Director, Strategic Sourcing: Travel, Meetings and Events

Director, Strategic Sourcing: Travel, Meetings and Events

College Board - Finance 

Location: This is a fully remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office).  

About the Team  

The Strategic Sourcing team is a dynamic, collaborative group that partners with leaders across the organization to drive decisions that maximize value and impact. We combine market insight, strong supplier relationships, and strategic sourcing practices to ensure every dollar we spend advances the College Board’s mission. Our work strengthens operations, promotes sustainability, and ensures that the organization’s resources are used thoughtfully and effectively in service of students everywhere. 

The Strategic Sourcing team at College Board is embarking on an exciting transformation, shifting from transactional procurement to a model centered on strategic engagement. This role will join a team of sourcing leaders dedicated to delivering meaningful, measurable value to the organization, directly supporting our mission and the students we serve.   

About the Opportunity   

The Director of Strategic Sourcing for Travel, Meetings & Events will lead enterprise-wide procurement initiatives, supplier relationship management, and contract management activities across multiple categories of spend. In this role, you will develop and implement sourcing strategies, conduct market and supplier research, manage RFI/RFP/RFQ processes, oversee supplier evaluation and selection, and drive contract negotiations.  

You are responsible for developing and executing sourcing strategies, supplier management, and cost optimization initiatives across corporate travel, meetings, and events categories. This role will partner closely with internal stakeholders across College Board to align sourcing strategies with organizational goals, mitigate risk, manage supplier relationships and ensure compliance with policies and regulations. This role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to foster supplier and stakeholder partnerships that drive measurable value to College Board.  

In this role, you will:  

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management (70%)  

• Lead the development and execution of sourcing strategies to optimize spend, reduce risk, and enhance value in alignment with organizational objectives.  

• Identify, evaluate, and select travel and meeting related suppliers, including hotels, airlines, event A/V, catering, etc.   

• Understand the current supplier landscape and identify opportunities to consolidate demand and drive cost savings while maintaining service quality.  

• Proactively update sourcing strategies based on market analysis and risk assessment, aligning with organizational goals and industry trends  

Supplier & Contract Management (15%) 

• Lead supplier selection, performance management, and relationship development in partnership with internal stakeholders.  

• Lead negotiations of commercial terms, service-level agreements (SLAs), and licensing models to achieve favorable cost, risk, and performance outcomes.  

• Partner with Legal, GRC and Information Security teams to ensure all security and business term requirements are included in contracts.  

• Manage ongoing supplier relationships, performance reviews, and escalation processes.  

Data & Process Excellence (10%) 

• Gather and analyze spend data to benchmark and identify opportunities for savings and efficiency.  

•  Create category specific cost models, including TCO analyses, to support data driven sourcing recommendations and track impact against organizational goals and metrics.

•  Adopt and leverage existing Procurement tools and platforms, as well as enterprise AI tools, to deliver value driven insights and recommendations .

Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration (5%) 

• Proactively engage with stakeholders to understand their goals and planned initiatives, translating insights into category sourcing strategies that anticipate needs, align with enterprise objectives, and deliver strategic value. 

• Serve as a trusted advisor to business units on category related procurement and sourcing matters, delivering market insights, improving supplier performance, and ensuring contract and policy compliance. 

About You  

Qualifications  

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.  

• 7+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, contract negotiations, and supplier management, with at least 3 years focused on Travel and Events sourcing.   

• Demonstrated experience negotiating high-value, complex technology contracts.  

• Familiarity with ERP systems, supplier management systems, and contract lifecycle management tools, and travel booking and expense systems .

• CPSM, PMP, Lean/Six Sigma, or ISM certification preferred .

• Strong knowledge of procurement best practices, contract workflow and negotiations, and Travel and Events sourcing, including suppliers, market trends, and regulatory landscape.   

• Strong analytical, financial, and strategic problem-solving skills, including ability to deliver data-based insights to support strategic recommendations.  

• Excellent communication and presentation abilities, with experience influencing senior stakeholders.  

• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships across diverse teams.  

• High level of integrity, initiative, and organization.  

• Comfort with fast-paced, cross-functional mission-driven environments.  

• The ability to travel 4-6 times a year to College Board offices or on behalf of College Board business 

All roles at College Board require: 

About Our Process   

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days. 

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone/video screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise such as live coding, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks.    

What We Offer 

At College Board, we offer more than a paycheck- we provide a meaningful career, a supportive team, and a comprehensive package designed to help you thrive. We’re a self-sustaining nonprofit that believes in fair and competitive compensation grounded in your qualifications, experience, impact, and the market. 

A Thoughtful Approach to Compensation 

• The hiring range for this role is $80,000-$125,000 

• Your exact salary will depend on your location, experience, and how your background compares to others in similar roles at the College Board. 

• We aim to make our best offer upfront, rooted in fairness, transparency, and market data. 

• We adjust salaries by location to ensure fairness, no matter where you live. 

You’ll have open, transparent conversations about compensation, benefits, and what it’s like to work at College Board throughout your hiring process. Check out our careers page for more.