Director, Procurement

Rakuten International; Salt Lake City (UT); Hybrid; USD 113,157 - 211,032; Full time

Job summary

Rakuten International seeks a Director, Procurement to lead strategic sourcing, supplier governance, and the full lifecycle from sourcing to renewals. You will drive value, introduce automation, and maintain accountable execution across the organization.

The role reports to the VP, VMO & Procurement, requiring trusted stakeholder relationships and a builder mindset focused on measurable business outcomes.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in procurement and vendor management.
• Experience leading commercial negotiations and managing complex renewals.
• Experience with procurement platforms (Coupa, Ariba, or similar).
• Bachelor’s Degree; CPSM/CSCP/CPM a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead competitive sourcing, supplier evaluations, commercial negotiations, and contract execution across multiple spend categories.
• Own renewal planning and drive contractual obligation management ahead of key milestones.
• Support supplier governance, onboarding, lifecycle management, and ESG-related reporting.
• Prepare and improve executive and governance reporting (QBRs, Risk Compliance Committee presentations).
• Collaborate with stakeholders to balance cost, risk, and quality with business outcomes.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Strategic sourcing

Vendor management

Contract negotiations

Governance & audit

AI & automation mindset

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

CPSM/CSCP/CPM certification a plus

Tools

Coupa

Ariba

Job description

Director, Procurement

Location: Salt Lake City, UT or San Francisco, CA – Hybrid | Reports to: VP, VMO & Procurement

Job Summary

Rakuten International is seeking a Director, Procurement to lead and elevate our procurement and vendor management capabilities. Sitting at the intersection of strategic sourcing, commercial execution, governance, and operational excellence, this role drives value across the full supplier lifecycle — from sourcing and contracting through renewals, data stewardship, and supplier engagement. The right candidate brings a builder's mindset: someone who owns outcomes, operates with accountability and transparency, and actively champions the adoption of automation and AI where they create real, measurable business value. This is not a policy‑enforcement role. It requires sound judgment, trusted relationships, and a relentless focus on results. This role also requires the ability to challenge assumptions, evaluate business rationale, and help ensure supplier investments remain aligned with organizational priorities and expected outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Procurement & Vendor Lifecycle Management

• Lead competitive sourcing, supplier evaluations, commercial negotiations, and contract execution across multiple spend categories.
• Own renewal planning and actively drive contractual obligation management — ensuring informed, value‑driven decisions ahead of key milestones.
• Evaluate purchasing and renewal decisions against business requirements, utilization, strategic alignment, and expected ROI.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business stakeholders, balancing cost, risk, and quality with a clear bias toward business outcomes.
• Identify and capture opportunities to improve commercial terms, reduce unnecessary spend, and maximize supplier value.

Data, Governance & Operational Integrity

• Improve the quality, completeness, and accessibility of supplier, contract, and spend data to support smarter decisions.
• Support supplier governance — onboarding, documentation, lifecycle management, and ESG‑related reporting requirements.
• Partner with Internal Audit, Finance, and Legal to maintain procurement controls, process documentation, and audit‑ready records.
• Prepare and continuously improve executive and governance reporting: QBRs, Risk Compliance Committee presentations, and business reviews.

Modernization & Strategic AI/Automation

• Proactively identify and advance automation and AI opportunities that drive practical, scalable improvements across the procurement lifecycle.
• Champion process modernization with a disciplined approach: pilot, measure, and scale initiatives that demonstrate clear business value.
• Contribute to the organization’s long‑term procurement technology and capability roadmap.

Global Partnership & Alignment

• Collaborate with Rakuten Group headquarters and regional stakeholders to align on policies, standards, and global procurement priorities.

Qualifications

Preferred

• Experience leading procurement transformation, automation, or AI‑driven process improvement initiatives.
• Background in governance, ESG, risk management, or control frameworks.
• Experience operating within globally governed or matrixed organizations.

Leadership Attributes

• Ownership & Accountability: Takes full ownership of outcomes — not just activities. Stays actively engaged in the details, drives follow‑through, and holds them and others to high standards.
• Strategic & AI Mindset: Sees beyond the transaction. Connects procurement decisions to business strategy and actively seeks ways to leverage technology, automation, and AI to scale impact.
• Intellectual Honesty: Provides balanced, evidence‑based assessments. Comfortable surfacing problems, challenging assumptions, and delivering difficult messages with clarity and respect.
• Credibility Through Execution: Earns trust by doing the work — not just directing it. Maintains direct awareness of contracts, renewals, and operational priorities rather than managing solely through delegation.
• Collaborative Influence: Builds trusted relationships across business functions. Leads through partnership, not authority, while maintaining clear standards and sound judgment.

Minimum Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, vendor management, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience leading commercial negotiations, managing complex renewals, and driving supplier accountability.
• Track record of evaluating business cases, ROI, and value realization for purchasing and renewal decisions.
• Experience with procurement platforms (Coupa, Ariba, or similar).
• Strong background in executive reporting, governance, and audit‑support activities.
• Bachelor’s Degree, advanced degree or relevant certification (CPSM, CSCP, CPM) a plus.

Five Principles for Success

• Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen
• Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best
• Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory
• Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
• Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team

Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job‑related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.

USD $113,157.00 - $211,032.00 annually