Head of Strategic Sourcing

Northern Trust•Chicago, IL

About The Position

About Northern Trust: Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889. Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service. This role reports to the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) for Northern Trust. The Head of Strategic Sourcing is a senior leader responsible for driving enterprise-wide value creation, cost optimization, and third-party risk alignment across the firm’s global spend portfolio of $3B across 4k suppliers. This role operates as a centralized procurement leader within the first line of defense, partnering with executive stakeholders to influence demand, shape sourcing strategies, and deliver measurable financial and operational outcomes.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive procurement / strategic sourcing leadership experience
Expertise in complex negotiations, category management, and supplier strategy
Strong understanding of third-party risk and regulatory expectations within financial services
Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and operate in a global, matrixed environment
Data-driven mindset with focus on measurable business outcomes
Executive presence and strong influencing skills
Ability to balance cost, risk, and operational priorities
Strategic thinker with hands-on execution capability
Collaborative, accountable, and results-oriented leader

Responsibilities

Enterprise Value Delivery: Lead sourcing strategies and complex negotiations to deliver cost savings, cost avoidance, and demand optimization aligned to firm financial goals
Strategic Business Partnership: Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership; influence spend decisions, challenge demand, and ensure procurement is engaged early in strategic initiatives
Category & Market Strategy: Develop and execute category strategies leveraging market intelligence, supplier benchmarking, and industry trends
Third-Party Risk Integration: Align sourcing activities with the Head of Third-Party Risk to assist in regulatory, and operational resilience requirements (financial, cyber, concentration, and fourth-party risk)
Supplier Strategy & Governance: Establish and manage strategic supplier relationships, performance frameworks, and preferred supplier programs to drive value and accountability
Procurement Compliance: Ensure adherence to procurement policy, contracting standards, and P2P governance; maintain audit-ready processes and strong internal controls
Data, Reporting & Insights: Drive spend transparency, data quality, and performance reporting to enable informed decision-making and executive visibility
Leadership & Team Development: Lead and develop a high-performing global sourcing team; build capabilities in negotiation, category management, and risk-informed sourcing

Benefits

Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits.
Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

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