Sage: Global Category Manager – Marketing in London, UK

The Global Category Manager is accountable for the leadership of specific Marketing spend sub-categories across the Sage Group, which may include media, creative agencies, production and PR.

To be successful in this role, you’ll need to be an effective influencer and negotiator, used to working with senior internal stakeholders up to VP and EVP Level. You’ll have experience of creating and deploying sourcing strategies, including leading all RFP activities for their category and all supplier negotiations – both commercially and contractually – to ensure that savings targets are met, risk is understood and managed, and supplier performance meets or exceeds business needs.

•  Spend accountability for up to £100m per annum
  • Accountable for the development of category strategies that align with company strategy
  • Ensuring we secure the optimal supplier base to meet long term business needs
  • Ensuring relevant market trends are understood by the business stakeholders and integrated into each category strategy
  • Incorporating sustainability into each category strategy
  • Communicating the category strategy through the appropriate chain of command including to regional procurement teams
  • Driving strategy implementation through education, selling, and influencing of the benefits to the wider business
  • Advising others on appropriate market approaches, including approaches other than tendering, to include direct negotiation, competitive dialogue and supplier development
  • Establishing appropriate controls and metrics to ensure strategies are aligned
  • Reading and interpreting terms and conditions and applying significance to terms which vary from the organisation’s default position
  • Negotiating and executing Master Service Agreements and Statements of Work in accordance with the overarching category strategies developed
  • Implementing supplier performance and relationship management to ensure improved and sustained supplier performance
  • Ensuring stakeholders are aware of all relevant procedures and policies and that they fulfil them at all times