Director – Category Management (Global Procurement Services)
Location
India (Noida) with multi‑region responsibility (Global Role)
Role Purpose
The Director – Category Management will provide strategic, commercial, and operational leadership for high‑value indirect spend categories including Facilities Management Services (FMS), Real estate / leasing, Infrastructure build, Physical Security, Employee services, and Global Travel & lodging
The role owns end‑to‑end category strategy for a global annual spend of USD 400 million, driving cost optimization, risk management, Contract negotiations & governance, ESG compliance, supplier relations across geographies, lead complex global RFPs, renegotiations, and contract restructurings,
This position requires a seasoned leader with 25 years of experience, capable of operating at leadership levels, managing complex supplier ecosystems, and leading senior category leads at GM / DGM levels with overall team size of 40+ across different region
Responsible for managing internal customer / stake holders & act as senior escalation point for business‑critical supplier performance or continuity issues
Key Responsibilities
1. Category Strategy & Spend Ownership
- Own and govern global category strategies for FMS, Security, Employee Transport, and Global Travel with full P&L and value realization accountability
- Manage and optimize an aggregate indirect spend of USD 400M annually, ensuring measurable outcomes across cost, quality, resilience, and sustainability
- Establish 3–5 year category roadmaps covering demand management, sourcing models, technology enablement, and supplier consolidation
- Lead make‑buy, regionalization, nearshoring, and bundling decisions based on cost and risk trade‑offs
2. Commercial Excellence & Value Creation
- Drive structured savings programs (hard savings, cost avoidance, productivity gains) with clear governance and Finance sign‑off
- Lead complex global RFPs, renegotiations, and contract restructurings, including gain‑share and risk‑linked commercial models
- Ensure robust TCO‑based decisioning, benchmarking, and should‑cost modeling across all categories
- Own commercial risk management including price volatility, demand shocks, SLA leakage, and supplier concentration risks
3. Supplier & Ecosystem Management
- Build and govern a global strategic supplier ecosystem, including Tier‑1 integrators and regional specialists
- Establish supplier segmentation frameworks (Strategic / Preferred / Tactical) with formal QBRs and scorecards
- Drive supplier innovation, digitization, and ESG commitments (carbon reduction, social compliance, safety)
- Act as senior escalation point for business‑critical supplier performance or continuity issues
4. Leadership & Organization Management
- Lead and mentor senior category leaders at GM / DGM levels, ensuring clarity of ownership and high performance
- Set talent standards for commercial depth, category specialization, and global stakeholder management
- Build succession pipelines and develop future leaders .
- Foster a high‑accountability, data‑driven, and outcome‑oriented team.
5. Stakeholder & Governance Leadership
- Partner with Business Heads, Function heads and Regional Presidents to align sourcing strategies with business priorities
- Present category strategies, savings outcomes, and risk positions to procurement & finance leadership
- Ensure governance across policy compliance, audit readiness, risk frameworks, and regulatory adherence
6. Transformation & Digital Enablement
- Lead procurement transformation initiatives including:
- Spend analytics & dashboards
- Contract lifecycle management (CLM)
- Service performance digitization
- Automation of transactional procurement
- Sponsor adoption of AI‑led analytics for data based decision making, process improvement & simplification ,supplier assessment etc
Key Qualifications & Experience
Experience
- 25 years of progressive experience in Category Management / Strategic Sourcing / Commercial Leadership
- Demonstrated ownership of USD 300–500M+ indirect spend at enterprise or global scale
- Deep expertise in FMS, Security Services, Employee Mobility / Transport, and Global Travel
- Proven experience managing senior leadership teams (GM level) across regions
- Prior experience in large multinational organizations (IT/ITES, BFSI, manufacturing, or conglomerates) strongly preferred
Skills & Competencies
- Enterprise‑level commercial acumen & negotiation mastery
- Strong financial modeling, benchmarking, and ROI orientation
- Ability to operate in complex, matrixed, multi‑country environments
- Leadership / CXO level communication and executive presence
- Strong understanding of ESG, compliance, and risk management
- Track record of large‑scale savings, supplier transformation, and crisis management
Education
- MBA / PGDM in Supply Chain, Finance, Operations (preferred)
- Engineering or equivalent undergraduate qualification
- Professional certifications (CIPS, CPSM, PMP) – desirable
Success Metrics
- Net savings (PnL Impact) & cost avoidance realized vs targets
- Supplier performance, Operational SLA & process compliance
- Risk reduction & business continuity KPIs
- Process simplification & automation
- Leadership bench strength & succession readiness
- Cash flow improvement
