Thayer Infrastructure Services Group
Location: Central Ohio (hybrid; travel to operating company locations as needed)
Reports to: Chief Financial Officer
Department: Finance
Position Summary
Thayer Infrastructure Services (TIS) Group is a growing platform of utility, fiber, and wireless infrastructure construction companies. As the platform has scaled, purchasing has remained decentralized across our operating companies. We are creating a central procurement function to bring visibility, discipline, and leverage to company-wide spend on materials, equipment, subcontractors, and indirect goods and services.
The Director of Procurement will build this function from the ground up: establishing procurement policy, consolidating vendors, negotiating platform-wide agreements, and partnering with operating company leaders to capture savings without slowing down the field. This is a hands-on builder role for someone who can both set strategy and personally run the first wave of negotiations.
Key Responsibilities
Build the Function
Design and implement a central procurement operating model appropriate for a multi-entity construction platform, balancing central leverage with operating company autonomy and field responsiveness
Establish procurement policies, approval thresholds, and competitive bidding requirements, integrated with the company's existing purchase order process and spend management platform
Develop spend visibility and reporting across all operating companies using ERP and spend data; establish baseline spend by category and identify savings priorities
Strategic Sourcing and Vendor Management
Lead sourcing and negotiation for major spend categories, including construction materials (wire, cable, conduit, fiber, poles, hardware), equipment and equipment rental, fuel, fleet parts and services, PPE and safety supplies, small tools and consumables, and indirect categories (IT, facilities, professional services)
Consolidate the vendor base across operating companies; negotiate master agreements, rebate programs, and preferred pricing that individual operating companies can draw on
Establish vendor qualification, onboarding, and performance management standards, including insurance, safety, and compliance requirements for suppliers and subcontractors
Partner with operations leadership on subcontractor procurement standards and rate benchmarking
Purchasing Operations
Oversee day-to-day purchasing support to operating companies, including PO compliance, exception handling, and buyer support as the function scales
Drive adoption of procurement processes in the field through training, tools, and clear escalation paths; measure and report PO compliance and maverick spend
Coordinate with accounts payable on vendor master data integrity, payment terms optimization, and three-way match discipline
Working Capital and Cost Performance
Own procurement's contribution to EBITDA and working capital: negotiated savings, payment terms, and rebate capture
Establish and report a savings measurement methodology credible to Finance and operating company leadership
Support M&A integration by extending procurement programs to newly acquired companies
Qualifications
Required
10+ years of progressive procurement/supply chain experience, with at least 3 years leading a procurement function or major category portfolio
Experience in construction, utility services, industrial services, or another field-based, project-driven business; comfort with decentralized operations and field culture
Demonstrated track record of building or significantly upgrading a procurement function, with quantified savings results
Strong negotiation skills across materials, equipment, and services categories
Working knowledge of procure-to-pay processes and systems; ability to partner effectively with accounting on controls
Strong analytical skills; able to build spend baselines and business cases from imperfect data
Bachelor's degree in supply chain, business, finance,…