Head of Procurement - Ashby

Ashby is looking for a Head of Procurement to build a fast, simple, and intelligent procurement process from the ground up. In this role, you will design systems that route vendor decisions to the right stakeholders when risks call for it, while staying out of the way on smaller, low-risk purchases. This is an individual contributor (IC) ownership role operating with significant autonomy.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and administer Ashby’s procurement process from the ground up: fast and frictionless by default, with intelligent escalation pathways that pull in IT, Legal, Security, Finance, and Founder review when needed.
• Create a clear, consolidated view of company-wide vendor spend.
• Tune and administer existing procurement tools, and evaluate replacement options as renewals arise.
• Lead negotiation and contract structuring on large and complex vendor relationships, directly or in close partnership with business leaders.
• Equip business leaders with tools and guardrails to directly own their vendor relationships.
• Partner with IT, Legal, Security, and Finance to design and refine escalation processes.

Requirements

• Significant Experience: Proven track record in procurement or vendor management within a fast-moving, high-growth tech environment.
• Systems Thinking: Excited about designing fast, efficient procurement systems as well as negotiating critical contracts.
• Bias for Speed & Simplicity: Focused on enabling speed without over-indexing on process for minor edge cases.
• Greenfield Mindset: Comfortable building playbooks and structures from scratch in an ambiguous environment.
• Relationship-Minded Negotiator: Skilled at securing strong deal economics without souring essential vendor relationships.
• Principled Perspective: Strong, well-reasoned opinions on routing frameworks, vendor evaluations, and procurement best practices.

Who Shouldn't Apply

• You expect a mature, established process to step into and maintain.
• You treat negotiation as a win-at-all-costs game at the expense of vendor partnerships.
• You want to be the required approver for every purchase rather than equipping teams to move fast within guardrails.
• You need close oversight to prioritize tasks and identify risk areas.
• You treat every buying decision with the same level of scrutiny regardless of risk profile.
• You require a team to feel effective; this is an IC role for the foreseeable future.

Interview Process

• 30-min Screening with Recruiting
• 45-min Hiring Manager Interview with Shane (VP of Finance & Ops)
• Take-home Assignment
• 45-min Take-Home Debrief
• Final Round (2.5 hours)

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity with a 10-year exercise window for stock options
• Unlimited PTO (4 weeks recommended per year)
• 12 weeks of fully paid family leave (US)
• Top-notch health insurance with 100% premium coverage for employees and dependents (US)
• Generous equipment, software, and office furniture budget
• $100/month education budget plus conference coverage with manager approval