Vice President, Procurement & Vendor Management

Overview

symplr is seeking a Vice President to lead and modernize the procurement and vendor management function through strategic transformation. The role involves assessing current third-party vendor sourcing and management, and implementing data-driven processes to enhance cost efficiency, vendor quality, and operational scalability.

This position is responsible for developing the company's external spend strategy, including vendor selection, contract negotiations, cost optimization, and supplier rationalization. Collaboration with Finance Systems ensures procurement workflows and tools are highly effective. Additionally, leadership over global travel and expense policies and scaling a global procurement team based in Bengaluru are key focus areas.

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate current procurement activities and third-party expenditure.
• Create and implement a long-term procurement strategy with governance and category management frameworks.
• Transition procurement operations from fragmented purchasing to a structured centralized approach.
• Lead vendor strategies across major spend categories, including managing significant contract negotiations and renewals.
• Identify and achieve cost savings and value maximization through vendor performance frameworks and supplier consolidation.
• Design procurement processes such as request intake, approval workflows, and vendor onboarding procedures.
• Collaborate with Finance Systems to assess and integrate procurement software solutions (e.g., Zip, Coupa, Ramp, Brex, Airbase, Navan, Concur) ensuring a cohesive procure-to-pay system.
• Oversee business travel programs, enforce expense policies, and implement modern T&E platforms balancing employee experience and cost control.
• Maintain transparency of company-wide spending, track savings, and monitor vendor performance in partnership with Financial Planning & Analysis teams.
• Establish rigorous procurement governance, enforce compliance standards, manage vendor risk, and support auditing processes.
• Build and lead a global procurement organization centered in Bengaluru, defining roles in sourcing, operations, and vendor management while cultivating a culture of accountability and commercial discipline.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• 12 to 15+ years of experience in procurement, vendor management, or sourcing functions.
• Proven success leading cost savings initiatives and vendor strategies at organizations with revenues between $200 million and $1 billion or more.
• Extensive experience designing and building procurement operations and managing global vendor relationships.
• Knowledgeable in procurement systems architecture, integrations, and possess strong expertise in NetSuite.
• Understanding of procure-to-pay, closing, and expense management workflows, as well as familiarity with various integration platforms.
• Solid skills in negotiation, contract management, vendor consolidation, and supplier ecosystem expertise.
• Experience selecting and deploying modern procurement and travel & expense tools.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams, translate business needs into scalable procedures, and communicate with clarity and influence.
• Commercially driven mindset coupled with pragmatic operational skills and a builder’s approach.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is approximately USD 200,000 to USD 225,000 annually.