Senior Manager – Head of Procurement Center of Excellence

HealthFirst•New York, NY

6d•$122,900 - $188,020•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager – Head of Procurement Center of Excellence (COE) provides strategic leadership for Enterprise Procurement’s governance, digital procurement, analytics, process excellence, vendor management governance, and organizational capability functions. The role develops the standards, methodologies, technologies, policies, vendor management framework, and performance frameworks that enable Procurement to operate as a modern, data-driven, digitally enabled, and supplier-focused enterprise function. Working collaboratively with Category Management, the Procurement Operations Hub, Finance, Legal, Compliance, IT, and business stakeholders, the Head of Procurement COE establishes enterprise procurement and vendor management governance, develops procurement capabilities, advances digital transformation, and delivers actionable market and spend intelligence. These efforts improve procurement performance, stakeholder experience, vendor relationships, risk management, and enterprise value. As a key member of the Procurement Leadership Team, the role drives continuous improvement, organizational maturity, AI-enabled procurement capabilities, center-led vendor management enablement, and enterprise procurement transformation in support of Healthfirst’s strategic objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Finance, Information Systems, Operations Management, or a related discipline.
At least 8 years of progressive experience in procurement, vendor management, procurement operations, procurement transformation, procurement excellence, or strategic sourcing.
Demonstrated experience developing procurement and vendor management governance, operating models, digital procurement capabilities, analytics, supplier performance frameworks, or process improvement initiatives.
Previous experience leading cross-functional teams, organizational change initiatives, or procurement capability development.
Experience supporting vendor performance management, risk governance, QBRs, supplier segmentation, or strategic vendor relationship management.
Strong knowledge of procurement operating models, vendor management frameworks, procurement technologies, governance, analytics, continuous improvement, and organizational transformation.
Excellent leadership, analytical, communication, stakeholder management, and organizational change management skills.
Ability to adhere to a hybrid work schedule, reporting to the 100 Church Street, NYC office every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree (MBA or related discipline).
CPSM, CIPS, Lean Six Sigma, PMP, or equivalent professional certification.
Healthcare payer or managed care procurement experience.
Experience standing up or operating a Vendor Management Office (VMO) or center-led vendor management capability, including supplier segmentation, scorecards, QBR facilitation, account planning, risk/performance governance, and continuous improvement.
Experience implementing enterprise procurement technologies such as Workday, Coupa, Ariba, Icertis, or similar digital procurement platforms.
Experience leading procurement transformation, AI-enabled procurement initiatives, automation, analytics, or operational excellence programs.
Knowledge of Source-to-Pay process design, procurement analytics, process mining, contract lifecycle management, vendor management, supplier segmentation, and supplier management technologies.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the Procurement Center of Excellence strategy aligned with Enterprise Procurement and corporate objectives.
Establish enterprise procurement governance, policies, operating standards, methodologies, templates, and best practices that promote consistency, compliance, and operational excellence.
Develop enterprise procurement capability roadmaps that support organizational maturity, scalability, and long-term value creation.
Define procurement and vendor management performance measures, governance frameworks, maturity assessments, and operating metrics to continuously improve procurement effectiveness and supplier value realization.
Lead enterprise procurement communications, change management, and capability development initiatives.
Lead the enterprise digital procurement roadmap in partnership with IT and business stakeholders to advance procurement technologies and automation.
Drive implementation and adoption of AI-enabled procurement capabilities, workflow automation, digital procurement platforms, and intelligent decision support.
Partner with the Procurement Operations Hub to optimize Source-to-Pay processes through automation, standardization, and digital enablement.
Evaluate emerging procurement technologies, AI capabilities, and market innovations that improve procurement performance and stakeholder experience.
Champion digital adoption across the Procurement organization through training, governance, and continuous improvement.
Establish enterprise procurement analytics, reporting, and market intelligence capabilities supporting Category Management, Procurement Operations, and executive leadership.
Lead development of spend analytics, savings reporting, supplier intelligence, executive dashboards, category insights, and procurement performance reporting.
Use AI-enabled analytics, predictive insights, benchmarking, and market intelligence to improve procurement decision-making and enterprise planning.
Establish enterprise data governance standards supporting procurement reporting accuracy, consistency, and transparency.
Deliver executive reporting that measures procurement and vendor performance, value realization, compliance, and organizational maturity.
Establish and maintain center-led vendor management standards, operating models, governance forums, policies, playbooks, and templates in partnership with relevant procurement, legal, compliance, risk, IT, and business stakeholders.
Lead the supplier/vendor segmentation framework and define differentiated management approaches based on spend, criticality, risk tier, strategic importance, and business impact.
Develop vendor scorecard methodology, supplier performance KPIs, QBR cadence and templates, risk/performance governance, and issue escalation standards for key suppliers.
Enable strategic vendor account plans, relationship governance, continuous improvement plans, supplier innovation forums, and value realization tracking for segmented suppliers.
Partner with vendor leads, category leaders, and business stakeholders to monitor vendor performance, compliance, risk, relationship health, and supplier-delivered value.
Design and maintain enterprise procurement methodologies supporting category management, strategic sourcing, supplier management, contract management, and Source-to-Pay operations.
Develop standardized procurement documentation, playbooks, templates, training materials, and process guidance supporting enterprise consistency.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives that simplify procurement processes, reduce cycle times, improve stakeholder experience, and increase operational efficiency.
Partner with the Procurement Operations Hub to establish service standards, performance metrics, and operational governance across procurement processes.
Benchmark procurement capabilities against leading organizations and recommend improvements supporting Procurement Excellence.