomes, requirements, timelines, and budget assumptions before sourcing begins.
- Establish and run joint operating rhythms with CIO/CDO organizations (quarterly business reviews, pipeline reviews, and steering committees) to drive decisions, remove blockers, and maintain alignment.
- Define shared success metrics with IT (cost, time-to-contract, risk posture, service performance, innovation outcomes) and provide executive-ready reporting on progress and realized value.
- Broker alignment across IT, Finance, Legal, Risk, Privacy, and Information Security to ensure deals are executable and balanced across value, compliance, and operational constraints.
- Own executive escalation paths and conflict resolution for sourcing decisions, supplier performance issues, and commercial disputes—ensuring fast, well-governed outcomes.
- Bring external market intelligence to CIO/CDO leaders (pricing benchmarks, contract terms, emerging vendors, platform shifts) and curate executive-level vendor engagement to accelerate innovation and modernization.
- Lead change management for new procurement operating models, standards, and policies within technology teams through stakeholder communications, training, and adoption measurement.
- Establish and manage business facing service level agreements, OKRs, and KPIs that drive success for EE&T.
- Set the enterprise technology procurement vision and multi-year strategy across software, cloud, infrastructure, SaaS, data, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies—aligned to CIO/CDO priorities and business outcomes.
- Own technology commercial governance and portfolio outcomes, including executive prioritization, financial stewardship (budget impact, TCO), and risk posture across major programs and strategic suppliers.
- Lead (and when appropriate, personally conduct) the most complex, high-value negotiations and approvals—setting deal strategy, ensuring contract structures and commercial models (subscription, consumption-based, enterprise agreements) protect the enterprise and enable speed, innovation, and scalability.
- Define and lead the enterprise technology supplier lifecycle strategy including segmentation, preferred partner models, and build/buy/partner recommendations.
- Establish executive governance with strategic suppliers through joint business planning and QBRs—driving roadmap alignment, performance commitments, innovation agendas, and supplier issue resolution.
- Optimize enterprise value while managing concentration, operational, and third-party risk—ensuring resilience, contractual protections, and exit/transition readiness across critical vendors.
- Architect a healthy vendor ecosystem by maintaining competitive tension, commercial optionality, and a clear rationalization roadmap (standardization, consolidation, and strategic diversification where needed).
- Establish procurement governance aligned with EE&T operating models and agile delivery.
- Track and communicate total value delivered (cost savings, risk reduction, innovation enablement).
- Ensure compliance with legal, security, and regulatory requirements.
Qualifications & Experience
- 15+ years of experience in technology procurement, sourcing, or vendor management.
- Proven experience partnering with CIOs/CDOs and senior IT leaders at an enterprise level.
- Deep understanding of modern technology ecosystems, cloud platforms, AI, and digital transformation.
- Strong executive presence with exceptional negotiation and relationship-management skills.
- Experience operating in complex and matrixed organizations.
- Experience in insurance, financial services, banking, and/or investment firms preferred.
Pay
Pay Range - Start: $160,000.00
Pay Range - End: $240,000.00