Procurement Strategic Operations & Governance Leader
Vertiv · Dublin
POSITION SUMMARY
The Procurement Strategic Operations & Governance Leader is responsible for driving the effective operation, governance, and strategic execution of the Global Procurement organisation.
The role acts as a strategic partner to Procurement leadership, ensuring that the organisation operates through a clear and effective operating model, robust governance, consistent processes, and disciplined execution of strategic priorities.
The Leader owns the Procurement leadership operating cadence and ensures that strategic decisions, actions, and commitments are translated into execution and followed through to closure.
The successful candidate will be a highly credible Procurement professional who can operate comfortably between strategic leadership and detailed execution. They will be capable of understanding complex business issues, simplifying them for senior leadership, and creating the governance and accountability required to deliver results.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Procurement Strategic Operations:
- Partner with Procurement leadership to translate strategic priorities into executable plans
- Establish and manage the Procurement strategic operating rhythm
- Coordinate cross-functional and regional activities required to execute Procurement priorities
- Identify risks, dependencies, and execution gaps and ensure appropriate escalation
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Provide strategic support on emerging priorities and ad-hoc leadership requirements
Executive Leadership & Procurement Cadence:
Own the end-to-end management of Procurement's executive cadence, including:
- Procurement QBRs
- MORs and operational reviews
- Procurement Townhalls
- Board and Executive Leadership presentations
- Growth Days
- CPO and Procurement Leadership meetings
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Other strategic Procurement presentations and forums
Responsibilities include:
- Agenda development and planning
- Content coordination across Procurement
- Executive storyline development
- Data and message alignment
- Preparation and quality control of materials
- Action tracking and follow-up
- Driving actions through to closure
- Maintaining visibility of outstanding commitments and escalations
Procurement Operating Model
Own the ongoing development and governance of the Procurement operating model.
Responsibilities include:
- Define and maintain the Procurement process and governance framework
- Establish clear ownership for Procurement policies and processes
- Identify and close gaps in the existing operating model
- Develop new policies, processes, standards, and governance mechanisms where required
- Establish formal review and refresh cycles
- Ensure processes remain aligned with organisational strategy and business requirements
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Drive standardisation across regions whilst recognising appropriate local requirements
Policy & Process Governance
- Establish Procurement policy and process governance
- Maintain a central register of Procurement policies and processes
- Define process owners and accountability
- Monitor review cycles and completion
- Identify duplication, gaps, and opportunities for simplification
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Drive continuous improvement of the Procurement operating framework
Procurement Transformation Governance
- Maintain visibility of the Procurement transformation portfolio
- Establish governance for strategic initiatives
- Track milestones, dependencies, risks, and actions
- Ensure transformation initiatives remain aligned to CPO priorities
- Provide leadership reporting on transformation progress
Procurement Knowledge Management
Own the governance of Procurement's digital knowledge environment, including the Procurement Hub and SharePoint.
Responsibilities include:
- Content governance.
- Structure and accessibility
- Document ownership
- Version control
- Standard templates and resources
- Ensuring critical Procurement information remains current
-
Establishing clear ownership for ongoing maintenance
Leadership Team Support & Strategic Projects
- Act as a trusted execution partner to the Procurement Leadership Team within the Corporate Strategy Function
- Support strategic organisational initiatives
- Coordinate complex cross-functional requests
- Lead special projects on behalf of Procurement leadership
- Respond to emerging and ad-hoc business requirement
- Provide structured problem solving and recommendations to leadership
Key Interfaces
- Chief Procurement Officer
- Procurement Leadership Team
- Regional Procurement Leaders
- Category and Business Unit Leaders
- Finance
- Operations
- Supply Chain
- Engineering
- IT / Digital
- HR
- Legal
- Executive Leadership
- Corporate Strategy
Key Success Measures
- Effectiveness and timeliness of Procurement leadership cadence
- Closure rate of leadership actions and commitments
- Operating model maturity
- Policy and process governance compliance
- Strategic initiative execution
- Reduction in process and governance gaps
- Stakeholder satisfaction
- Effectiveness of Procurement communications and executive reporting
- Adoption of standard Procurement processes
QUALIFICATIONS
Required Capabilities
- Industry experience: 8+ years' experience in Strategy, Programme and portfolio management, PMO management etc
- Procurement governance and operating model design : experience designing corporate governance frameworks and scalable operating models that align with long-term strategy.
- Strategic thinking and execution: Ability to think long-term and plan for future business needs.
- Roadmap Development: Proven capability to translate high-level strategy into actionable, tactical execution plans.
- Change management: driving organizational governance and managing complex business change. Ability to manage ambiguity and rapidly changing priorities
- Executive Presentation: Exceptional skills in deck preparation and distilling complex messages into simple, high-impact visuals.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Proven ability to build relationships and manage communication across all levels of the business.
- ELT Collaboration: Experience partnering closely with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capability
- High level of organisation and attention to detail
- Ability to operate effectively in a complex global organisation
- Strong commercial and Procurement understanding
ANTICIPATED BUSINESS TRAVEL: ~30%
The successful candidate will embrace Vertiv’s Core Principles & Behaviors to help execute our Strategic Priorities.
OUR CORE PRINCIPLES: Safety. Integrity. Respect. Teamwork. Inclusion.
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
• High-Performance Culture
• Customer Focus
• Operational Excellence
• Innovation
• Financial Strength
VERTIV BEHAVIORS
• Own it
• Act with urgency
• Foster a customer-first mindset
• Think big and execute
• Lead by example
• Drive continuous improvement
• Learn and seek out development
• Promote transparent & open communication
About Vertiv
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers’ vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extend from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv employs around 34,000 people and does business in more than 130 countries. Visit Vertiv.com to learn more.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Vertiv is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We promote equal opportunities for all with respect to hiring, terms of employment, mobility, training, compensation, and occupational health, without discrimination as to age, race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression (including transgender status or sexual stereotypes), genetic information, citizenship status, national origin, protected veteran status, political affiliation, or disability. If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing or using this website to apply for a position, you can request help by sending an email to help.join@vertiv.com
The Procurement Strategic Operations & Governance Leader is responsible for driving the effective operation, governance, and strategic execution of the Global Procurement organisation. The role acts as a strategic partner to Procurement leadership, ensuring that the organisation operates through a clear and effective operating model, robust governance, consistent processes, and disciplined execution of strategic priorities. The Leader owns the Procurement leadership operating cadence and ensures that strategic decisions, actions, and commitments are translated into execution and followed through to closure. The successful candidate will be a highly credible Procurement professional who can operate comfortably between strategic leadership and detailed execution. They will be capable of understanding complex business issues, simplifying them for senior leadership, and creating the governance and accountability required to deliver results.