Director, Procurement Operations & Excellence

So, what’s the role all about? 

The Procurement Operations & Excellence Lead is responsible for driving operational maturity across the global procurement & operations organization. This role owns the strategy, deployment, and continuous improvement of procurement & travel processes, systems, tools, governance, and policies. The role includes the management of team leads across procurement and travel operations and requires strong managerial capabilities to develop, coach, and direct those leaders. It requires a visionary operator with strong project-management and people-leadership skills, the ability to manage complex cross-functional interfaces, and a relentless drive for execution. The role ensures world-class performance, streamlined operations, compliance, and excellent service levels to stakeholders and suppliers.

- Design, implement, and optimize end-to-end procurement and corporate travel processes across all categories and regions.

- Diagnose operational gaps and drive continuous improvement initiatives across procurement and travel operations.

- Develop KPIs, dashboards, and performance metrics to monitor efficiency, effectiveness, and traveler experience.

- Standardize operating procedures and methodologies globally across procurement and travel.

- Leverage AI and analytics to identify process bottlenecks, forecast demand, and recommend optimization opportunities.

- Act as product owner for procurement and travel technologies such as ERP, P2P, contract management, intake tools, supplier portals, online booking tools (OBTs), TMC platforms, and expense management systems.

- Define system requirements, manage roadmaps, and lead improvement cycles with IT, TMCs, and vendors.

- Evaluate and deploy AI-powered capabilities, agentic intake, conversational assistants, contract intelligence, spend classification, and predictive analytics, across the procurement and travel stack.

- Train procurement and travel teams on new systems, AI tools, and digital capabilities.

- Ensure data integrity, automation, and seamless platform integration across procurement, travel, and finance systems.

- Maintain procurement and travel policies, guidelines, and internal controls.

- Establish governance frameworks ensuring compliance with legal, audit, duty-of-care, and data-privacy standards.

- Define responsible-AI guardrails for procurement and travel use cases, including data handling, bias, and human-in-the-loop controls.

- Align policies with Finance, Legal, Security, and HR/Mobility teams.

- Lead cross-functional programs, including procurement and travel system rollouts, AI deployments, and process improvements.

- Track deliverables, timelines, risks, and stakeholder dependencies.

- Drive execution of strategic procurement and travel initiatives, including AI and automation programs.

- Serve as the central point for operational escalations and support across procurement and travel.

- Ensure high service levels and traveler experience via structured intake management, AI-assisted triage, and prioritization.

- Promote a culture of efficiency, accountability, and data-driven decision-making across the procurement and travel ecosystem.

- Strong understanding of procurement operations, P2P, sourcing workflows, supplier management, and corporate travel operations (TMC management, OBT configuration, travel policy, expense).

- Experience with procurement systems such as SAP/Oracle, Coupa, Ariba, Zip, or Ivalua, and travel/expense platforms such as SAP Concur, Egencia, Navan, or Amex GBT.

- Proficiency in process design, automation, and documentation, including workflow automation and RPA.

- Hands-on familiarity with AI and GenAI applications in procurement and travel, agentic intake, contract intelligence, spend analytics, conversational booking, and predictive insights.

- Strong analytical and reporting capabilities, including use of AI-assisted analytics and data visualization.

- Proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder projects.

- Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.

- Ability to shape long-term operational strategy across procurement and travel, and convert it into scalable execution.

- Forward-looking perspective on AI, automation, and digital transformation in source-to-pay and travel.

- Creative thinker with proactive problem-solving skills.

- Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.

- High sense of ownership, urgency, and service delivery.

Years: 10+ years in procurement and/or corporate travel operations, with 5+ years in a leadership/managerial role, including direct management of team leads or managers.

Experience operating in a global or multi-region environment with cross-functional stakeholders (Finance, IT, Legal, HR/Mobility, Security). Preference for Tech companies

What’s in it for you? 

Join an ever-growing, market-disrupting, global company where the teams – comprised of the best of the best – work in a fast-paced, collaborative, and creative environment! As the market leader, every day at NiCE is a chance to learn and grow, and there are endless internal career opportunities across multiple roles, disciplines, domains, and locations. If you are passionate, innovative, and excited to constantly raise the bar, you may just be our next NiCEr! 

Enjoy NiCE-FLEX! 

At NiCE, we work according to the NiCE-FLEX hybrid model, which enables maximum flexibility: 2 days working from the office and 3 days of remote work, each week. Naturally, office days focus on face-to-face meetings, where teamwork and collaborative thinking generate innovation, new ideas, and a vibrant, interactive atmosphere. 

Requisition ID:  11081

Reporting into: Vice President, Operations

Role Type: Director 

#LI-Hybrid