VP, Procurement & Vendor Management

Overview

symplr is seeking a Vice President of Procurement & Vendor Management to build and lead a modern, strategically driven procurement and vendor management function. This is a transformation mandate. You will assess how the company sources, selects, manages, and rationalizes third-party vendors, and design a more disciplined, data-driven approach that improves cost efficiency, vendor quality, and scalability.

You will own the company’s external spend strategy, including vendor selection, negotiation, cost optimization, and supplier consolidation. You will partner closely with Finance Systems to ensure tools and workflows enable an effective procurement ecosystem. This role also owns travel and expense (T&E) strategy and will build a globally scaled organization with a strong presence in Bengaluru.

Duties & Responsibilities

PROCUREMENT STRATEGY & TRANSFORMATION

• Assess current state of procurement, vendor management, and third-party spend
• Define and execute a multi-year procurement strategy
• Establish category management, governance, and spend control frameworks
• Scale procurement from decentralized purchasing to structured model

VENDOR STRATEGY & COMMERCIAL OWNERSHIP

• Own vendor strategy across key spend categories
• Lead major negotiations and contract renewals
• Drive measurable cost savings and value realization
• Establish vendor selection, negotiation, and performance frameworks
• Rationalize vendors and eliminate redundancy

PROCUREMENT OPERATING MODEL & WORKFLOWS

• Design procurement processes including intake, approvals, and onboarding
• Partner with Finance Systems to evaluate tools (Zip, Coupa, Ramp, Brex, Airbase, Navan, Concur)
• Ensure systems form a cohesive procure-to-pay ecosystem

TRAVEL & EXPENSE STRATEGY (T&E)

• Own business travel programs and vendor relationships
• Design and enforce expense policies
• Evaluate and implement modern T&E platforms
• Balance employee experience with cost discipline

SPEND VISIBILITY & PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

• Create company-wide spend visibility
• Track savings, vendor performance, and procurement efficiency
• Partner with FP&A on cost insights

GOVERNANCE, RISK & COMPLIANCE

• Establish procurement governance and controls
• Support audit and compliance requirements
• Manage vendor risk

TEAM BUILDING & GLOBAL OPERATING MODEL

• Build and lead procurement organization
• Establish global model anchored in Bengaluru
• Define roles across sourcing, operations, and vendor management
• Drive culture of commercial rigor and accountability

Skills Required

EXPERIENCE & BACKGROUND

• 12–15+ years in procurement, sourcing, or vendor management
• Track record driving cost savings and vendor strategy
• Experience building procurement functions
• Experience in $200M–$1B+ environments
• Global vendor experience

TECHNICAL & SYSTEMS CAPABILITIES

• Expertise in systems architecture and integrations
• Strong NetSuite capabilities
• Understanding of procure-to-pay, close, and expense workflows
• Familiarity with integration platforms

COMMERCIAL & OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES, SYSTEMS & PROCESS ORIENTATION

• Strong negotiation and contract expertise
• Vendor consolidation experience
• Deep procurement and supplier ecosystem knowledge
• Familiarity with modern procurement and T&E tools
• Experience partnering on tool selection and implementation 
• Strong understanding of system-enabled workflows 
• Ability to translate business needs into scalable processes 

LEADERSHIP & WAYS OF WORKING

• Commercially driven and outcome-focused
• Builder mindset
• Pragmatic operator
• Strong cross-functional influencer
• Clear communicator

Min

Max