Director of Strategic Procurement

Persona•San Francisco, CA

11d•$155,000 - $195,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Persona is the configurable identity platform built for businesses in a digital-first world. Verifying individuals and organizations is harder — but more important — than ever, with AI enabling fraudsters to launch sophisticated accounts at scale and regulations evolving rapidly. We’ve built Persona to support practically every use case and industry — that’s why we’re able to serve a wide range of leading companies. For example, Reddit relies on Persona for age assurance and verification to comply with online safety regulations, protecting younger users while maintaining a seamless experience. Meanwhile, OpenAI relies on Persona to keep bad actors out, protecting one of the world’s most powerful AI platforms from large-scale abuse in a time when AI is reshaping the way we work and live. We’re growing rapidly and looking for exceptional people to join us! We're looking for a Director of Strategic Procurement to own Persona's highest-impact vendor relationships and contracts. This is a senior individual contributor role reporting to our VP of Finance but sitting at the intersection of Product, Engineering, and Finance — focused on the contracts that truly move the needle for the business. You'll work directly with executive leadership, leading end-to-end negotiations for our largest infrastructure, product, and data partnerships. This isn't a role for managing a sprawling portfolio of small contracts — you'll be the person in the room when it matters most, negotiating agreements that shape Persona's product capabilities and long-term financial trajectory. If you're someone who is genuinely passionate about procurement, thrives on finding mutual value, and loves doing right by the business while working alongside a strong team — this is a rare and exciting opportunity.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or vendor management — ideally in a technology, SaaS, or data-heavy environment
Track record of leading and closing high-value, complex contracts (infrastructure, data, or platform agreements)
Strong financial acumen with experience in budget tracking, cost modeling, and spend optimization
Excellent negotiation skills with the ability to find creative deal structures that serve both Persona and its vendors
Comfortable operating at the executive level and with technical stakeholders — able to translate complex product and engineering requirements into procurement strategy
Exceptional project management skills with the ability to juggle multiple high-stakes negotiations and renewals simultaneously
Strong written and verbal communication and relationship-building skills — both with vendors and internal partners

Nice To Haves

Experience with SaaS and data licensing agreements
Familiarity with privacy, data protection, and compliance considerations (e.g., GDPR, SOC 2, DPA)
Background scaling procurement processes at a fast-growing tech company

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end procurement for Persona's most significant contracts — from product and infrastructure technology to large-scale data partnerships
Lead commercial and legal negotiations to secure favorable pricing, SLAs, and risk protections on high-value, high-complexity agreements
Partner with Legal to drive contract review and manage redlines with vendors
Build and maintain internal vendor tracking systems across all product and platform offerings
Continuously evaluate vendor pricing, performance, and opportunities to consolidate or optimize spend
Partner with Finance to develop annual budgets for third-party spend and track actuals against forecasts
Provide clear visibility to budget owners on spend trends, renewal timelines, and savings opportunities
Own the renewal calendar, ensuring proactive negotiations and stakeholder alignment well ahead of contract deadlines
Work directly with Product, Engineering, and Finance leadership to understand long-term technical requirements and roadmap needs
Lead vendor business reviews to ensure alignment on deliverables, service levels, and strategic value
Serve as the primary point of contact for vendors and senior internal stakeholders