Director, procurement & vendor management

As the Director, Procurement & Vendor Management, you'll lead Summit's procurement strategy while building trusted partnerships with the technology vendors and suppliers that keep our business moving. You'll balance commercial strategy with operational needs - negotiating enterprise agreements, optimizing spend, improving supplier performance, and ensuring our teams have what they need to deliver for our customers.

This is more than purchasing. It's about building partnerships, making smart investments, and helping Summit scale with confidence.

What You’ll Do:

• Develop and execute Summit's procurement and vendor management strategy, ensuring purchasing decisions align with business priorities and long-term growth.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with technology vendors, OEMs, distributors, and service providers.
• Lead negotiations for hardware, software, cloud services, maintenance agreements, and professional services, securing favorable commercial terms while managing business risk.
• Partner with Finance, Delivery, Sales, and executive leadership to support technology investments and operational initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to optimize spend, consolidate vendors, improve contract terms, and maximize the value of Summit's technology investments.
• Establish vendor performance expectations and develop meaningful metrics to evaluate supplier quality, responsiveness, and business value.
• Oversee the contract lifecycle, including renewals, pricing reviews, vendor performance, and ongoing relationship management.
• Establish and continuously improve procurement policies, standards, and governance that balance speed, financial stewardship, compliance, and operational effectiveness.
• Analyze purchasing trends, contract commitments, and supplier performance to provide actionable recommendations to business leaders.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and direction for the Procurement team, fostering a culture of partnership, accountability, continuous improvement, and exceptional internal service.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, supplier capabilities, and market trends to help inform procurement strategies and business decisions.

What You’ll Deliver:

• Strategic supplier partnerships that support Summit's long-term business objectives.
• Competitive commercial agreements that balance cost, quality, service, and risk.
• Procurement processes that are efficient, scalable, and easy for internal teams to navigate.
• Greater visibility into organizational spend, contract renewals, supplier performance, and sourcing opportunities.
• Strong supplier accountability through measurable performance expectations and ongoing relationship management.
• Trusted partnership with business leaders that enables informed purchasing decisions and supports operational success.
• A procurement function that enables the business to move quickly while maintaining strong financial stewardship and vendor governance.

What You’ll Decide:

• Procurement strategies for technology products, services, and strategic sourcing initiatives.
• Vendor selection and sourcing recommendations for significant technology investments.
• Negotiation strategies and commercial recommendations for enterprise agreements.
• Procurement policies, standards, and governance practices.
• Supplier performance expectations and vendor improvement plans.
• Prioritization of procurement initiatives, team workload, and continuous improvement efforts.
• Development priorities and performance expectations for members of the Procurement team.

You’ll Thrive in This Role If You:

• Have experience leading procurement, strategic sourcing, or vendor management within a technology, managed services, cloud, or enterprise IT environment.
• Enjoy building long-term relationships and negotiating outcomes that create value for both the business and our partners.
• Understand enterprise technology purchasing, including hardware, software licensing, cloud services, and professional services.
• Can balance strategic planning with operational realities and step in when business priorities require it.
• Build credibility across technical, operational, financial, and executive stakeholders.
• Use data to support recommendations, evaluate supplier performance, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Communicate with confidence, navigate competing priorities, and bring people together to solve complex business challenges.
• Believe great procurement enables the business; it doesn't slow it down.

Bonus Points:

• Experience negotiating Microsoft licensing, CSP, Azure, or other enterprise technology agreements.
• Experience managing relationships with strategic technology vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Equinix, Digital Realty, HPE, or similar partners.
• Experience supporting contract lifecycle management, procurement systems, or ERP platforms.
• Experience negotiating enterprise software, SaaS, cloud, or managed services agreements.
• Familiarity with managed services, cloud infrastructure, or data center environments.
• Professional certifications such as CPSM, CPSD, PMP, or similar.

How We Work at Summit

How you approach the work matters just as much as what you do. At Summit, our core values show up in how we make decisions, work together, and support our customers.

We build the infrastructure that keeps businesses running. We need people who take that seriously, and have fun doing it.

Our Core Values:

• Empower our people
• Constant elevation
• Customer first
• Focus on outcomes
• Embrace curiosity

Benefits

Summit offers a total rewards package designed to support you at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Here’s a snapshot of what that looks like:

• Flexible Time Off (yes, really) – take what you need, we trust you to manage it
• Medical, Dental & Vision – comprehensive coverage with HSA/HRA options
• 401(k) with 4% match – we invest alongside you
• Parental Leave – paid time for the moments that matter most
• Life & Disability Insurance – built-in peace of mind
• Wellness Support – resources for your mental and physical health
• Free Colocation & Cloud Access – build and experiment in real environments
• Work From Anywhere – remote-friendly by design
• A low-ego, get-it-done culture – come as you are, do great work

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $150,000 – $186,000 annually. Compensation is based on the responsibilities of the role, experience, skills, geographic market, and internal equity. We believe great careers are built one step at a time, and compensation should grow alongside your impact.

For internal candidates: We know your journey at Summit didn't start with this opportunity. When determining compensation, we'll also consider your contributions, demonstrated performance, and career progression - because the impact you've already made matters, too.

Summit is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Summit is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.

As part of this commitment, Summit will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please email hr@summithq.com.