Vice President, Strategic Sourcing

📋 Description

• • Own the end-to-end global sourcing and procurement function at Freshworks, translating corporate growth targets into a multi-year sourcing roadmap that balances cost, risk, and innovation.
• • Serve as the executive sponsor for all high-value, high-risk vendor negotiations—ranging from multi-million-dollar SaaS licensing renewals to complex cloud infrastructure and professional-services agreements—ensuring every contract is structured for scalability, compliance, and long-term value.
• • Build, mentor, and scale a world-class procurement organization across North America, EMEA, and APAC; define clear career paths, performance metrics, and succession plans that attract and retain top sourcing talent in a competitive market.
• • Establish enterprise-wide governance, policy, and risk-management frameworks that protect Freshworks’ assets, satisfy SOX, GDPR, and emerging regulatory requirements, and enable rapid decision-making without bureaucratic drag.
• • Drive cross-functional alignment by partnering deeply with Legal, Finance, IT, Security, Product, and GTM teams; translate technical roadmaps into sourcing strategies that accelerate product launches and reduce time-to-revenue.
• • Champion digital transformation by owning the selection, implementation, and optimization of modern procurement platforms (Graphite, NetSuite, and emerging AI-driven tools); automate intake-to-procure-to-pay workflows and deliver real-time spend visibility to the CFO and business leaders.
• • Deliver measurable P&L impact—set and exceed annual savings targets (cost avoidance, cost reduction, demand management) while improving supplier performance, SLA adherence, and innovation contribution.
• • Act as a thought leader and culture carrier for the global procurement community; represent Freshworks at industry forums, publish best-practice insights, and mentor rising leaders across Finance and Operations.
• • Lead business-continuity and vendor-risk programs—design scenario plans for geopolitical disruptions, supply-chain shocks, and cyber incidents; ensure every critical vendor has documented contingency playbooks and quarterly risk reviews.
• • Institutionalize data-driven decision-making—build category-specific market-intelligence dashboards, benchmark pricing indices, and predictive analytics that inform C-suite investment decisions and board-level reporting.
• • Foster an inclusive, high-performance culture that celebrates curiosity, accountability, and customer obsession; embed DEI principles into supplier-diversity programs and internal talent development.
• • Serve as the executive escalation point for vendor disputes, audit findings, and compliance gaps; drive rapid resolution while protecting Freshworks’ brand and commercial interests.
• • Continuously scan the external ecosystem for emerging technologies, alternative suppliers, and innovative commercial models that can create competitive advantage for Freshworks’ product and go-to-market strategies.
• • Translate sourcing wins into compelling narratives for investors, board members, and employees—demonstrating how procurement directly fuels Freshworks’ mission of delighting customers with refreshingly simple software.