Procurement Manager

About the role

As the first dedicated Procurement Manager at Upvest, you will move our vendor management from a decentralized model to a centralized, professional powerhouse. You will own the entire lifecycle of our partnerships - from initial sourcing and technical vetting to contract expiration management. Reporting to the Head of Network, you will bridge the gap between operational needs, financial discipline, and regulatory compliance.

What you'll do

• Centralized Procurement Ownership: Act as the sole lead for all procurement activities at Upvest, managing the full lifecycle for Indirect Spend (SaaS, IT, Services) and providing strategic and administrative support for Direct Spend (Trading, Custody, Market Data).
• Procurement Tool Product Owner: Act as the company-wide administrator for our procurement tool, responsible for its further setup, creating internal work instructions, and training stakeholders.
• Policy & Process Architecture: Build and enhance Upvest's procurement policies and processes, including a risk-tiered decision tree, a fast-track review path, and standardised business case templates.
• Contract Lifecycle Management: Proactively manage contract expirations and notice periods, partnering with internal business owners well in advance of deadlines to ensure informed "renew vs. cancel" decisions.
• Regulatory & Risk Guardrail: Work closely with our 2nd-line Outsourcing Management to ensure compliance with MaRisk/DORA/NIS2/KRITIS.
• Technical Sourcing: Leverage your understanding of cloud infrastructure (e.g., GCP) to challenge technical spend and negotiate favorable Service Level Agreements.
• Finance Partnership: Maintain close collaboration with the Finance team to ensure all procurement activities align with company budgets and financial reporting.

What you'll need

• 5+ years in procurement or strategic sourcing, ideally within a high-growth Fintech or a regulated financial institution.
• An understanding of IT infrastructure and cloud providers — you speak the language of both Finance and Engineering.
• Deeply detail-driven with a process mindset; you thrive on creating order out of chaos and enjoy writing policies while remaining practical and solution-oriented.
• Comfortable setting the procurement strategy while simultaneously handling the administrative execution.
• Experience with Procurement Automation Tools.
• Ability to drive adoption across teams — you introduce structure without creating friction.
• Fluent in English and German.
• Based in Berlin (mandatory).

What they offer

• 30 days of annual leave plus sports benefits and confidential professional coaching.
• Work remotely abroad for up to 183 days a year; one-month paid sabbatical after every 4 years at Upvest.
• Personal development budget with freedom to decide how to use it.
• Hybrid or remote work across European hubs in Berlin, London, or Tallinn with a home/office setup budget.
• Competitive compensation and equity.