Northwestern Mutual
Senior Director, Sourcing & Procurement Ops
Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53244
Senior Director, Sourcing & Procurement Ops
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Senior Director, Sourcing & Procurement Ops
role at
Northwestern Mutual
The Senior Director of Procurement Operations is responsible for leading, directing, and optimizing the company’s procurement operations, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and strategic alignment with business and finance/risk objectives. This role oversees procurement technology, operational processes, procurement excellence initiatives, reporting and analytics, and procurement’s overall data and AI strategy.
Build strong relationships with business partners at all levels to implement procurement best practices and increase the influence of Sourcing & Procurement.
Directly manage people leaders and individual contributors within Procurement Operations and Finance Centers of Excellence.
Continuously evaluate procurement processes across market research, planning/forecasting, strategic sourcing, contracting, third‑party risk management, and supplier governance for ongoing synergies, efficiencies, and improvements.
Recommend process and system improvements to sourcing and procurement leaders.
Enrich and maintain accurate and robust procurement data and information.
Transform value realized from procurement data analytics and visualization practices.
Expand procurement’s reporting capabilities to influence business decisions and improve supplier‑based ROI.
Create, update, and maintain strategic roadmaps for S&P data/analytics strategies to drive project prioritization and alignment across all procurement and finance functions.
Develop and maintain S&P reporting dashboards representing NM supplier spend, demand, supplier utilization, performance, and risks.
Develop and maintain S&P measurements and reporting surrounding savings and value contributions.
Execute strong strategies for team members, business partners, and the broader function.
Define and direct performance objectives, career path building opportunities, and career development for each team member.
Oversee day‑to‑day management of a broad portfolio of Procurement systems, tools, and programs.
Streamline performance and administration of all procurement systems and tools.
Influence leadership on best practices, process changes, market inputs, and more.
Establish and monitor KPIs for procurement operations performance.
Oversee procurement operational units to ensure performance, delivery, and value.
Consistently work with procurement stakeholders and partners across the company to ensure compliance, risk, audit, and regulatory standards.
Support procurement’s compliance with company policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements.
Lead initiatives to improve procurement agility, speed, transparency, and partnership with stakeholders, leaders, and business owners.
Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Information Systems, Supply Chain Management, Accounting/Finance, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
Minimum of 10 years of work experience focused on strategic sourcing or procurement, supplier management, finance, supply chain management, or related field.
Minimum of 5 years of managerial experience.
Minimum of 5 years of experience leading the development and management of category plans or sourcing strategies.
Proven ability to establish and maintain cross‑functional relationships, influence change, and lead decision‑making processes.
Strong customer focus, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Excellent research, analytical, problem‑solving, planning, and organization skills with high personal initiative and motivation.
MBA, MS/ME is a plus.
Consulting experience with a global management consulting firm is a plus.
Previous strategic procurement operations, systems administration, data, analytics, and reporting experience is preferred.
Direct knowledge and/or training in formal strategic sourcing and procurement is preferred.
Strong understanding of procurement systems, analytics, and contract management tools (e.g., Zip, SpendHQ, Peoplesoft, etc.).
Experience operating in Financial Services, Banking, and/or Insurance industries is preferred.
Pay Range: $112,210.00 – $208,390.00
Flexible work schedules Concierge service Comprehensive benefits Employee resource groups
Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer who welcomes and encourages diversity in the workforce. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.
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Senior Director, Sourcing & Procurement Ops
role at
Northwestern Mutual
The Senior Director of Procurement Operations is responsible for leading, directing, and optimizing the company’s procurement operations, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and strategic alignment with business and finance/risk objectives. This role oversees procurement technology, operational processes, procurement excellence initiatives, reporting and analytics, and procurement’s overall data and AI strategy.
Build strong relationships with business partners at all levels to implement procurement best practices and increase the influence of Sourcing & Procurement.
Directly manage people leaders and individual contributors within Procurement Operations and Finance Centers of Excellence.
Continuously evaluate procurement processes across market research, planning/forecasting, strategic sourcing, contracting, third‑party risk management, and supplier governance for ongoing synergies, efficiencies, and improvements.
Recommend process and system improvements to sourcing and procurement leaders.
Enrich and maintain accurate and robust procurement data and information.
Transform value realized from procurement data analytics and visualization practices.
Expand procurement’s reporting capabilities to influence business decisions and improve supplier‑based ROI.
Create, update, and maintain strategic roadmaps for S&P data/analytics strategies to drive project prioritization and alignment across all procurement and finance functions.
Develop and maintain S&P reporting dashboards representing NM supplier spend, demand, supplier utilization, performance, and risks.
Develop and maintain S&P measurements and reporting surrounding savings and value contributions.
Execute strong strategies for team members, business partners, and the broader function.
Define and direct performance objectives, career path building opportunities, and career development for each team member.
Oversee day‑to‑day management of a broad portfolio of Procurement systems, tools, and programs.
Streamline performance and administration of all procurement systems and tools.
Influence leadership on best practices, process changes, market inputs, and more.
Establish and monitor KPIs for procurement operations performance.
Oversee procurement operational units to ensure performance, delivery, and value.
Consistently work with procurement stakeholders and partners across the company to ensure compliance, risk, audit, and regulatory standards.
Support procurement’s compliance with company policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements.
Lead initiatives to improve procurement agility, speed, transparency, and partnership with stakeholders, leaders, and business owners.
Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Information Systems, Supply Chain Management, Accounting/Finance, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
Minimum of 10 years of work experience focused on strategic sourcing or procurement, supplier management, finance, supply chain management, or related field.
Minimum of 5 years of managerial experience.
Minimum of 5 years of experience leading the development and management of category plans or sourcing strategies.
Proven ability to establish and maintain cross‑functional relationships, influence change, and lead decision‑making processes.
Strong customer focus, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Excellent research, analytical, problem‑solving, planning, and organization skills with high personal initiative and motivation.
MBA, MS/ME is a plus.
Consulting experience with a global management consulting firm is a plus.
Previous strategic procurement operations, systems administration, data, analytics, and reporting experience is preferred.
Direct knowledge and/or training in formal strategic sourcing and procurement is preferred.
Strong understanding of procurement systems, analytics, and contract management tools (e.g., Zip, SpendHQ, Peoplesoft, etc.).
Experience operating in Financial Services, Banking, and/or Insurance industries is preferred.
Pay Range: $112,210.00 – $208,390.00
Flexible work schedules Concierge service Comprehensive benefits Employee resource groups
Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer who welcomes and encourages diversity in the workforce. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.
#J-18808-Ljbffr