Director, Supplier Performance & Relationship Management

Cushman & Wakefield•Nashville, TN

1d•$131,750 - $155,000•Remote

About The Position

The Director of Supplier Performance & Relationship Management (SPRM) for Cushman & Wakefield is responsible for developing and executing a global strategy (standards & governance framework) to optimize supplier performance & relationships outcomes across a diverse range of procurement categories. The categories included goods, services, capital, technology, facilities management, to indirect expenses. This role designs and implements a centralized risk-aware supplier lifecycle from onboarding and qualification through contracting, scorecards, remediation, and continuous improvement to enhance asset and portfolio results while reducing total cost of ownership and advancing responsible sourcing goals. Given the client-facing nature of FM delivery — where supplier performance directly influences client account outcomes, satisfaction, and retention — this role carries significant enterprise risk and commercial accountability. The Director will benchmark leading-practice SPRM models from across the CRE sector and adjacent industries, translating external intelligence into a cutting-edge, scalable program framework that integrates seamlessly with category-specific preferred supplier programs (PSPs). The role serves as the connective tissue between Category Management, Risk Governance, and the business, ensuring supplier performance is managed proactively, not reactively; relationships at the strategic tier should be cultivated as a genuine source of competitive differentiation for C&W. The Director provides enterprise leadership in supplier performance methodology, strategic supplier engagement practices, and performance improvement insights to help business units deliver consistent, measurable value to clients. This role operates within the Global Procurement function and reports to the Chief Procurement Officer. The Director will build the SPRM Centre of Excellence from the ground up — defining its methodology, governance, tooling, and talent model — and will be measured on the quality and adoption of the framework as much as on supplier performance outcomes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in supply chain, Business, Engineering, or related field is required; Master’s degree preferred.
10+ years of experience in global Procurement, Vendor Management, and Supplier Relationship Management.
Deep understanding of indirect procurement, with category literacy across IFM / facilities management, professional services, and technology preferred; experience in the commercial real estate, facilities management, or real estate services sector is a strong advantage.
5+ years of experience in a senior leadership role with SPRM-related program or function ownership
Proven leadership experience in procurement or with a track record of leading large-scale transformation initiatives.
Demonstrated ability to modernize functions through technology enablement, process redesign, and team development at scale, ideally in a global, complex, multi-category environment.
Deep understanding of supplier governance frameworks, scorecards, strategic business reviews, and preferred supplier network development.
Proven experience managing supplier relationships at the executive tier, including structuring and leading Executive BRs and joint business planning processes.
Strong command of supplier risk management principles and their integration into procurement governance — experience working alongside or within a Risk or Compliance function is highly valued.
Track record of benchmarking external best practice and translating it into actionable, adopted internal frameworks — both defining strategy and implementing/landing the strategy.
Familiarity with responsible sourcing regulatory frameworks; strong data literacy: able to design meaningful KPIs, interrogate supplier performance data, and translate analytics into commercial narrative for senior audiences; proficiency with SPRM platforms, CLM, CMMS, and BI tools.
Strong ability to build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including service line leadership, suppliers, and clients.
Skilled at balancing local/regional needs with global frameworks to deliver measurable improvements in satisfaction and value.
Demonstrated experience with contracting standards and compliance flow-downs, strong collaboration with legal, compliance, and risk.
Experience mobilizing global teams supporting performance management and reporting across the supply chain.
Professional Certifications (CPM/CPSM, CSCP/CTSC, CSP/CSMP, PMP) preferred.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
experience in the commercial real estate, facilities management, or real estate services sector is a strong advantage.
experience working alongside or within a Risk or Compliance function is highly valued.
Professional Certifications (CPM/CPSM, CSCP/CTSC, CSP/CSMP, PMP) preferred.

Responsibilities

Conduct comprehensive benchmarking of SPRM leading practices across CRE, IFM, and adjacent sectors (financial services, healthcare, technology), identifying best-in-class methodologies for preferred supplier program performance scorecard design, and relationship governance, to land consistent quality performance & competitive edge.
Shape and execute the multi-year strategy for SPRM across regional and operational teams.
Successfully build a globally aligned SPRM program, reduce regional fragmentation, closing category ownership gaps, and increasing consistent supplier performance and client value delivery.
Drive enterprise-wide change management initiatives, resulting in high stakeholder engagement, rapid adoption of new processes, and a culture of continuous improvement.
Act as the organization’s leading expert on supplier performance methodologies and value-based supplier management.
Create and develop governance structure across business lines and regions for SPRM; embed supplier inclusion for impact, responsible sourcing, and regulatory obligations into the SPRM framework.
Support enhancements to the preferred supplier network globally, regionally, and locally for empowered decision making.
Equip field and regional teams with practical playbooks, training, templates, and decision-support tools to enhance day-to-day supplier management; influence the entire supplier performance and relationship management ecosystem to land target SPRM outcome
Serve as a trusted advisor to frontline procurement, operations, and category teams to improve supplier engagement quality and client value delivery.
Collaborate with category leaders to interpret supplier performance trends and identify opportunities to elevate strategic partners to preferred or address underperformance in the preferred supplier network.
Bridge enterprise functions (technology, governance, risk, compliance) with decentralized operations teams ensuring enterprise standards are understood, usable, and effectively adopted.
Capture feedback from stakeholders to inform continuous improvement and drive adoption of consistent practices across the enterprise.
Lead the development and deployment of performance scorecards, supplier reviews, relationship assessments, and continuous improvement processes; collaborate with category management, to lead discussion and exploration of preferred supplier partnership value generation across strategic revenue growth enablement, cost take-out, process efficiency, and co-innovation scope
Establish clear collaboration model incl. roles and responsibilities between the SPRM and Category Management — framework ownership vs. day-to-day relationship execution.
Chair or co-chair cross-category supplier review forums and executive business review (EBR) for strategic suppliers.
Build performance & B2B 360 view dashboards and insight products that help business units understand supplier effectiveness across cost, quality, service delivery, and risk indicators.
Partner closely with enterprise teams responsible for supplier governance, technology, and risk management to ensure alignment and field readiness.
Advocate for field needs in the evolution of supplier-related systems, processes, and standards while serving as the “voice of operational requirements.”
Continuously refine tools, guidance, and support based on feedback from regions and business units.
Work with Legal, Compliance, and Risk teams to help frontline teams understand and apply requirements effectively.
Collaborate closely with the Risk Governance arm of the Procurement function to design a risk-integrated SPRM model — ensuring supplier performance monitoring, financial health tracking, business continuity assessments, and ESG compliance are embedded within the preferred supplier program lifecycle
Co-develop the supplier risk tiering overlay (criticality + vulnerability) and ensure it informs preferred supplier selection, review frequency, and contingency planning
Establish protocols for supplier risk escalation, including trigger thresholds, cross-functional response procedures, and board-level reporting templates for material supplier risk events
Ensure alignment between SPRM governance and applicable regulatory requirements, including CSDDD, LkSG, Modern Slavery Act, and other responsible sourcing obligations relevant to the organization's jurisdictions of operation
Define and own the SPRM KPI framework — establishing the metrics that matter for both program health and supplier performance outcomes, with clear targets, baselines, and reporting protocols.
Establish a real-time on-demand supplier performance reporting cadence for Category leads, Procurement leadership, and key business stakeholders — including dashboards, red flag reporting, and periodic executive summaries.
Drive continuous improvement of the SPRM framework through regular benchmarking, annual reviews, and incorporation of leading practice updates.