We are seeking an experienced Director, Procurement – Infrastructure Operations to lead procurement activities supporting the company’s infrastructure operations organization. This role will oversee the procurement team responsible for operational categories, including infrastructure, equipment, maintenance services, facilities, technical services, and related spend.

The Director will be responsible for managing Senior Managers and procurement team members, driving sourcing strategy, leading major RFPs and supplier negotiations, resolving procurement-related issues, improving processes, and delivering cost savings across Infrastructure Operations. This leader will partner closely with Operations, Finance, Logistics, Legal, and other cross-functional teams to ensure procurement activities are aligned with business priorities, operational timelines, risk management requirements, and financial goals.

The ideal candidate has strong procurement leadership experience in an operational environment such as data centers, infrastructure, manufacturing, facilities, or a similar industry. This person should be able to operate strategically while also driving execution, accountability, process discipline, and measurable business impact.

Key Responsibilities

Procurement Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and manage the Infrastructure Operations procurement function, including Senior Managers and other procurement team members.
• Provide direction, coaching, prioritization, and performance management to ensure the team is executing against business needs.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, workflows, and accountability across the Infrastructure Operations procurement team.
• Serve as the primary procurement leader supporting Infrastructure Operations leadership and related business stakeholders.
• Ensure procurement resources are aligned to business priorities, project timelines, supplier needs, and operational requirements.

Procurement Strategy & Execution

• Develop and lead procurement strategies across infrastructure operations categories, including equipment, facilities, maintenance services, technical services, infrastructure vendors, and related supplier spend.
• Oversee end-to-end sourcing activities, including RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluations, commercial negotiations, award recommendations, and contract execution.
• Ensure sourcing strategies support cost savings, supplier quality, service reliability, risk reduction, scalability, and operational continuity.
• Drive standardization of sourcing processes, templates, evaluation criteria, and approval workflows.
• Partner with business leaders to forecast procurement needs, identify upcoming demand, and ensure timely sourcing support.

RFP, Supplier Selection & Commercial Management

• Lead or oversee major RFPs and strategic sourcing events for Infrastructure Operations-related spend.
• Ensure supplier selection decisions are supported by clear business requirements, commercial analysis, risk assessment, and stakeholder alignment.
• Drive negotiation strategies for pricing, service levels, SLAs, commercial terms, contract structure, and performance commitments.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, Operations, Engineering, Construction, and other internal teams to ensure contracts align with business, compliance, and risk requirements.
• Monitor supplier and contract performance, including renewals, escalations, service issues, and commercial opportunities.

Infrastructure Operations Support & Issue Resolution

• Partner closely with Infrastructure Operations leadership to understand business priorities, site needs, project requirements, supplier issues, and service expectations.
• Provide leadership support for procurement escalations, supplier performance issues, service disruptions, pricing concerns, and contract-related matters.
• Ensure procurement activities support operational timelines and minimize disruption to the business.
• Drive timely resolution of procurement issues by coordinating across suppliers, internal stakeholders, and procurement team members.
• Establish consistent communication and reporting routines with Infrastructure Operations stakeholders.

Savings, Value Creation & Performance Management

• Identify, track, and deliver cost savings and cost avoidance opportunities across Infrastructure Operations procurement categories.
• Develop and maintain savings pipelines, sourcing roadmaps, supplier performance metrics, and procurement performance reporting.
• Drive value beyond price, including process efficiency, supplier reliability, quality improvement, risk mitigation, and service-level improvements.
• Use spend analysis, supplier data, market intelligence, and operational feedback to identify improvement opportunities.
• Present procurement performance, savings progress, risks, and recommendations to leadership.

Process, Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Build, improve, and standardize procurement processes supporting Infrastructure Operations.
• Establish governance for sourcing, supplier onboarding, contract management, supplier performance management, issue escalation, and savings tracking.
• Drive adoption of procurement best practices, tools, reporting, and documentation standards.
• Identify process gaps and implement scalable solutions that improve speed, compliance, visibility, and accountability.
• Support procurement transformation initiatives, system improvements, and cross-functional process changes.

Stakeholder & Supplier Relationship Management

• Build strong relationships with Operations, Finance, Legal, Engineering, Construction, and other cross-functional partners.
• Act as a trusted advisor to Infrastructure Operations leadership on procurement strategy, supplier management, sourcing options, risk mitigation, and commercial decisions.
• Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships to support operational performance and long-term business needs.
• Hold suppliers accountable to contractual obligations, performance expectations, service levels, and continuous improvement goals.
• Represent Procurement in leadership discussions, business reviews, supplier meetings, and strategic planning sessions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, operations, engineering, finance, or a related discipline.
• 12+ years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, supply chain, supplier management, or related functions.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, including managing managers or senior procurement professionals.
• Strong experience supporting infrastructure operations, operations-focused procurement, or procurement in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Proven experience leading complex RFPs, RFQs, supplier selection processes, negotiations, and contract execution.
• Demonstrated ability to drive cost savings, supplier performance improvement, process improvements, and procurement governance.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical skills, negotiation skills, and business judgment.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and influencing across multiple functions.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, resolve escalations, and drive execution through others.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in data centers, infrastructure, manufacturing, facilities, construction, engineering, or another operations-intensive environment.
• Experience managing procurement categories such as electrical equipment, mechanical equipment, data center equipment, facilities services, maintenance services, technical services, infrastructure vendors, or other operational spend.
• Experience building procurement processes, sourcing playbooks, supplier scorecards, savings tracking, and executive reporting.
• Experience with procurement systems, ERP tools, contract management systems, or spend analytics tools.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills; experience presenting to executive leadership.
• MBA, supply chain certification, procurement certification, or related professional certification preferred.

Education: This position requires a Bachelor’s Degree in Business or related field, MBA preferred. It also requires 10 years related experience with major construction services and procurement, a minimum of 5 years of experience in procurement services and strategic sourcing, prefers 7 years, experience in establishing construction/category strategies and management, and 5 years in a management role.