The Role The Director of Procurement & Vendor Management is a hands-on individual contributor responsible for improving visibility into vendor activity, strengthening vendor oversight, and coordinating procurement opportunities across Hightower's national footprint. This role will proactively engage business leaders and vendors to understand purchasing activity, renewals, and vendor relationships across the firm, identify opportunities to consolidate spend, agreements, and services, and help drive stronger commercial outcomes.
Working closely with Finance, Technology, Practice & Innovation, Legal, Compliance, and other business stakeholders, this individual will build relationships, create greater transparency into vendor commitments, and coordinate opportunities across the organization to leverage Hightower's scale. The ideal candidate is proactive, collaborative, and operationally focused, with the ability to influence stakeholders, improve processes, and deliver measurable value without a dedicated procurement team.
What You'll Do - Serve as the primary point of contact for procurement and vendor management activities across the organization, partnering with business leaders to understand vendor relationships, purchasing activity, renewals, and opportunities to leverage Hightower's scale across the firm.
- Conduct outreach to vendors and internal stakeholders to identify redundancy, fragmented spend, and opportunities to coordinate and consolidate suppliers, agreements, or services.
- Develop and maintain visibility into vendor contracts, spend commitments, renewal timelines, and key commercial terms, identifying opportunities for consolidation, cost savings, and process improvement.
- Monitor key vendor relationships and service expectations, facilitate periodic business reviews where appropriate, and escalate commercial or performance concerns to the appropriate business owners.
- Partner with Finance, Legal, Compliance, Information Security, and other stakeholders to support vendor onboarding, contract review, due diligence, and risk management activities.
- Establish practical procurement and vendor management processes that improve visibility, coordination, and purchasing discipline while supporting business objectives.
- Maintain an organized repository of vendor agreements and renewal information in coordination with the appropriate business owners.
- Support the integration of additional procurement and vendor management activities as the function evolves, while remaining directly responsible for day-to-day coordination, outreach, analysis, and follow-through.
What You'll Bring - 7+ years of experience in procurement, vendor management, contract management, finance, consulting, or a related function.
- Demonstrated success coordinating vendor initiatives, supporting contract negotiations, managing vendor relationships, and identifying measurable cost-saving or consolidation opportunities.
- Strong understanding of procurement processes, compliance, and risk management.
- Exceptional collaboration and communication skills to influence stakeholders across functions.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and build processes from scratch.
- Proficiency in procurement technology and ERP systems; experience integrating with Finance/AP workflows.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or related field; advanced degree or certifications (CPSM, CPM) preferred.
What We Offer- Coverage on the first day of employment for medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid parental leave (16 weeks for primary caregiver and 8 weeks for secondary caregiver)
- Mother's lounge onsite
- Flexible PTO plan
- Hybrid work schedule (minimum of 4 days in office)
- Free brand-new gym in the Chicago office
- 401k matching plan
- HSA employer contributions
- Student loan assistance
- Pet insurance
- Base salary of $150,000-$190,000 plus discretionary bonus (exact base salary amount will be dependent on experience)
