Director of Procurement

Job Summary

The Director, Procurement will lead strategic sourcing and category management activities across a large marketing spend portfolio for a regional consumer-focused organization. This role will be responsible for developing and executing sourcing strategies, delivering measurable financial value, and strengthening strategic supplier relationships. The position will also play a key role in building and advancing the organization''s procurement function, establishing processes, governance, and tools that support procurement as a strategic business partner.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic sourcing strategies across marketing spend categories, including product, brand, digital, performance, shopper/retail, content, influencer, customer, events/experiential, and public relations/communications.
• Lead competitive sourcing events, including RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluations, negotiations, and contract award recommendations.
• Develop and maintain multi-year category management strategies and roadmaps aligned with business priorities and financial objectives.
• Analyze spend, market data, supplier intelligence, and pricing benchmarks to identify and quantify sourcing opportunities.
• Own the marketing procurement savings pipeline from opportunity identification through contracting, implementation, and Finance validation.
• Develop Finance-grade reporting related to savings, cost avoidance, pipeline activity, execution status, and delivery confidence.
• Partner closely with Finance and FP&A to establish consistent savings tracking, measurement, and validation methodologies.
• Build trusted relationships with senior marketing and business stakeholders and ensure procurement strategies are aligned with operational and business objectives.
• Manage strategic supplier relationships, balancing cost, quality, risk, service levels, and long-term partnership value.
• Lead supplier business reviews, performance management activities, and strategic supplier initiatives.
• Partner with procurement leadership to establish sourcing processes, templates, governance, policies, and standards for marketing procurement.
• Support the selection and implementation of procurement technology, including spend analytics, eSourcing, contract lifecycle management, and project tracking tools.
• Manage, mentor, and develop direct reports while promoting accountability, collaboration, and high performance.
• Work closely with Legal, Finance, FP&A, Marketing, and other senior business stakeholders to support enterprise procurement objectives.
• Present sourcing strategies, financial results, supplier recommendations, and procurement initiatives to senior leadership.

Minimum Education & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor''s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, or a related field required.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 12 years of progressive procurement, strategic sourcing, or category management experience.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in a procurement leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience delivering realized savings and measurable financial value across significant and complex spend portfolios.
• Experience managing strategic sourcing initiatives across multiple marketing-related categories.
• Proven experience supporting or leading procurement transformation within an organization where procurement capabilities and processes are being established or significantly enhanced.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively with senior executives and business leadership.
• Equivalent professional experience may be considered in place of advanced educational credentials when supported by sustained financial and operational results.

Special Requirements

• CPM, CPSM, or comparable procurement certification preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with strategic sourcing, competitive bidding, supplier negotiations, and complex contract management.
• Experience working with procurement technology, including eSourcing, spend analytics, and contract lifecycle management platforms.
• Ability to work collaboratively with Legal, Finance, FP&A, Marketing, and senior business stakeholders.
• Ability to manage confidential financial, supplier, and contractual information.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong strategic sourcing and category management expertise.
• Comprehensive understanding of end-to-end RFx processes, competitive bidding, negotiation, and supplier selection.
• Strong financial acumen, including business case development, total cost of ownership analysis, savings modeling, and financial value measurement.
• Proficiency in spend analytics and the use of spend data to identify opportunities and monitor sourcing performance.
• Knowledge of contract development, redlining, commercial terms, risk, liability, and multi-year supplier agreements.
• Experience with eSourcing platforms, spend analytics systems, contract lifecycle management tools, and project tracking applications.
• Strong understanding of supplier markets, pricing benchmarks, market conditions, and cost drivers affecting marketing-related expenditures.
• Ability to establish structured processes, manage milestones, and produce accurate executive-level reporting.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate procurement value in clear business and financial terms.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, particularly in environments where procurement does not have direct authority over business decisions.
• Strong negotiation and supplier relationship management skills.
• Demonstrated change management and organizational development capabilities.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, decision-making, and organizational skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare executive and board-level materials.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, cross-functional environment.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously.

Additional Desired Characteristics

• Experience in a consumer products, retail, restaurant, hospitality, franchising, or similarly distributed business environment.
• Experience managing marketing agencies, media, digital marketing, creative services, promotional services, or other marketing-related suppliers.
• Experience building procurement capabilities, processes, governance, and organizational structure from the ground up.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in an entrepreneurial or rapidly changing environment.
• Strong builder mentality with the ability to establish structure and process where limited infrastructure currently exists.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
• Demonstrated success developing procurement professionals and building high-performing teams.
• Experience with procurement transformation, technology implementation, or procurement operating model development.

Work Environment

• Primarily professional office and corporate business environment.
• Position may offer a hybrid work arrangement based on organizational requirements and business needs.
• Regular interaction with senior leadership, internal business stakeholders, suppliers, and external partners.
• Occasional travel may be required for supplier meetings, business reviews, conferences, or other business-related activities.
• Position may require flexibility to accommodate meetings and business activities involving stakeholders across multiple locations and time zones.