Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing (CoE & Special Projects)

About the Team

The Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing (CoE & Special Projects) is a key player in OpenAI's Finance team, responsible for elevating our procurement function. Reporting to the Head of Procurement, you’ll play a pivotal role in aligning procurement strategies with OpenAI’s broader objectives, thereby contributing to our mission of advancing artificial general intelligence that benefits all of humanity.

About the Role

As a Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing (CoE & Special Projects), you will drive significant advancements in our procurement practices and lead cross-functional procurement initiatives. You will devise and implement comprehensive sourcing and category strategies, establish and track key performance indicators to ensure procurement excellence, and lead a culture of continuous improvement across procurement. Your mission will be to unlock the full capabilities of our procurement technology, ensuring our approach is best in class.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. 

In this role, you will:

• Establish and manage a Procurement Center of Excellence (CoE) that sets the standard for innovative procurement processes, tools, and methodologies, and promotes a culture of continuous improvement. 

• Design and execute impactful strategic initiatives, spanning significant tool or system rollouts, automation projects, comprehensive end-user training, and communication strategies.

• Lead cross-functional teams in the execution of special procurement, ensuring they meet objectives, timelines, and budgets.

• Enhance the procurement team’s effectiveness through innovative strategic sourcing methodologies. 

• Drive procurement’s transformation roadmap, identifying and implementing technology solutions that enhance efficiency, transparency, and collaboration. 

• Develop, implement, and utilize advanced procurement analytics to drive decision-making and strategy formulation. 

• Develop a Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) program and implement SRM programs that focus on mutual growth, innovation, and value creation, beyond traditional transactional interactions.

• Collaborate with stakeholders across the organization to align procurement strategies with overall business goals. Act as a trusted advisor, providing insights and recommendations to senior leadership on procurement matters.

• Mentor junior procurement talent across the team, creating a high-performing team equipped to handle the complexities of procurement challenges.

We’re looking for a blend of:

• Versatile Procurement Knowledge: Extensive expertise across various procurement categories, coupled with adept negotiation skills and a solid understanding of economic drivers and business models.

• Technical Expertise: Comprehensive knowledge of procurement technologies to optimize processes. 

• Project Management: Demonstrated capability to lead transformative initiatives that significantly improve procurement practices across the organization.

• Analytical Acumen: Proven experience in crafting detailed dashboards and conducting thorough analyses to offer strategic insights. 

• Methodical and Organized: Exceptionally methodical and organized work ethic to manage complex projects. 

• Strategic Sourcing Leadership: A track record of leading complex, large-scale strategic sourcing initiatives.

• Influencing Skills: Outstanding ability to educate and influence stakeholders across the organization, securing buy-in for procurement initiatives through effective communication and strategic negotiation.

• Supplier Performance Management: Skills in establishing, monitoring, and managing supplier performance metrics to ensure alignment with OpenAI’s standards and objectives. This includes conducting regular performance reviews and fostering supplier development to ensure long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with key suppliers.

• Mission-Driven Orientation: Alignment with OpenAI’s mission, fueling a commitment to strategic sourcing efforts that promise long-term benefits for humanity.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful to