Senior Manager, Procurement and Vendor Management

DAT•Portland, OR

1d•$154,536 - $196,039•Hybrid

About The Position

DAT Freight & Analytics is seeking a Senior Manager of Procurement and Vendor Management to own the entire “Procure to Pay” (P2P) function across DAT. This is a build role with executive sponsorship, focused on designing and implementing modern procurement infrastructure and governance from the ground up over the first 18 months. The role involves managing a portfolio of over $30 million in commercial contracts and leading a team to streamline operations and strategy.

Requirements

6–8 years in Procurement or Strategic Sourcing, specifically within a high-growth SaaS or software environment.
Proven experience leading a CLM implementation and partnering on major ERP/P2P system design.
Familiarity with Tropic and NetSuite is highly preferred.
Comfortable reading and negotiating complex commercial contract language independently — SaaS, MSA, and DPA terms — and performing an initial risk read (a red-flags first pass) before formal legal review.
Exceptional ability to translate complex financial and legal requirements into actionable business strategies for stakeholders at all levels.
Experience participating in or advising cross-functional AI governance or procurement councils, with a point of view on vendor risk specific to AI-powered SaaS — selection, data handling, and contract terms.
A "builder" mindset with the ability to work independently, make high-stakes decisions, and own the department's roadmap.
Curiosity to understand the “why” and bring innovation of thought to solving problems for the long term.

Responsibilities

Build and lead the center of excellence for procurement and vendor management.
Lead a team of a Procurement Ops Manager and Procurement Specialist to streamline day-to-day operations and controls.
Operationalize the Procure-to-Pay workflow inside the NetSuite ERP, including establishing Tropic as the system of record for spend tracking.
Drive world-class negotiations with technology and indirect spend vendors, utilizing benchmarking data for optimal commercial terms and service levels.
Lead the integration of a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform with the Tropic workflow, in collaboration with DAT's Legal/Contracts team.
Personally review and negotiate key commercial contract terms (SaaS agreements, MSAs, DPAs), performing an initial risk analysis before legal review.
Direct the procurement integration for recent acquisitions, identifying cost synergies and migrating legacy contracts.
Act as a key advisor to department heads, providing spend visibility and ensuring procurement is viewed as a strategic partner.
Partner with the Technology team to audit and rationalize the software stack, identifying vendor consolidation opportunities and eliminating redundancies.
Serve as procurement's representative on DAT's AI Council, governing the selection, onboarding, and review of third-party AI tools and platforms.
Partner with Engineering and DevOps to manage Cloud infrastructure spend (AWS/Azure), driving transparency and cost-efficiency.
Refine and manage a robust Vendor Risk Management (VRM) program in collaboration with Security and Legal.