Vice President, Procurement & Vendor Management - Canada Remote

OVERVIEW

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Vice President, Procurement & Vendor Management is a member of the executive leadership team and is accountable for the enterprise-wide procurement strategy, governance framework, and vendor ecosystem for Circular Materials across Canada. As the executive accountable for the procurement function that underpins CM’s value proposition to producers, the VP sets the strategy for sourcing the services and infrastructure that deliver Canada’s packaging and paper EPR programs across NS, NB, ON, AB and YT.

This role represents a strategic shift for Procurement from a primarily administrative support function to an enterprise value-creation function focused on strategic cost savings, disciplined spend management, supplier performance, and long-term financial stewardship. The role is accountable for enterprise procurement across a national vendor ecosystem, including third-party spend management, service provider performance, and contract oversight for the services and infrastructure that support CM’s EPR programs.

This is a full-time, salary paid position, which requires residency in Canada.
RESPONSIBILITIES

Enterprise Procurement Strategy & Executive Leadership

- Develop and execute a multi-year, enterprise procurement and vendor management strategy aligned with organizational strategy, regulatory obligations, and sustainability commitments.

- Provide executive oversight of a national procurement and vendor management portfolio consisting of 2,500+ contracts and 1,000+ service providers, ensuring procurement strategies support operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and service continuity.

- Serve as the executive authority on procurement governance, supply market strategy, and vendor risk across all provinces and territories.

- Provide strategic counsel to the CEO and executive team on market dynamics, supply chain risk, cost forecasting, and long-term sourcing strategy.

- Reposition procurement from an administrative function to a strategic enterprise function, driving supplier value, innovation, operational reliability, and risk mitigation.

- Lead procurement transformation initiatives including systems modernization, analytics, category management maturity, and process optimization.

- Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing national procurement organization with clear succession planning and leadership development.

- Provide leadership while operating within complex, multi-party governance environments where key operational, commercial, and procurement decisions incorporate the contributions of multiple independent organizations.

Procurement Governance, Risk & Compliance

- Design and steward a robust, enterprise-wide procurement governance framework ensuring fairness, transparency, audit readiness, and compliance with federal and provincial regulatory requirements.

- Establish risk management protocols addressing contractual, operational, financial, reputational, and ESG exposure.

- Oversee competitive bidding standards, contract templates, delegated authorities, policy adherence, and procurement controls.

- Provide enterprise-wide market intelligence and supply market assessments to support strategic decision making.

- Provide enterprise procurement reporting, strategic insights, and recommendations to the CEO and Board.

- Ensure procurement processes withstand regulatory review and producer/public transparency expectations.

- Ensure procurement practices uphold the highest standards of ethics, accountability, and public trust.

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

- Oversee the full lifecycle of high-value, complex, and nationally significant sourcing initiatives – including collection services, post-collection processing contracts, transportation & transfer, and IT technology and services.

- Approve category strategies that optimize total cost of ownership and long-term service reliability.

- Lead complex negotiations involving multi-year, multi-