Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing (Non-Technology)

About the Team

The Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing is a key player in OpenAI's Finance division, responsible for elevating our non-technology procurement function. Reporting to the Head of Procurement, this role focuses on refining sourcing processes, managing RFPs, and overseeing crucial non-technology spend areas. By collaborating closely with internal stakeholders and forming robust relationships with vendors, the Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager will play a pivotal role in aligning procurement strategies with OpenAI’s broader objectives, thereby contributing to our mission of advancing artificial general intelligence for the benefit of all.

About the Role

We’re seeking a seasoned Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing (Non Technology) to refine and scale our non-technology procurement function. This role demands a blend of developing category strategies, managing RFPs, and overseeing key non-technology spend areas, alongside a proactive engagement with internal stakeholders to understand and address their procurement needs. This role requires someone who can enhance, scale, and adapt our sourcing processes to support our organization's rapid growth.

This strategic, yet hands-on role, will report to the Head of Procurement, interfacing closely with internal stakeholders, vendors, and suppliers. You will be instrumental in elevating the procurement workflow of the organization by crafting and executing robust sourcing strategies, and fostering strong relationships with vendors to secure advantageous agreements.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. Through your expertise and leadership, you'll play a critical role in supporting OpenAI’s ambitious projects and long-term mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

In this role, you will:

• Devise and implement a comprehensive strategy for our non-technology procurement, aligning with OpenAI’s broader financial and operational objectives.
• Take ownership of the strategic sourcing process for key non-technology spend areas, ensuring a streamlined approach for managing RFPs and vendor selection.
• Engage with internal customers across various departments, understanding their procurement needs, and ensuring a streamlined procurement request and approval process, thereby contributing significantly to operational efficiency and fiscal discipline within OpenAI.
• Support the continuous improvement process by taking ownership of supplier performance metrics, ensuring thorough and timely evaluations to enhance supplier quality and performance.
• Manage and optimize our sourcing systems, ensuring seamless procurement operations and data-driven decision-making.
• Take a hands-on role in managing key supplier relationships, including contract negotiations and performance evaluations, to ensure alignment with OpenAI’s financial policies and procedures.
• Oversee the development and execution of category strategies, promoting a proactive approach to understanding internal stakeholders’ procurement needs and ensuring timely and effective sourcing solutions.
• Lead reporting and analytics initiatives within the non-technology procurement domain, generating insightful reports and dashboards to monitor performance, identify trends, and support data-driven decision-making aligned with OpenAI's financial and operational goals.
• Through your strategic and hands-on approach, you will be instrumental in refining the non-technology procurement function, ensuring it supports OpenAI’s rapid growth and evolving needs, and significantly contributes to OpenAI’s ambitious projects and long-term mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

We’re looking for a blend of:

• Strategic Insight: Ability to develop and implement robust procurement strategies that align with OpenAI's broader financial and operational objectives, ensuring cost-effectiveness and risk management in non-technology spend areas.
• Operational Excellence: Proficiency in managing and optimizing sourcing systems, ensuring seamless procurement operations, and promoting continuous improvement in supplier performance.
• Relationship Management: Strong skills in managing relationships with key suppliers, negotiating contracts, and working closely with internal stakeholders to understand and address their procurement needs.
• Analytical Capability: Aptitude for leading reporting and analytics initiatives, generating insightful data to monitor performance, identify trends, and support informed decision-making.
• Collaborative Engagement: Ability to collaborate effectively with various internal departments as well as Legal and Security teams to ensure compliance and timely vendor assessments.
• Proactive Leadership: A proactive approach in engaging with internal departments, refining the procurement function, and contributing significantly to operational efficiency and fiscal discipline within OpenAI.
• Mission-Driven Focus: An understanding and commitment to supporting OpenAI’s ambitious projects and long-term mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity, through strategic procurement practices.

You might thrive in this role if:

• You’re an enthusiastic self-starter. You thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment, and expect to lead multiple projects. You take ownership of your work and believe that a job not done well is a job not done.
• You’re excited about new challenges. You don’t have the answers to every question up front, but the process of solving them invigorates you. Novel issues requiring multidimensional knowledge excite you.
• You’re a phenomenal teammate. You’re a strong communicator who can explain complex topics with ease, in any format. You intuitively understand the importance of keeping everyone in the loop, and you take proactive measures to do so. You’re intellectually honest.
• You’re a world-class leader. You mentor those around you, help set agendas, and unblock company-wide issues. You identify opportunities for cross-functional projects and emphatically step in to lead them. Your commitment to quality is unwavering and you coach the work of those around you to join you at this elevated level.
• You’re a builder. You not only embrace the opportunity to have a direct impact on how a company operates, you revel in it. An organization relies on the quality of its foundation and your passion is building strong systems and processes from the ground up.
• You’re passionate about technology and artificial intelligence.