Strategic Sourcing Lead – Professional Services
OpenAI
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Hybrid
Location: San Francisco • California • United States
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Salary
💰 $234,000 - $260,000 per year
Job Level
About the role
- Own the global Professional Services category strategy, including supplier segmentation, engagement models, and long-term roadmap.
- Define and standardize frameworks for how professional services are sourced, contracted, and governed across the company.
- Establish clear category guardrails to balance speed, flexibility, cost efficiency, and compliance.
- Lead strategic relationships with OpenAI’s most critical professional services partners.
- Rationalize a fragmented supplier base by identifying consolidation, tiering, and preferred-partner opportunities.
- Partner with Finance to improve cost transparency, rate structures, volume leverage, and forecasting across the category.
- Partner closely with Legal and Extended Workforce teams to mitigate co-employment and regulatory risks.
- Ensure professional services engagements are structured and operated in line with internal policies and external compliance requirements.
- Introduce clearer governance for scope control, renewals, expansions, and offboarding.
- Act as the primary strategic interface between Procurement and senior stakeholders across Research, Engineering, G&A, and Operations.
- Influence decision-making through clear executive-level communication, data-driven insights, and structured recommendations.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, consulting, or commercial leadership roles in fast-scaling, ambiguous environments.
- Experience managing categories with co-employment or workforce classification risk.
- Demonstrated ownership of large, complex professional services or consulting categories.
- Strong commercial acumen across rate structures, SOW-based services, and vendor operating models.
- Experience partnering with senior Finance, Legal, and HR/Workforce stakeholders
- Familiarity with procurement systems (e.g., Zip, Ironclad) at a portfolio and governance level.
- Executive-ready written and verbal communication skills.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
- Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
- 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
- Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
- Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
- 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
- Mental health and wellness support
- Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
- Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
- Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
- Relocation support for eligible employees
- Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard Skills & Tools
strategic sourcingcategory managementconsultingcommercial leadershipcost transparencyrate structuresvendor operating modelsSOW-based servicesgovernance frameworkscompliance requirements
Soft Skills
executive-level communicationdata-driven insightsinfluence decision-makingstakeholder engagementstrategic relationship managementorganizational skillsnegotiation skillsproblem-solvingcollaborationleadership