Strategic Procurement & Vendor Manager

Solaris is Europe’s leading embedded finance platform, pioneering Banking-as-a-Service to bridge the gap between financial technology and licensed banking. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Berlin, Solaris enables fintechs, digital ecosystems, and multinationals to embed accounts, cards, lending, and payments directly into their own products, creating seamless financial experiences for their users. As a fully licensed German bank, Solaris combines the highest standards of IT security and regulatory resilience with a modular, highly scalable infrastructure.

Today, Solaris is driving the next evolution of financial services by transitioning into an AI-native banking platform, ensuring European businesses can deploy secure, adaptable financial products at scale.

• Support the entire contract lifecycle, renewal, and termination of contracts with vendors and third parties. Ensure that all contractual obligations are met and are aligned with strategic business objectives.
• Contribute to a vendor scoring system that evaluates vendors on a spectrum of criteria including quality, delivery, cost-efficiency, innovation, and sustainability. Use these insights for strategic vendor management, fostering strong relationships, and driving continuous improvement.
• Manage day-to-day operational workflows, ensuring timely, accurate, and efficient delivery of results across all assigned responsibilities.
• Drive end-to-end process ownership for key operational activities, from initiation through to completion and handover.

• Support and manage the RFP process from vendor sourcing to final selection. Craft clear, comprehensive RFP documents that outline the scope, requirements, and the company's expectations. Assess proposals with a critical eye, ensuring selections are based on thorough analysis and alignment with company standards and goals.
• Develop a proactive approach to sourcing vendors by identifying potential suppliers through market research, industry trends, and networking. Establish a pre-qualification system to ensure vendors meet organizational standards before entering the RFP process.
• Leverage a structured evaluation framework to ensure the vendor selection process is transparent, objective, and fair. Facilitate cross-functional evaluation teams to ensure diverse perspectives are considered, leading to informed decision-making. 

• Maintain a centralized, easily accessible Single Source of Truth (SSoT) for all procurement-and vendor management related information, including contracts, vendor data, and performance metrics. Ensure the SSoT is regularly updated to reflect the latest information, facilitating real-time decision-making and reporting.

• Develop a comprehensive reporting framework that delivers clear, actionable insights to stakeholders. Reports should cover aspects supporting strategic decision-making.
• Support Contract Owners in vendor management, regularly reviewing vendor performance, conducting performance dialogues, and collaborating on improvement plans.

• Collaborate with business process management teams to map out procurement processes, identifying inefficiencies and areas for improvement. Implement best practices in process optimization, leveraging technology to streamline operations and enhance effectiveness.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement within the procurement function. Encourage innovation and experimentation with new processes and technologies, always with the aim of improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing service quality.

• Ensure procurement activities are conducted with the high standards of transparency and accountability, making audit readiness a priority. Maintain records and documentation to facilitate smooth internal and external audit processes.
• Work closely with audit teams to provide necessary information and support during audits. Address any findings with immediate corrective actions, reinforcing the organization's commitment to compliance and best practices.

Depending on your level of experience, your responsibilities and scope of role will range. We don’t care much about fancy titles, but rather about real personal and professional development, as laid out in our learning framework. Let’s figure together out how you can contribute to our team.

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related field is required. A Master's degree in a relevant field is highly preferred, indicating advanced knowledge and skills in procurement and supply chain management. 
• Some experience with CLM software to streamline contract management processes, from creation through draft, signature, execution, analysis, renewal, and termination as well as advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
  
• Experience in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems like SAP for procurement processes, inventory management, and financial tracking.
• Skilled for creating dashboards and reports that visualize procurement data trends, spend analysis, and supplier performance.
• Deep understanding of contract management principles, strategies, and best practices.
• Project management skills, with the ability to lead procurement projects, manage timelines, and coordinate cross-functional teams.
• Experience in strategic sourcing methodologies, supplier evaluation, and selection processes. Ability to develop sourcing strategies that align with business objectives and minimize risks.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyze procurement data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Fluent proficiency in both German and English is strictly required; German is essential for navigating local regulatory frameworks and compliance, while English ensures seamless communication across our global organization. Proficiency in any additional language is considered a plus.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively negotiate with suppliers and communicate with stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
• Ability to understand and consider the perspectives of team members, suppliers, and internal stakeholders, fostering a positive working environment.
• Proactive and hands-on approach to addressing challenges and driving procurement initiatives.
• Skilled in managing and resolving conflicts that may arise during negotiations or in supplier relationships.
• Strong negotiation skills, with the ability to secure favorable terms and build beneficial supplier relationships.
• Comfortable working with AI tools, thinking critically about AI outputs, and contributing to a culture of responsible AI use. We expect you to demonstrate comfort with AI-assisted workflows and a willingness to continuously develop their AI capabilities as the technology evolves.