Director, Procurement

Risepoint assists primarily regional universities in increasing their access and impact by making their academic programs available to students online. Founded in 2007, Risepoint's mission is to expand access to high-quality, affordable, and workforce-relevant education, especially for working and adult students. Risepoint brings single-minded dedication to student success, an integrated set of services, and data-driven performance to our collaboration with university partners.

SUMMARY:

Reporting directly to the VP of FP&A, Risepoint is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Director, Procurement to build and lead our procurement function across both Tech and Non-Tech categories. This role will be critical in driving procurement excellence, establishing scalable processes, and bringing greater visibility and control to spend management. With significant company dollars spent in Technology and Advertising, and a procurement environment that is still maturing, the ideal candidate will be a hands-on leader who can balance strategic sourcing with practical execution. This role will partner closely with Finance, Technology, Marketing, and other business stakeholders to deliver measurable savings, implement governance, and enable scalable growth.

This is a high-impact leadership role for someone who thrives in collaborative environments, brings rigor to negotiations, can think a step ahead/plan for growth, and knows how to translate procurement strategy into bottom-line results.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Procurement Leadership & Strategy

• Define and execute Risepoint’s procurement strategy across technology, advertising, and all other spend categories
• Establish procurement policies, frameworks, and best practices aligned with organizational goals
• Drive change management to reduce miscellaneous spending and enforce disciplined purchasing practices
• Lead/structure semi-annual review of all vendors where annual spend exceeds $500k to ensure SLAs are met and we have the correct scale/number of licenses to support our one-year plan

Process & Systems Implementation

• Lead the rollout and adoption of procurement technologies, including ZIP and own the Purchase Order (PO) process
• Build scalable procurement processes for intake, vendor selection, contracting, and purchase order management
• Work with FP&A Expense team to integrate procurement workflows into budget planning, forecasting, and spend reporting

Governance & Spend Visibility

• Drive expense analytics and reporting to increase visibility across all procurement activities
• Monitor compliance and enforce procurement policies across business unit
• Curb uncontrolled spending through governance guardrails and streamlined approval processes

Contracting & Negotiation

• Lead end-to-end negotiation of Master Service Agreements (MSAs), Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and commercial terms across all vendor engagements
• Conduct category strategy development, RFPs, supplier evaluations, and vendor performance management
• Leverage partnership with major investors to get the benefit of portfolio wide pricing

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, or related field (MBA or equivalent preferred)
• 8+ years of progressive experience in procurement, with at least 3 years in a leadership role

KNOWLEDGE/QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS:

• Strong financial acumen and experience working closely with FP&A or Finance teams
• Proven track record of delivering cost savings and process improvements
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Experience with procurement tools (e.g., ZIP) and purchase order process implementation
• Ability to balance strategic vision with hands-on execution
• Essential to work well across function and be a good team player as success is shared
• Expectation is that the position will result in at least a 3:1 ROI over the first 12 months