This dedicated Procurement Manager role is being created to bring Dotdigital's global supplier base under a single, well-governed framework. The framework and operating model are already in place, and the job involves delivering, running, and continuously improving them. It covers a substantial portfolio of SaaS, cloud, and infrastructure agreements negotiated with vendors worldwide, with direct access to senior leadership.
Responsibilities
Deliver and evolve Dotdigital’s procurement strategy, embedding it across the organisation
Extend the procurement process to incorporate all vendor spend (consulting, facilities, events and other non-software spend)
Operate and refine the operating model: which contracts get hands-on negotiation, which get lighter-touch monitoring, and which are delegated to individual purchasers
Advise senior leadership directly on vendor strategy for major platform decisions
Define KPIs that hold up to scrutiny: savings measured against a realistic baseline rather than the list price, set alongside control and compliance measures such as due diligence completion, adoption of standard terms, and cycle time by risk tier
Maintain and tune procurement policy and approval thresholds suited to a SaaS business
Own the supplier lifecycle end to end, from sourcing and due diligence through onboarding, contracting, approval, execution, ongoing management and renewal to exit, with a defined owner and a defined standard at each stage
Run a renewal and exit strategy built on contractual notice periods, tracking cancel-by dates rather than renewal dates, supported by a negotiation playbook for the agreements that matter
Embed and maintain a category framework with named owners and clear accountabilities
Build data protection terms and SOC 2 / ISO 27001 assurance into every material negotiation from the outset
Co-design the vendor assessment process with Legal, Information Security and Privacy, so due diligence happens once, at the right depth, and is evidenced
Use automation and AI, including agentic AI, to take manual effort out of the procurement cycle, so that your time goes into negotiation, supplier relationships and value rather than administration
Work within Legal’s contract templates and playbooks: lead the negotiation on standard terms, and escalate non-standard positions and material legal risk to Legal against clear, agreed criteria
Operate a risk-tiered review model, so that higher-value or higher-risk engagements route to Legal, Information Security and Privacy against defined thresholds
Own counterparty due diligence as a mandatory gate before onboarding
Operationalise the Supplier Code of Conduct by issuing it as standard, tracking acceptance and holding the evidence, and embed our compliance requirements into supplier onboarding
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Assess vendor AI terms with Legal and Privacy
Keep four decisions distinct in the operating model, working with Legal and Finance: commercial approval, budget approval, legal review, and authority to sign, and operate within the delegated authority and signatory matrix
Own the supplier and contract register as the single source of truth for terms, obligations, notice periods and expiry dates, to a standard that withstands external audit and supports our ISO 27001 / SOC 2 supplier management controls
Incorporate environmental management and sustainability considerations into supplier evaluation and onboarding processes, including assessment of ISO 14001 certification or equivalent environmental management practices where appropriate
Own relationships with Dotdigital’s largest platform vendors and be the person their commercial team deals with directly, credible enough with vendor account teams to get a straight answer on roadmap and pricing flexibility; not just a name on a contract
Negotiate pricing, terms, and multi-year commitments with full visibility of actual usage and roadmap
Bring Legal, Information Security and Privacy into vendor conversations early enough that their findings shape the negotiations rather than arrive after terms are agreed
Manage the long-tail subscription base efficiently, without treating it like the priority contracts
Spot duplication and overlap across the tool estate (e.g. two subscriptions doing much the same job) and make the case for consolidation where it stands up
Deliver measurable savings on major contracts through negotiation, not discount-chasing
Benchmark pricing using external data where useful, grounded in Dotdigital’s own usage
Apply total cost of ownership thinking to build-vs-buy and vendor consolidation decisions
Make sure commercial outcomes are protected contractually, through price increase caps, benchmarking rights, service credits and exit assistance, so that the value agreed at signature survives the life of the contract
Report savings outcomes in terms the leadership team can understand and trust
Requirements
Degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Commerce, or related field
CIPS, CPSM, or equivalent
Substantial procurement experience, typically six years or more, including specific and direct exposure to SaaS, cloud and technology vendor contracts
Experience negotiating complex, high-value contracts, and confidence working within an established template and playbook framework
Working familiarity with the compliance backdrop to supplier contracting: data protection, information security assurance, sanctions screening, anti-bribery and modern slavery
Strong stakeholder management up to C-level
Comfortable operating and improving established structure, playbooks and processes, and bringing colleagues with you as you do it
Numerate and analytical, able to interrogate a vendor’s pricing model rather than take a benchmark report at face value
Willing to challenge constructively, internal stakeholders as well as vendors, and to hold a position when it is the right one for the business
Sound judgement on risk: able to tell the difference between a term that is merely unusual and one that is genuinely unacceptable, and to escalate accordingly
Nice to have:
Exposure to AI-enabled procurement, and ideally agentic AI, applied to real workflows such as intake, triage, data extraction or renewal tracking
Benefits
Commission & bonus opportunities
Annual leave that increases with service + option to buy more
Additional paid wellbeing days + annual wellbeing reward
Christmas office shutdown (extra time off)
Enhanced parental leave & family support policies
Employee recognition & reward schemes
Referral bonuses & long-service rewards
Important Details
Locations: UK or South Africa
Application Process
15-minute screening call with Team Talent
45-minute first stage interview with the Head of Legal via Zoom
Written task
60-minute final stage interview with the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Legal
About the Company
Dotdigital is a global community of professionals committed to the collective success of the organization and its clients. It is an all-in-one customer experience and data platform (CXDP) that empowers marketing teams to exceed customer expectations with highly personalized cross-channel journeys, streamlining decision-making and delivering customer engagement at scale with powerful AI capabilities.
