Procurement Manager

Summary

**About Primer** Fixing our K\-12 education system is a civilizationally\-important problem. We believe that all of our problems — including the ones that dominate the headlines — are downstream of education. We have a simple thesis on how to solve it: empower 1,000's of educators to launch microschools in their communities. We believe the historical tradeoff between price (tuition) and quality is a false dichotomy. PrimerOS automates and eliminates much of the costs of traditional schools. Microschools have a structural advantage — asset\-light real estate — which means much lower capex and opex. You put it together, and you get something that's never existed before: a world\-class education that's accessible to normal American families and can rapidly scale. **About The Role** Primer is seeking an experienced Procurement Manager to establish and operate a scalable procurement function in support of our growing national school network. Reporting to the Head of Finance, this is a hands\-on, individual\-contributor role with end\-to\-end ownership of sourcing, purchasing workflows, and vendor management. You'll be our first dedicated procurement hire, responsible for building structure while maintaining speed and flexibility in a fast\-growing environment. This role will partner closely with Finance, Accounts Payable, Facilities, and Operations to drive disciplined purchasing, vendor standardization, and on\-time delivery across a diverse set of spend categories, playing a critical part in improving cost discipline, reducing last\-minute purchasing, and creating consistency as we scale. **Responsibilities** * Own procurement intake, demand planning, and purchase order execution across all departments and spend categories * Partner closely with Finance and Accounts Payable to ensure purchases align with approved budgets, accounting controls, and payment processes * Establish and maintain lightweight procurement workflows, intake processes, and purchasing standards to support consistency and financial controls without slowing operations * Lead procurement planning for new school launches, annual refreshes, and mid\-year needs across the campus lifecycle * Develop and maintain standardized bills of materials (BOMs) for each stage of campus operations, spanning instructional supplies, furniture, technology, and equipment * Drive vendor consolidation and bulk purchasing strategies by sourcing and negotiating with commercial suppliers to improve pricing, reliability, and service levels * Transition organizational spend (\>90% target) from retail or ad hoc purchasing to standardized, commercial vendor relationships through preferred vendor programs * Own procurement and contract administration for curriculum and instructional vendors, including books, software, and subscription\-based services * Partner with the education team to source, negotiate, issue purchase orders, and manage renewals for curriculum providers in alignment with academic and budgetary priorities * Monitor vendor performance, manage relationships, and drive continuous improvement in procurement efficiency and cost savings ***What we’re looking for*** * 4\+ years of progressive experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or vendor management within an asset\-heavy or multi\-site organization (education experience is a plus but not required) * Demonstrated experience supporting facilities, real estate, or operations\-driven purchasing categories with comfort owning the full procurement lifecycle * Strong working knowledge of Excel and experience working within ERP and spend\-management tools (e.g., NetSuite, Ramp, or similar) * Proven stakeholder\-management skills with the ability to balance end\-user needs while enforcing budget discipline and procurement standards * Comfortable operating as a team\-of\-one and energized by building structure where little exists * Excited to own a broad and diverse purchasing portfolio across multiple spend categories with a hands\-on approach that blends strategy with day\-to\-day execution ***Why this role may not be a fit*** * If you prefer working within an established procurement team with defined processes rather than building a function from the ground up * If you're seeking deep specialization in a single subdomain (e.g., construction\-only, equipment\-only, or software\-only procurement) rather than managing diverse spend categories * If you prefer a purely strategic role over one that requires hands\-on, day\-to\-day execution and operational ownership * If you're looking for a role with direct reports or management responsibilities in the near term (this will be an individual contributor role for the next 12–18 months) * If you're uncomfortable with ambiguity and prefer highly structured environments with established workflows and clear precedents *If this sounds like you, please apply!*