Strategic Procurement & Third-Party Risk Leader

Community Bank, N.A.; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 106,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

11 paid holidays

Paid vacation

Medical, Vision & Dental insurance

401K with generous match

Pension

Tuition Reimbursement

Banking discounts

Job summary

Community Financial System, Inc. (CFSI) is seeking a Head of Procurement to lead and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy across its enterprise. The role partners with risk, compliance, finance, and operations to ensure value, quality, and regulatory readiness in vendor relationships.

The ideal candidate balances strategic sourcing, governance, and contract negotiations with strong risk management. This executive will drive supplier performance, cost savings, and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Risk Management, or a related field required.
• Master's degree, MBA, or related advanced degree preferred.
• Professional procurement, supply chain, or risk certifications are preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy aligned with enterprise priorities, business needs, and financial stewardship objectives.
• Establish procurement policies, procedures, and governance frameworks that support accountability, transparency, and regulatory readiness.
• Partner with senior leaders and business stakeholders to assess current and future procurement needs and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce cost, and strengthen supplier performance.
• Use spend analysis, market intelligence, and performance data to inform sourcing decisions and strategic recommendations.
• Establish, maintain, and strengthen relationships with key suppliers, service providers, and strategic business partners.
• Oversee supplier selection, evaluation, onboarding, contract negotiation, renewal, and offboarding processes.
• Ensure vendors meet the organization's expectations for quality, service, pricing, operational delivery, and compliance with applicable requirements.
• Monitor vendor performance against established metrics, service-level expectations, key performance indicators, and contractual commitments.
• Lead issue escalation and remediation efforts when vendor performance, service continuity, or compliance expectations are not being met.
• Promote supplier accountability, continuous improvement, and relationship management practices that support sustainable long-term partnerships.
• Play a leadership role in assessing risks associated with third-party vendors, including financial stability, operational resilience, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, privacy, and service continuity considerations.
• Ensure appropriate due diligence is conducted for new and existing vendors to confirm alignment with the organization's risk management, compliance, and control expectations.
• Collaborate closely with compliance, legal, risk management, information security, finance, and business owners to ensure vendor and third-party relationships align with enterprise policies and regulatory expectations.
• Develop and support mitigation strategies for vendor-related risks, including contingency planning, remediation tracking, periodic reviews, and audit readiness.
• Maintain oversight of third-party risk documentation, governance routines, and monitoring practices to support transparency and defensible decision-making.
• Stay current on regulatory expectations and industry standards affecting vendor management and third-party risk in financial services.
• Oversee the negotiation, administration, documentation, and renewal of vendor agreements.
• Ensure procurement contracts reflect favorable commercial terms, appropriate service expectations, risk controls, and compliance requirements.
• Partner with legal and compliance stakeholders to ensure contracting practices support internal policies and applicable regulatory standards.
• Maintain procurement documentation and controls to support audits, examinations, and internal governance reviews.
• Analyze organizational spending patterns and identify opportunities for savings, cost avoidance, consolidation, and improved value.
• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives and contract optimization efforts that deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Develop procurement metrics, dashboards, and reporting routines to monitor performance, savings, risk, and service quality.
• Balance cost discipline with quality, resiliency, compliance, and long-term business needs.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing procurement team with clear goals, accountability, and professional development plans.
• Foster a culture of ethical conduct, service orientation, continuous improvement, inclusion, and operational excellence.
• Build strong partnerships across departments to embed procurement discipline early in business planning and vendor decision-making.
• Influence executive and business stakeholder decision-making through clear communication, data-driven recommendations, and sound risk judgment.
• Drive continuous improvement across sourcing, contracting, vendor management, reporting, and third-party risk processes.
• Leverage procurement technology, workflow tools, automation, analytics, and supplier management platforms to improve transparency and efficiency.
• Standardize procurement practices where appropriate while maintaining flexibility for business-specific needs.
• Identify emerging procurement trends and recommend pragmatic enhancements to improve organizational effectiveness.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Vendor management

Contract negotiation

Third-party risk

Regulatory compliance

Executive presence

Cross-functional leadership

Risk management

Data analytics

Spend analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA preferred

CPSM/CPM/CIPS preferred

Tools

Procurement systems

Analytics tools

Job description

Community Financial System, Inc. (CFSI) is seeking a Head of Procurement to lead and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy across its enterprise. The role partners with risk, compliance, finance, and operations to ensure value, quality, and regulatory readiness in vendor relationships.

The ideal candidate balances strategic sourcing, governance, and contract negotiations with strong risk management. This executive will drive supplier performance, cost savings, and continuous improvement