Global Category Manager – Sales Support

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Job Description

About the role :

This role is a member of the Indirect Procurement team and is responsible for developing and executing the global category strategy for Marketing & Sales Support. The role partners closely with Commercial stakeholders to understand business priorities, shape demand, develop sourcing strategies, manage supplier relationships and category contracts, and deliver measurable enterprise value.

The Global Category Manager uses market intelligence, supplier insights, spend analytics, and business requirements to build and continuously evolve the category strategy. The role balances cost, service, innovation, risk, sustainability, and business performance while ensuring solutions support the needs of Commercial teams across markets.

OBJECTIVES:

• Develop and execute the global Marketing & Sales Support category strategy to maximize enterprise value from external spend while balancing financial performance, innovation, service quality, risk, sustainability, and business outcomes.
• Act as a strategic business partner to Commercial stakeholders, influencing how external spend and supplier capabilities are deployed to support business priorities and operational effectiveness.
• Leverage market intelligence, supplier insights, digital capabilities, and data driven decision making to identify opportunities, shape demand, and accelerate value creation.
• Lead cross functional collaboration to translate the category strategy into executable sourcing initiatives, supplier strategies, and measurable business results.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Develop, implement, and continuously evolve the global Marketing & Sales Support category strategy in alignment with enterprise priorities, Commercial objectives, and long-term value creation goals.
• Develop a detailed understanding of category spend, including what is purchased, key demand drivers, supplier concentration, geographic differences, business requirements, and the addressability of spend.
• Use market intelligence, spend analytics, supplier insights, and emerging technologies to identify opportunities, shape demand, and improve category performance.
• Own and manage a multiyear category pipeline across strategic sourcing, demand management, supplier optimization, commercial improvement, and other value opportunities.
• Partner with stakeholders early in the planning process to influence requirements, specifications, service models, supplier strategies, commercial models, and sourcing decisions before commitments are made.
• Lead complex global and regional sourcing initiatives, supplier negotiations, selections, transitions, and contract implementations across Marketing & Sales Support services.
• Develop commercial strategies and models, including pricing frameworks, rate structures, discounts, volume arrangements, incentives, service levels, performance mechanisms, and other approaches that improve transparency, competitiveness, and value.
• Design and manage a supplier ecosystem that balances specialized capabilities, competitiveness, service quality, innovation, resilience, performance, and evolving business needs.
• Establish supplier segmentation, governance, performance management, business reviews, issue resolution, and strategic relationship management approaches that support continuous improvement and value realization.
• Lead the category commercial contracting strategy, including the development and optimization of Master Service Agreement frameworks that downstream service agreements, Statements of Work, and purchase orders can leverage.
• Manage category spend end to end, including tail spend analysis and the development of appropriate buying channels, preferred supplier approaches, and spend management strategies.
• Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation, standardization, demand management, commercial model optimization, and process improvement where they support business objectives.
• Integrate supplier risk, business continuity, responsible sourcing, quality, privacy, information security, and sustainability considerations into category and supplier strategies.
• Ensure compliance with Procurement policies, contractual obligations, applicable regulatory requirements, and enterprise governance standards.
• Monitor market developments, supplier capabilities, technology, and evolving commercial models that could improve the effectiveness or efficiency of Marketing & Sales Support services.
• Translate the global category strategy into an executable category plan, initiative pipeline, sourcing calendar, supplier roadmap, and stakeholder engagement plan.

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