Director, Procurement

Navan
New York, NY
On-site

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for procurement leaders with hands-on technical experience in Zip or similar platforms who can balance strategic and tactical responsibilities.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 8–10+ years of procurement experience in technology or fintech environments
    — “8–10+ years of progressive strategic sourcing and procurement experience, specifically managing Enterprise technology spend, Professional Services, and Marketing.”
  • Individuals who can operate autonomously and demonstrate deep procurement subject matter expertise
    — “Deep subject matter expertise across core procurement fundamentals, P2P architecture, and contract negotiations (must be able to operate autonomously from day one).”
  • Candidates who have led and scaled procurement teams while maintaining strategic alignment with executive leadership
    — “Lead, mentor, and scale a team of procurement professionals. Set operational benchmarks and empower the team to deliver strategic sourcing value across all business units.”

Things to consider

  • The role may require significant hands-on technical work with Zip, which could be a constraint for those without direct platform experience
    — “Hands-On Technical Proficiency: Demonstrated expertise configuring, troubleshooting, or rebuilding procurement and contract workflows in Zip or similar P2P platforms.”
  • High expectations for negotiation skills and internal stakeholder management, which may require strong interpersonal and strategic thinking abilities
    — “Negotiation & Stakeholder Mastery: Possesses an aggressive negotiator mindset combined with the emotional intelligence to navigate complex internal stakeholder dynamics.”

How to stand out

  • Highlight prior success in rebuilding procurement workflows and optimizing spend in technology and marketing domains
    — “Operational Excellence & Workflow Rebuilding: Rebuild, streamline, and optimize end-to-end procurement workflows and contract management processes within Zip to fix operational bottlenecks and scale efficiently.”
  • Emphasize experience in complex vendor negotiations and cross-functional alignment with Legal, GRC, and FP&A
    — “Drive commercial and contractual negotiations across external suppliers. Partner closely with internal stakeholders, Legal, GRC, and FP&A to maximize value, optimize total cost, and mitigate risk.”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Drive cost reduction
  • Develop comprehensive category strategies
  • Optimize procurement workflows
Typical background
8+ years of procurement experienceBachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance

Skills & requirements

Required

Procurement StrategyVendor NegotiationsContract ManagementTeam Leadership

Preferred

P2P Platforms

Stack & domain

ProcurementStrategic SourcingCommercial And Contractual NegotiationsCategory StrategyProcurement WorkflowsContract ManagementTeam LeadershipMentorshipP2P ArchitectureContract NegotiationsOperational ExcellenceWorkflow RebuildingProcurement And Contract WorkflowsZipP2P PlatformsLeadershipCommunicationProblem SolvingNetworkingEmotional IntelligenceSupply ChainFinance

About the role

Original posting from Navan

Navan is seeking a high-energy, hands-on Director of Procurement to lead, optimize, and scale our procurement organization. Serving as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to executive leadership, you will oversee enterprise spend—with a focus on Marketing, Professional Services (Consulting, Legal, Contingent Labor), and GTM, while driving cost optimization and operational excellence across the organization.

What You’ll Do:

End-to-End Ownership: Act as a trusted advisor on purchasing strategy, drive cost reduction, build cross-functional alignment, and maintain spend transparency for executive leadership.

Complex Vendor Negotiations: Drive commercial and contractual negotiations across external suppliers. Partner closely with internal stakeholders, Legal, GRC, and FP&A to maximize value, optimize total cost, and mitigate risk.

Category Strategy: Align with executive leadership to develop and execute comprehensive category strategies across Enterprise functions, GTM, Marketing, and Professional Services.

Operational Excellence & Workflow Rebuilding: Rebuild, streamline, and optimize end-to-end procurement workflows and contract management processes within Zip to fix operational bottlenecks and scale efficiently

Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and scale a team of procurement professionals. Set operational benchmarks and empower the team to deliver strategic sourcing value across all business units.

What We’re Looking For:

Experience: 8–10+ years of progressive strategic sourcing and procurement experience, specifically managing Enterprise technology spend, Professional Services, and Marketing. Prior experience in a fast-paced technology or fintech environment is preferred.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, or a related field.

Procurement SME: Deep subject matter expertise across core procurement fundamentals, P2P architecture, and contract negotiations (must be able to operate autonomously from day one).

Hands-On Technical Proficiency: Demonstrated expertise configuring, troubleshooting, or rebuilding procurement and contract workflows in Zip or similar P2P platforms.

Negotiation & Stakeholder Mastery: Possesses an aggressive negotiator mindset combined with the emotional intelligence to navigate complex internal stakeholder dynamics.

Leadership Style: Proven ability as a "player-coach" who can pivot seamlessly between executive-level strategy and hands-on tactical execution.

The posted pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the compensation for this position and is subject to change based on business need. To determine a successful candidate’s starting pay, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location, an evaluation of the candidate’s skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity.

For roles with on-target-earnings (OTE), the pay range includes both base salary and target incentive compensation. Target incentive compensation for some roles may include a ramping draw period. Compensation is higher for those who exceed targets. Candidates may receive more information from the recruiter.Pay Range$146,775—$326,300 USD 

Navan uses AI-assisted Automated Employment Decision Tool (Metaview) to assist with evaluating resumes against job qualifications for this role. All final decisions are made by human recruiters and hiring managers. 

Human oversight: Metaview does not automatically reject candidates or make final hiring decisions. Our recruiters and hiring managers review all outputs and make the final hiring decision regarding every application. 

Your rights: If you prefer to have your application reviewed without AI assistance, you may request a human evaluation by entering your email here. Your decision to do so will not affect how your candidacy is evaluated. 

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Source: Navan careers

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