Associate Strategic Buyer

Formation Bio•Boston, MA

17h•Hybrid

About The Position

Formation Bio is building a best-in-class Procurement function to support our rapidly growing organization. We are looking for a high-ownership Buyer who can independently run sourcing initiatives and RFPs, drive operational excellence in our purchasing processes, and serve as a trusted partner to stakeholders across the company. This role will primarily focus on day-to-day buying and sourcing activities, while also having the opportunity to take on category ownership (e.g., IT or other indirect categories) as the company scales. You will play a critical role in transitioning core procurement workflows, including intake, vendor onboarding, and purchasing operations, into Procurement, helping to build scalable processes from the ground up. This is an ideal role for someone with experience in project management, sourcing, or running RFPs who is excited to grow into a broader procurement career. You will partner closely with the Head of Procurement, who will focus on strategy and long-term process transformation, while you drive execution and operational excellence.

Requirements

3-5+ years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, project management, operations, consulting, or a related field
Demonstrated experience running RFPs or managing structured vendor selection processes independently
Experience working cross-functionally with technical and non-technical stakeholders
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives
A self-starter who is comfortable with ambiguity and building processes from scratch
High ownership and accountability — you take initiatives from concept to completion
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
Detail-oriented with strong operational discipline
Excited to help build a modern, tech-enabled procurement function

Nice To Haves

Experience implementing or administering procurement tools (Zip experience strongly preferred)
Experience supporting or owning an indirect spend category such as IT, G&A, or professional services
Experience in a high-growth startup or scaling environment
Exposure to life sciences, biotech, pharma, or other regulated industries

Responsibilities

Own and independently run end-to-end sourcing events and RFPs, including requirements gathering, vendor identification, bid evaluation, negotiation support, and stakeholder communication
Serve as the primary Buyer for assigned business units, managing purchase requests, vendor selection, and commercial coordination
Become a subject matter expert in Zip and lead day-to-day administration and optimization of procurement workflows within the platform
Partner with stakeholders across IT, G&A, Clinical, and other teams to ensure timely, compliant, and cost-effective purchasing
Transition and operationalize key procurement processes (e.g., vendor onboarding, intake management, purchasing workflows) into Procurement
Support and help execute a major P2P platform process improvement initiative, ensuring scalable design and strong adoption across the organization
Develop category insights and potentially assume ownership of specific categories (e.g., IT) depending on business needs and growth trajectory
Maintain documentation, playbooks, and SOPs to improve procurement consistency and scalability
Track and report on sourcing metrics, cycle times, savings, and process performance