Procurement Manager

Job Summary 

Candescent is seeking an experienced Procurement Manager to join our Strategic Sourcing team in our Atlanta Head Office. This role will lead end-to-end sourcing activities across indirect categories, with a focus on Technology, Professional Services, Marketing, Facilities, and Strategic Partnerships in support of global business operations. The Procurement Manager will partner closely with business stakeholders to deliver measurable value through competitive sourcing events, supplier commercial negotiations, and contract negotiations while ensuring compliance with company policies and applicable regulations. 

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables 

Strategic Sourcing and Category Management 

• Execute sourcing strategies across assigned categories, including market analysis, supplier identification, and total cost of ownership modeling. 
• Lead RFx events, including RFI, RFP, and RFQ processes, from requirements gathering through award recommendation in partnership with technical and business stakeholders. 
• Conduct supplier negotiations on commercial terms, SLAs, pricing structures, and contractual protections to deliver measurable savings and risk mitigation. 

Contract Negotiation 

• Draft, review, and negotiate supplier contracts, including Master Services Agreements, Statements of Work, NDAs, order forms, and amendments in partnership with Legal. 
• Maintain contract repository hygiene and proactively track renewals, expirations, and rate escalations. 

Stakeholder Partnership 

• Serve as the procurement business partner to assigned functions, providing guidance on sourcing process, supplier selection, and policy compliance. 
• Build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders to support business objectives. 
• Translate business requirements into clear sourcing scopes and evaluation criteria. 

Supplier and Spend Management 

• Manage ongoing supplier relationships, including performance reviews for Top 10 suppliers, issue resolution, and continuous improvement initiatives. Analyze category spend to identify consolidation, demand management, and cost reduction opportunities. 
• Manage the renewal pipeline, ensuring initiatives are triggered with adequate lead time to secure commercial value. 
• Own benefits reporting for assigned projects. 

Process and Operational Excellence 

• Operate procurement workflows within the company’s P2P / S2P platform, such as Coupa, SAP Ariba, Oracle, or Workday. Track and report on KPIs including savings, cycle time, and contract compliance. 
• Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, tools, and policy adherence. 

Qualifications and Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, or a related discipline. 
• 10-15 years of progressive procurement or strategic sourcing experience, preferably in technology, financial services, or BPO industries. 
• Demonstrated experience leading sourcing events and negotiating commercial agreements with technology and services suppliers. 
• Strong working knowledge of contract terms and conditions, including SaaS and cloud agreements. 
• Hands-on experience with at least one major procurement platform. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel for spending analytics and comfort working with large datasets. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders. 
• Hybrid in Atlanta office

Preferred Distinctions 

• Professional certifications such as CIPS, CPSM, or equivalent. 
• Experience supporting US-, India-, or Europe-headquartered multinationals with cross-time-zone stakeholders. 
• Exposure to fintech, banking software, or regulated financial services categories. 
• Experience with supplier diversity programs and ESG considerations in sourcing. 

Core Competencies 

• Negotiation and influencing 
• Analytical and data-driven decision making 
• Business acumen and stakeholder management 
• Contract literacy and risk identification 
• Project management and execution discipline 
• Comfort operating in ambiguity across global teams