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Strategic Sourcing Leader, Professional Services

OpenAI· Finance
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Hybrid (San Francisco)$266k - $295k + equityFull-timePosted 2w ago

About the role

Strategic Sourcing Leader to lead and develop the Professional Services sourcing team, translating business priorities into category strategies, managing a broad portfolio of strategic advisory, enterprise programs, and a high volume of SOWs and renewals. Hybrid role based in San Francisco, with relocation assistance available.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and develop the team: set clear objectives and expectations, delegate with appropriate decision boundaries, provide regular feedback, review performance and address persistent gaps.
  • Set the Professional Services portfolio strategy and roadmap, connecting business objectives, demand, spend, supplier markets and risk. Guide category plans and decisions on where to compete, consolidate, retain specialist partners or change the service delivery model.
  • Manage the team's pipeline and capacity across strategic negotiations, supplier governance and recurring SOWs. Allocate work by capability, complexity and risk; make resource constraints and dependencies visible; and agree priorities and recovery plans before commitments become unachievable.
  • Personally lead selected critical negotiations and set standards for commercial quality across the team. Review strategy and assumptions early, using credible alternatives and comparable economics to shape scope, resource mix, pricing, deliverables, acceptance criteria, change controls, audit rights and exit protections.
  • Build proportionate intake, tiering, preferred-partner models, playbooks and review pathways with Procurement Operations, Contract Management, Enablement and control functions. Agree decision rights and usable handovers so repeatable work moves efficiently and material exceptions receive the right attention.
  • Strengthen supplier relationships and accountability through segmentation, competition, performance reviews and improvement plans. Agree post-signature owners with the business and use service evidence, concentration risk, renewal exposure and transition options to guide supplier decisions.
  • Partner with Finance and Accounting on spend visibility, demand scenarios, forecasting, approval discipline and invoice-to-contract alignment. Test fee models, staffing assumptions, change exposure and total economics, with clear baselines for savings, cost avoidance and realized value.
  • Partner with Legal, People and Extended Workforce to select appropriate service models and distinguish Professional Services from contingent labour or hiring needs. Translate specialist guidance into practical safeguards for service delivery, intellectual property, confidentiality and workforce-related risk.
  • Establish a concise view of portfolio and team performance covering commercial and service outcomes, pipeline health, cycle time, risk, stakeholder experience and team capability.
  • Build trusted senior stakeholder relationships and challenge demand, scope or supplier preferences constructively. Resolve difficult trade-offs on value, speed, quality and risk, and escalate decisions beyond your authority with clear options and a recommendation.
  • Personally use approved AI tools and lead adoption of improved sourcing workflows across the team, including supplier research, proposal analysis, negotiation preparation and reporting. Validate sources and calculations, retain human commercial judgement, and measure adoption and gains in quality, speed or capacity.

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of progressive strategic sourcing, procurement or category management experience, with substantial depth across multiple Professional Services categories and ownership from strategy through supplier performance.
  • 5+ years of people leadership experience, including formal responsibility for objectives, performance, development and delegation.
  • Experience leading complex services negotiations and coaching others to deliver comparable quality.
  • Understanding of consulting, advisory, managed services and project-based commercial models, including experience with large multidisciplinary firms such as the Big Four.
  • Breadth across finance, accounting, legal, healthcare or benefits-related services, alongside sound judgement on workforce boundaries.
  • Proven ability turning category strategies into practical operating improvements and improving stakeholder experience.
  • Strong financial and analytical judgement with ability to use data to compare options and demonstrate business value beyond negotiated savings.
  • Ability to lead effectively through ambiguity and rapid change, resetting priorities and adapting to different operating models.
  • Practical experience using AI to redesign sourcing work and helping others adopt it with human review and quality checks.
  • Commitment to creating an inclusive team environment with accountability, coaching and resilience.

Skills

Required:Strategic sourcingPeople leadershipNegotiationFinancial and analytical judgment
Nice to have:AI in sourcing

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
  • Pre-tax Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses
  • 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
  • Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birth parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
  • Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
  • 13+ paid company holidays, and additional paid office closures, plus paid sick or safe time
  • Mental health and wellness support
  • Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
  • Annual learning and development stipend
  • Daily meals in offices and meal delivery credits
  • Relocation assistance for eligible employees
  • Additional taxable fringe benefits such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends
Last updated Oct 8, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About OpenAI

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