About Northern Trust:
Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.
Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.
The Head of Procurement Governance & Compliance is a senior leadership role responsible for designing, implementing, and sustaining a comprehensive governance, audit, and compliance framework across Global Procurement and Third-Party Management. This role serves as the First Line of Defense (1LOD) subject matter leader, accountable for audit readiness, regulatory change management, risk and control effectiveness, and remediation execution.
The role partners closely with the Global Sourcing, Third-Party Management Office (TPMO), Risk, Compliance, Internal Audit, and business stakeholders to ensure strong control discipline, timely issue resolution, and transparent executive reporting.
Major Duties :
Governance, Risk & Compliance Leadership
- Design, implement, and sustain a comprehensive Procurement and Third-Party governance and compliance program, aligned with enterprise risk and regulatory requirements.
- Implement and maintain the Risk and Control Matrix (RACM) for Procurement and Third-Party Management, ensuring control clarity, ownership, and operating effectiveness.
- Establish and maintain a structured Regulatory Change Management intake and oversight process for Procurement and Third-Party programs.
- Launch and manage internal governance dashboards, reporting, and metrics to enable proactive monitoring of audit status, risks, issues, and remediation progress.
- Track, monitor, and report on self-identified issues, ensuring timely escalation and resolution.
Audit Management & Readiness
- Lead and efficiently complete Third-Party, Procurement, and TPMO audits, serving as the primary 1LOD owner.
- Design and execute a sustainable audit readiness program, including control documentation, evidence standards, and walkthrough preparedness.
- Proactively address audit findings and regulatory feedback, ensuring timely and effective remediation.
- Continue to mature the audit function, driving consistency, discipline, and continuous improvement.
- Establish and oversee a 1LOD testing program within Third-Party Management to proactively validate control operating effectiveness.
Risk & Control Execution (RCE) Oversight
- Sustain the 1LOD RCE Quality Control (QC) process for Procurement and Third-Party deliverables prior to submission.
- Partner with the TPMO Control Tower to support RCE submission packages and executive memos, as required.
- Provide bi-weekly RCE status updates to the Chief Procurement Officer.
- Deliver monthly executive reporting to the CPO on audit outcomes, issue remediation status, and emerging risk themes.
Policies, Procedures & Standards
- Review, maintain, and enhance Procurement and Third-Party policies, standards, and SOPs, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations and operational reality.
- Develop new SOPs as needed to support new regulations, control enhancements, or operating model changes.
- Ensure policy and procedure governance is consistently embedded across Global Procurement.
Stakeholder Management
- Act as a trusted advisor to the CPO, TPMO, Risk, Compliance, and Internal Audit teams.
- Represent Procurement in regulatory discussions, audits, and control forums as the authoritative 1LOD leader.
Knowledge :
- Audit & Regulatory Readiness
- Risk & Control Design (RACM, RCE, 1LOD Testing)
- Third-Party Risk & Procurement Compliance
- Executive Reporting & Governance Metrics
- Policy & Procedure Governance
- Stakeholder Influence & Cross-Functional Leadership
Experience :
- 10+ years of experience in procurement governance, risk management, audit, compliance, or third-party risk, preferably within financial services or a highly regulated environment.
- Demonstrated experience leading regulatory exams, audits, issue remediation, and control programs within a First Line of Defense model.
- Deep knowledge of Third-Party Risk Management, Procurement controls, RACMs, RCSA, audit lifecycle, and regulatory change management.
- Proven ability to design governance frameworks and translate regulatory expectations into scalable operating practices.
- Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate clearly with senior leaders and regulators.
Salary Range:
$114,700 - 194,900 USD
Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.
Working with Us:
As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.
Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.
We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater
Reasonable accommodation
Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com.
We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.
Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.