Senior Director of Procurement Operations

Role overview

The Senior Director of Procurement Operations will shape and run the organization’s procurement operations agenda. The position centers on building an effective global procurement model, strengthening supplier management, ensuring policy and regulatory compliance, and unlocking cost savings. It also plays a key part in reducing procurement risk, improving operating efficiency, advancing digital workflows, and supporting the company’s long-term growth through stronger supply chain collaboration.

This position generally reports into the Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Operating Officer, or Vice President of Supply Chain.

Core responsibilities

The role covers procurement strategy, end-to-end process leadership, supplier governance, value creation, and people management. It includes setting the direction for procurement operations, improving how the procurement-to-pay cycle runs, and building stronger systems and controls across the function.

Procurement operations strategy

• Create and execute the long-range procurement operations roadmap.
• Design, refine, and govern procurement policies, workflows, and decision-making structures.
• Ensure the procurement function is closely aligned with the company’s wider business plan.
• Identify practical ways to raise efficiency and reduce procurement spend.
• Lead initiatives to digitize procurement and automate manual processes.

Procurement operations management

• Own oversight of the full procurement-to-pay cycle.
• Improve requisitioning, approvals, tendering, contract execution, and payment workflows.
• Set up a procurement performance framework with clear KPIs.
• Make sure procurement work follows internal controls and external regulatory obligations.
• Continuously raise process efficiency and service quality.

Supplier management

• Build a structured supplier management framework.
• Direct supplier assessment, selection, and ongoing performance reviews.
• Develop and maintain strategic supplier partnerships.
• Manage supplier-related risk and continuity planning.
• Ensure suppliers meet compliance and sustainability expectations.

Cost optimization and value creation

• Lead initiatives that deliver savings and broader value.
• Drive strategic sourcing and category management programs.
• Review spending data and turn insights into optimization actions.
• Contribute to budget planning and cost forecasting.
• Capture synergies and scale benefits across procurement activities.

Leadership and team development

• Lead the procurement operations team and regional procurement managers.
• Build a high-performing procurement organization.
• Create development pathways and succession plans for key talent.
• Strengthen the team’s professional and functional capabilities.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement.

Qualifications and experience

Candidates should hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Preferred academic backgrounds include Supply Chain Management, Procurement Management, Business Administration, Finance, Operations Management, or a closely related discipline. An MBA is preferred.

The role calls for at least 12 years of experience in procurement, supply chain, or operations management, along with 7 or more years leading a procurement team. Experience in a large multinational company is preferred, and prior work in building a global procurement system is also advantageous.

Functional and technical knowledge

Applicants should bring strong command of procurement operations and strategic sourcing. Familiarity with purchase-to-pay processes, supplier relationship management, contract administration, procurement compliance, supply chain risk management, and sustainable procurement is required. Experience with ERP tools such as SAP or Oracle, procurement platforms such as Ariba, Coupa, or Jaggaer, and analytics-based procurement performance tools is expected. Exposure to procurement digital transformation is also important.

Additional information

This role is based in the United States and is structured as a full-time, onsite position.