Head of Procurement

Hi, I’m Shane and I’m the VP of Finance & Ops at Ashby. We move fast and thoughtfully at Ashby, and we want buying to feel the same way. Too many companies build procurement processes that slow the business down in the name of saving a few dollars or eliminating outlier risks. We want a process that’s simple and fast by default yet intelligent enough to create friction where it’s needed and eliminate it where it’s not. That means building systems that route vendor decisions to the right stakeholders when risks call for it, and gets out of the way when it doesn’t. This role isn’t about becoming the single point of approval for every purchase, but rather it’s about designing the system and judgment that enables our company to move quickly on the small stuff while making sure complicated and higher-risk decisions get the input and oversight they deserve. This is an ownership role. You’ll operate with a significant amount of autonomy in shaping how procurement works at Ashby.

Your initial responsibilities will include:

Designing, implementing, and administering 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 the vendor, contract, or spend calls for it.

Creating a clear, consolidated view of company-wide vendor spend.

Tuning and administering our existing procurement tool, and evaluating replacement options as it comes up for renewal.

Leading negotiation and contract structuring on our largest and most complex vendor relationships, either directly or in close partnership with the business leader who owns the relationship.

Equipping business leaders with the tools and guardrails to own the vendor relationships that make sense for them to own directly.

Partnering with IT, Legal, Security, and Finance to design the escalation process and ensure it’s working as intended.

You should apply if:

You have significant experience, primarily in procurement or vendor management with a high-growth tech environment. You’ve done this before, not just procurement, but procurement at a company that was really moving quickly.

You think in systems. You’re as excited about designing a fast and efficient procurement process as you are about negotiating a critical contract.

You have a bias towards speed and simplicity. You’re allergic to processes that slow everyone down to guard against a small number of edge cases.

You’re comfortable with ambiguity and building the playbooks on your own. While we have a process and some structure in place, there is a lot of greenfield and you’ll need the confidence and perspective to build for the future.

You take pride in getting the economics right on a deal but not at the risk of ruining an important vendor relationship.

You have strong opinions on what good looks like. Whether it’s a review-routing framework or a vendor evaluation methodology, your views are rooted in principled thinking.

Why you shouldn’t apply:

You expect a mature, established process to step into. What exists today needs real tuning and reshaping, not just light maintenance. If you’d rather inherit a finished system than rebuild one, this won’t be the right fit.

You treat negotiation as a win-at-all-costs game. Getting good economics matters, but not by squeezing a vendor so hard that the relationship is soured. Being on the other side of this isn’t pleasant and it’s important you are aligned with this. If your instinct is to optimize for the deal over the relationship, you’ll create problems that we’re trying to prevent.

You want to be the approver for every purchase. If your instinct is to insert yourself into every buying decision rather than equip the company to move fast within the right guardrails, you’ll be fighting the design of this role.

You need close oversight to know what to prioritize. You’ll be expected to identify which vendor relationships, contract negotiations, and process gaps deserve more attention.

Your default is to treat every buying decision with the same level of scrutiny. If you can’t tell the difference between a contract that deserves a thorough review and one that should be automatic, you’ll either slow the business down or miss the risks that matter.

You need a team to feel effective. This is an IC role for now and likely for a long time.

Interview Plan:

30 min with Recruiting