Senior Procurement Manager

Job Title: Senior Procurement & Program Manager – Digital Strategy RFP

Job Type: 4-to-6-month contract

Location: Toronto, ON (downtown)

Work Model: Hybrid (3 days onsite)

Target Start Date: January 2027

Rate: $72/hr T4 OR $90/hr Inc.

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Procurement & Program Manager to support their enterprise-wide Digital Strategy initiative. This project-based engagement will support the Strategic Procurement lead in managing an end-to-end competitive RFP process to identify and select a premier consulting or digital agency partner for our client’s Digital Strategy. The successful candidate will take ownership of coordinating up to 16 consulting and digital agency vendors while driving requirements gathering, vendor qualification, objective evaluations, executive alignment, commercial negotiations and final contract award. This is a hands-on leadership position requiring someone who can manage complex procurement initiatives, engage senior stakeholders and independently develop the materials, evaluation models, presentations and governance processes required to deliver a successful RFP.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with Digital, Marketing, IT, Data, Finance, Operations, Legal and Procurement leaders to define project objectives, scope, requirements and deliverables.
• Design and administer weighted evaluation matrices covering domain expertise, solution feasibility, team quality, commercial proposals and cultural fit.
• Manage communications, qualification, NDA coordination, information distribution and briefing logistics for up to 16 vendors.
• Establish and manage a controlled vendor Q&A process, including aggregating, sanitizing and distributing supplier questions anonymously.
• Coordinate vendor longlisting, shortlisting, evaluation scoring, finalist presentations, workshops and reference checks.
• Train internal evaluators, normalize scoring, facilitate debriefs and maintain fair, transparent and auditable procurement records.
• Prepare executive briefings, recommendations, risk mitigation plans and Steering Committee/C-suite decision materials.
• Lead total cost of ownership (TCO) comparisons, pricing normalization, Best and Final Offer (BAFO) discussions, contract markups and transition handoff.
• Maintain the master RFP project plan, decision log, risk register, vendor tracker and executive status reporting.
• Facilitate stakeholder meetings and scoring sessions, resolving conflicting priorities and requirements.
• Ensure all vendors receive consistent communications and are managed through a fair and structured procurement process.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, technology procurement or enterprise program management.
• Demonstrated ownership of large, complex competitive RFPs from initial requirements gathering through vendor selection, award and contracting.
• Experience managing multi-vendor sourcing processes and high-volume supplier communications.
• Strong commercial analysis capabilities, including TCO modelling, rate-card normalization and vendor negotiations.
• Proven executive-level facilitation and presentation experience with C-suite, VP and cross-functional stakeholder groups.
• Working knowledge of digital transformation, customer experience, web and application architectures, cloud, data/AI, omnichannel strategies and operating-model redesign.
• Strong understanding of procurement governance, confidentiality, ethics, fairness and audit-trail requirements.
• Exceptional written communication, organization, diplomacy and impartial decision-making skills.
• Ability to operate independently as a hands-on program lead, developing project materials, evaluation models, trackers and executive presentations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within financial services, capital markets, exchanges, regulated enterprises or similarly complex procurement environments.
• Experience sourcing global management consultancies, technology integrators and boutique digital agencies within the same competitive process.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Information Systems or a related discipline. Master's degree or MBA considered an asset.
• PMP, CPSM or CIPS certification.
• Experience with formal Steering Committee governance, vendor reference checks, vendor debriefs and implementation transition planning.