Procurement Specialist

Smartsheet is looking for an experienced Procurement Specialist to join our Procurement team, partnering closely with Legal, Finance, and Accounting across the Procure-to-Pay process. Our procurement function is in the midst of a transformation, and we want to be upfront about what that means for this role.

Today, much of this work is hands-on and transactional: manually moving requests through intake, creating requisitions and purchase orders, routing contracts for signature, loading documents into our systems, and keeping records current. We are actively working toward intake and orchestration technology that will automate much of that manual work, and we expect the role to evolve over time from process execution toward greater category ownership. We anticipate meaningful improvements within the next year, but we can’t commit to a specific timeline, and that evolution is not guaranteed. Coming into this role, you should expect a significant manual and transactional workload, and a real opportunity to shape how the function matures as the technology and processes come online.

Alongside that day-to-day execution, you’ll also begin acting as a buyer for designated lower-value, low-risk spend categories—owning the outcomes for those categories. As our tooling matures, you’ll increasingly use our procurement platforms as tools to leverage rather than serving as the manual engine behind them. We’re looking for someone who is energized by that trajectory and genuinely comfortable doing the hands-on work required to get there.

This role reports to a Senior Procurement Manager located in the US. This role is eligible for remote work within Costa Rica. You must reside in Costa Rica.

You Will:

Own buying for designated categories

• Act as the buyer for assigned spend categories, evaluating incoming requests for completeness, appropriateness, and alignment to policy before they move forward
• Apply commercial judgment to select vendors, confirm pricing is reasonable, and ensure favorable and consistent payment terms on assigned purchases
• Conduct light negotiation on price, terms, and renewals for lower-value and lower-complexity spend, escalating more complex commercial matters to Procurement Managers
• Own supplier relationships for designated categories, including onboarding, basic performance follow-up, and issue resolution
• Develop and apply category expertise by analyzing spend and volume patterns, identifying consolidation or savings opportunities within your categories

Run and evolve the procurement workflow

• Execute the day-to-day Procure-to-Pay mechanics—creating and processing requisitions and purchase orders, routing contracts for signature, loading documents into our systems, and keeping records accurate. Much of this work is manual today and will be a meaningful part of the role until automation matures
• As intake and orchestration technology comes online, help transition these tasks into the platform—owning the exceptions that fall outside the automated path, troubleshooting workflow issues, and partnering with the team to refine how the platform routes and assembles work
• Maintain the integrity of procurement records, contract metadata, and renewal tracking so the team has reliable visibility into the portfolio
• Identify friction points in workflows and recommend improvements that strengthen consistency, cycle time, and stakeholder experience as the operating model matures

Partner with the business

• Serve as a responsive, knowledgeable point of contact for business owners on procurement requests within your categories—clarifying needs, setting expectations, and advising on the right path forward
• Support broader RFx and sourcing activities led by Procurement Managers, including documenting bid comparisons and capturing negotiated pricing and terms
• Other Duties as Assigned

You Have:

• 1-2+ years of experience in procurement, purchasing, or a Procure-to-Pay function, including some exposure to buying, vendor interaction, or commercial decision-making
• Genuine comfort with hands-on, transactional work—you understand that coming into this role means a significant manual workload today, that automation is expected but not on a guaranteed timeline, and you can stay effective and positive as processes change
• Sound commercial judgment—you can evaluate whether a request makes sense, whether pricing and terms are reasonable, and when to push back or escalate
• Hands-on functional proficiency with Coupa (requisitions, POs, approvals, supplier records)
• Demonstrated commitment to strong operational process and workflow discipline—you follow processes consistently, flag exceptions early, and look for ways to make work more efficient
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to engage clearly with business owners, vendors, legal counsel, and procurement staff
• High degree of organization and the ability to manage multiple concurrent requests without losing track of details
• Customer-service mindset with internal stakeholders: responsive, professional, and solution-oriented
• Strong attention to detail to ensure accuracy across systems, contracts, and reporting
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Proficiency with Google Workspace or equivalent office software
• Willingness to deliver other functional duties as required 
• You must reside in Costa Rica.

Nice to Have:

• Demonstrated proficiency leveraging AI tools in day-to-day work (e.g., contract review, automations, reports, market research)
• Experience applying AI to procurement-specific use cases such as intake triage, supplier screening, or sourcing acceleration
• Hands-on experience with intake and orchestration platforms in the modern procurement stack (e.g., Zip, Oro Labs, Omnea, Levelpath) and how they shape upstream procurement workflows
• Experience with Smartsheet