VP Procurement - Technology and Digital

Summary

The Vice President of Finance for Technology and Digital Procurement leads enterprise-wide sourcing, vendor strategy, and commercial negotiations across technology domains, with a strong emphasis on building and sustaining strategic relationships with CIO/CDO and senior technology leaders. This role acts as a trusted partner to IT leadership, aligning procurement strategy with technology roadmaps, innovation goals, and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic CIO/CDO Partnership
• Serve as the primary procurement strategic partner and day-to-day relationship leader for the CIO, CDO, and senior technology executives.
• Partner with IT leaders to translate technology strategy and roadmaps into multi-year category strategies, sourcing plans, and vendor ecosystem decisions.
• Build and sustain executive-level trust through proactive engagement, transparent governance, and clear articulation of value, risk, and tradeoffs.
• Shape technology demand and investment decisions by leading early engagement and intake with IT teams—clarifying business outcomes, requirements, timelines, and budget assumptions before sourcing begins.
• Establish and run joint operating rhythms with CIO/CDO organizations (quarterly business reviews, pipeline reviews, and steering committees) to drive decisions, remove blockers, and maintain alignment.
• Define shared success metrics with IT (cost, time-to-contract, risk posture, service performance, innovation outcomes) and provide executive-ready reporting on progress and realized value.
• Broker alignment across IT, Finance, Legal, Risk, Privacy, and Information Security to ensure deals are executable and balanced across value, compliance, and operational constraints.
• Own executive escalation paths and conflict resolution for sourcing decisions, supplier performance issues, and commercial disputes—ensuring fast, well-governed outcomes.
• Bring external market intelligence to CIO/CDO leaders (pricing benchmarks, contract terms, emerging vendors, platform shifts) and curate executive-level vendor engagement to accelerate innovation and modernization.
• Lead change management for new procurement operating models, standards, and policies within technology teams through stakeholder communications, training, and adoption measurement.
• Establish and manage business facing service level agreements, OKRs, and KPIs that drive success for EE&T.
• Technology Procurement Leadership
• Set the enterprise technology procurement vision and multi-year strategy across software, cloud, infrastructure, SaaS, data, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies—aligned to CIO/CDO priorities and business outcomes.
• Own technology commercial governance and portfolio outcomes, including executive prioritization, financial stewardship (budget impact, TCO), and risk posture across major programs and strategic suppliers.
• Lead (and when appropriate, personally conduct) the most complex, high-value negotiations and approvals—setting deal strategy, ensuring contract structures and commercial models (subscription, consumption-based, enterprise agreements) protect the enterprise and enable speed, innovation, and scalability.
• Supplier Lifecycle Management
• Define and lead the enterprise technology supplier lifecycle strategy including segmentation, preferred partner models, and build/buy/partner recommendations.
• Establish executive governance with strategic suppliers through joint business planning and QBRs—driving roadmap alignment, performance commitments, innovation agendas, and supplier issue resolution.
• Optimize enterprise value while managing concentration, operational, and third-party risk—ensuring resilience, contractual protections, and exit/transition readiness across critical vendors.
• Architect a healthy vendor ecosystem by maintaining competitive tension, commercial optionality, and a clear rationalization roadmap (standardization, consolidation, and strategic diversification where needed).
• Governance & Value Realization
• Establish procurement governance aligned with EE&T operating models and agile delivery.
• Track and communicate total value delivered (cost savings, risk reduction, innovation enablement).
• Ensure compliance with legal, security, and regulatory requirements.
• Leadership & Influence
• Lead and develop a high-performing technology procurement team.
• Influence senior stakeholders across IT, finance, legal, and business units.
• Act as a change leader modernizing procurement practices and operating models.

Qualifications & Experience

• 15+ years of experience in technology procurement, sourcing, or vendor management.
• Proven experience partnering with CIOs/CDOs and senior IT leaders at an enterprise level.
• Deep understanding of modern technology ecosystems, cloud platforms, AI, and digital transformation.
• Strong executive presence with exceptional negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Experience operating in complex and matrixed organizations.
• Experience in insurance, financial services, banking, and/or investment firms preferred.