Director - Procurement Systems and Analytics

Description

We believe that inclusion helps us thrive and grow at United across our collaborative Finance teams consisting of Financial Planning & Analysis, Internal Audit, Treasury, Global Procurement, Controllership, Investor Relations and more. These teams provide the financial fuel that keeps our operation running from providing detailed analyses of financial planning, performance, and forecasts to managing our investments and financial strategies. Our Finance team plays an integral role in making our airline profitable and successful by meeting our financial goals.

Job overview and responsibilities

The Director - Procurement Systems & Analytics is responsible for leading the strategy, governance, optimization, and continuous improvement of procurement technology platforms and analytics capabilities. This role drives digital transformation across the Source-to-Pay (S2P) ecosystem, enabling data-driven decision-making, operational excellence, compliance, and value creation across the enterprise.

The Director also ensures procurement systems and data architectures support proactive supplier risk identification, monitoring, and mitigation. Partnering closely with Procurement, Finance, IT, Legal, Risk, and business stakeholders, the Director ensures platforms are integrated, secure, scalable, and capable of delivering predictive insights that protect business continuity and enterprise value

The Director partners closely with its stakeholders across the organization to ensure procurement systems are scalable, integrated, secure, and aligned with business strategy. This leader oversees procurement analytics, reporting, automation, and system innovation initiatives to enhance visibility, performance, and savings realization.

• Procurement Systems Strategy:
  • Develop and execute the roadmap for procurement systems (e.g., S2P, P2P, contract lifecycle management, supplier management tools)
  • Lead system optimization, upgrades, enhancements, and integrations with ERP and enterprise platforms
  • Establish governance, controls, and data standards to ensure system integrity, compliance, and policy adherence
  • Drive adoption and change management across procurement technologies
  • Serve as the primary liaison between Procurement and IT for system priorities and support
• Digital Transformation & Innovation:
  • Identify opportunities to digitize and automate procurement processes
  • Lead implementation of new tools and technologies to enhance efficiency and visibility
  • Benchmark industry best practices and emerging procurement technologies
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to enable end-to-end process improvements
• Analytics & Data Strategy:
  • Define and implement a procurement analytics strategy aligned with enterprise objectives
  • Oversee spend analytics, supplier performance analytics, savings tracking, compliance reporting, and risk dashboards
  • Build executive-level reporting and KPI frameworks to measure procurement performance and value delivery
  • Leverage advanced analytics, automation, AI/ML, and predictive insights to improve sourcing and supplier decisions
  • Ensure high data quality standards, governance, and master data management
• Supplier Risk Systems & Intelligence (Systems-Focused):
  • Lead the design and enablement of supplier risk analytics frameworks embedded within procurement systems
  • Oversee integration of third-party risk data sources (financial health, geopolitical, ESG, cyber, operational, sanctions, etc.) into procurement platforms
  • Develop automated risk scoring models and dashboards to provide real-time supplier risk visibility
  • Enable early-warning indicators through data monitoring, alerts, and exception reporting
  • Partner with Enterprise Risk, Legal, Compliance, and Cyber teams to ensure supplier risk data is standardized and actionable
  • Drive automation of risk assessments, onboarding due diligence workflows, and periodic risk refresh
  • Establish risk data governance and audit-ready documentation standards within procurement systems
• Leadership:
  • Lead and develop a high performing team, act as a trusted advisor to leadership and stakeholders
  • Influence cross-functional stakeholders to promote a culture of accountability, integrity and compliance

Qualifications

What's needed to succeed (Minimum Qualifications):

• Bachelor's degree
• 8+ years of experience in procurement, supply chain, systems management, or analytics
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing teams and cross-functional initiatives
• Experience leading large-scale system implementations or digital transformations
• Deep knowledge of Source-to-Pay systems (e.g., SAP Ariba, Coupa, Oracle, Jaggaer, etc.)
• Strong working knowledge of procurement analytics, data visualization tools and ERP integration
• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills
• Digital transformation leadership skills
• Change management skills
• Strategic thinking skills
• Data-driven decision-making skills
• Cross-functional collaboration skills
• Executive presence skills
• Operational excellence ability
• Financial & business acumen
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship
• Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification
• Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

What will help you propel from the pack (Preferred Qualifications):

• Master's degree
• Master's degree (MBA, MS in Supply Chain, Analytics, or related field)
• Coupa Certified Administrator / Coupa Implementation Certification
• AI/ML Certifications
• Experience with automation tools (RPA), AI-driven analytics, or advanced data modeling
• Experience in large, matrixed, or global organizations
• Experience implementing AI/automation solutions in procurement environments (e.g., spend classification, contract intelligence, invoice automation, GenAI assistants)
• Knowledge of regulatory, compliance, and audit requirements in complex organizations
• Knowledge of regulatory, ESG, cybersecurity, and third-party risk compliance frameworks