AVP, Global Procurement Desk Leader

Company Overview:

Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry’s most complete digitally enabled product suites. Our experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, outdoors, pet and more.

• We have recently been ranked #1 among Philippine's Best Companies to Work for by Great Place to Work.
• We provide best-in-class employee benefits and programs that cater to work-life integration and overall well-being.
• We provide career advancement and upskilling opportunities for all to take up leadership roles.

Organizational Overview:

This role is in the Procurement within Source to Pay (S2P) organization in Synchrony. Source to Pay team provides centralized supplier procurement, contracting, & ongoing management support across all Synchrony Functions delivering those products and services needed to be successful in our daily operations.

Role Summary/Purpose:

Lead the global Procurement Buyers within the Source-to-Pay function, managing all purchasing activities within COUPA. This role oversees a blended team of Strategic Buyers and Purchasing Agents, ensuring every purchase from routine transactions to complex, high-value commodities deliver maximum value and strict compliance.

The Buyer Leader will drive the evolution of the procurement organization into a future-ready, technology-enabled purchasing function, leveraging advanced analytics, automation, and AI-driven insights to continuously improve efficiency, speed, and business impact.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage end-to-end purchasing operations within COUPA, ensuring catalog integrity, timely requisition processing, and seamless integration with dependent systems.
• Establish structured methods to proactively engage with business functions - regular planning sessions, category trend reviews, and data-driven demand forecasting—to anticipate needs before they arise.
• Lead catalog management, driving accuracy, compliance, and user adoption while expanding preferred-supplier content and minimizing off-catalog purchases.
• Identify, monitor, and manage tail spend, including P-card transactions and other non-catalog purchases, by analyzing spend patterns, consolidating suppliers, and implementing corrective actions to improve compliance and value capture.
• Translate business priorities into forward-looking purchasing strategies, recommending optimal approaches to senior management.
• Expand oversight to complex, high-impact commodities (e.g., Marketing & Advertising, Events & Signage, IT Hardware/Software, Specialized Services), balancing cost, risk, and innovation.
• Champion the transformation to a next-generation procurement model, embedding AI, advanced analytics, and automation to streamline requisition creation, spend analysis, and supplier selection.
• Identify emerging technologies and industry best practices, piloting and implementing those that enhance speed, transparency, and value.
• Drive continuous process optimization so the team remains agile and scalable as business needs evolve.
• Ensure every purchase is backed by complete supporting documentation and complies with corporate policies, regulatory requirements, and audit standards.
• Create simple, robust agreement frameworks for new commodities and monitor adherence through automated dashboards and real-time metrics.
• Monitor off-catalog spending, identify patterns, and implement corrective actions.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Strategic Buyers and Purchasing Agents, setting clear performance metrics and fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and professional growth.
• Monitor throughput and quality to meet or exceed service-level targets, including Tier-2 customer care.
• Encourage cross-training and upskilling to keep the team aligned with emerging procurement technologies and market trends.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Postgraduate degree; MBA or equivalent preferred.
• 7–10+ years of progressive experience in indirect procurement with strong expertise in COUPA or other ERP procurement tools purchasing operations.
• Minimum 3 years strong People Leadership experience in managing diverse, multi-level procurement teams.
• Proven track record in complex, multi-commodity sourcing and large-scale procurement transformation projects.
• Demonstrated success in applying advanced analytics, automation, or AI-driven solutions to procurement.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management capabilities, with the ability to influence senior management through data-driven insights.

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Deep COUPA purchasing operations expertise (end-to-end requisition-to-PO execution, catalog integrity, workflow/SLA management, and dependent system integration).
• Indirect procurement leadership with 7–10+ years’ experience managing purchasing activities across multiple functions and geographies.
• Catalog management & compliance control (preferred supplier enablement, minimizing off catalog spend, documentation rigor, audit/policy adherence).
• Tail-spend management including P-card and non-catalog spend analysis, supplier consolidation, and corrective action implementation.
• Data-driven procurement management (demand forecasting, spend analytics, dashboards/metrics, translating insights into purchasing strategy).
• People leadership & performance management (leading Strategic Buyers/Purchasing Agents, coaching, throughput/quality targets, Tier-2 customer care).

Desired Skills/Knowledge:

• Procurement transformation experience building a future-ready, technology-enabled buying function at scale.
• Advanced analytics / automation / AI application in procurement (streamlining requisition creation, spend analysis, supplier selection, real-time reporting).
• Complex, high-impact commodity knowledge (e.g., Marketing & Advertising, Events & Signage, IT Hardware/Software, Specialized Services) with cost/risk/innovation balance.
• Strong stakeholder influence with ability to advise senior leaders using structured planning, category trend reviews, and data-backed recommendations.
• Agreement/framework development for new commodities and monitoring adherence via automated controls and dashboards.
• MBA or equivalent and/or exposure to emerging procurement tech and industry best practices (pilots, adoption, continuous improvement).

Work Timings:

05:30 AM – 02:30 PM Eastern Time

(WORK TIMINGS: This role qualifies for Enhanced Flexibility offered in Synchrony and will require the incumbent to be available between 06:00 AM Eastern Time – 11:30 AM Eastern Time (timings are anchored to US Eastern hours and will adjust twice a year locally). This window is for meetings with India and US teams. The remaining hours will be flexible for the employee to choose. Exceptions may apply periodically due to business needs.

For Internal Applicants:

• Understand the criteria or mandatory skills required for the role, before applying
• Inform your manager and HRM before applying for any role on Workday
• Ensure that your professional profile is updated (fields such as education, prior experience, other skills) and it is mandatory to upload your updated resume (Word or PDF format)
• Must not be on any corrective action plan (First Formal/Final Formal, LPP)
• L4 to L7 Employees who have completed 12 months in the organization and 12 months in current role and level are only eligible.
• L8+ Employees who have completed with at least 12 months in current role and level are eligible.

Grade/Level: 11

Job Family Group: