Global Category Leader, Indirect Services

NorthMark Strategies • Dallas, TX

18h

About The Position

The Global Category Leader, Indirect Services is the senior global owner of the HR, Professional Services, and Facilities services categories. This role owns enterprise category strategy, defines supplier landscapes and preferred-supplier architecture, leads major global negotiations, and enables regional procurement teams to execute consistently in their markets. The position leads a team of Category Managers covering the assigned categories.

The role balances global consistency with local market conditions, including regional supplier markets, regulatory regimes, and business expectations. Success requires ambitious strategies that unlock enterprise value, along with strong partnerships with regional procurement leaders and global function heads.

The position requires international travel of up to 10% and legal authorization to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of procurement, strategic sourcing, or category management experience, with substantial depth in indirect services.
• People-leadership experience, including direct line management of Category Managers or senior sourcing professionals.
• Ownership of global or multi-region category strategy, rather than solely regional or transactional sourcing.
• Track record leading large, complex services negotiations, such as outsourced services, consulting frameworks, contingent labor, or facilities management.
• Experience working in a global-plus-regional operating model and influencing teams and stakeholders outside a direct reporting line.
• Strong executive presence and ability to maintain a commercial position with senior business leaders.
• Analytical rigor in spend analytics, cost modeling, benchmarking, and business case development.
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 10% of the time.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States without employer sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or equivalent advanced degree.
• Category depth in two or more of HR services (benefits administration, talent acquisition, learning, or payroll), Professional Services (consulting, advisory, legal, or agency), and Facilities (IFM, maintenance, security, or food services).
• Experience with Coupa, SAP Ariba, Ivalua, Zip, Oracle, and contract lifecycle management platforms.
• Exposure to contingent labor and MSP/VMS programs, and worker-classification considerations across multiple jurisdictions.
• CPSM, MCIPS, or equivalent certification.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and manage a team of Category Managers; allocate category ownership, set objectives, and build expertise in category strategy, negotiation, and executive stakeholder management.
• Own hiring, performance management, and succession planning for the team, and ensure consistent standards of category rigor.
• Own and maintain multi-year global category strategies for HR, Professional Services, and Facilities, using spend analytics, supplier market intelligence, cost drivers, benchmarking, and global-function priorities.
• Refresh category strategies on a defined cadence and secure endorsement from function leadership and the Head of Indirect Procurement.
• Define target supplier landscapes, including global and regional supplier roles, preferred-supplier panels, rationalization targets, and decisions about where to preserve competition or consolidate suppliers.
• Provide make-versus-buy and outsourcing input where relevant.
• Direct global and multi-region sourcing events and personally lead significant commercial negotiations, including global MSAs, outsourced service agreements, consulting and SOW frameworks, contingent labor programs, and integrated facilities management contracts.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, Security, Privacy, and Risk on contract terms and due diligence.
• Equip regional procurement teams with strategies, playbooks, negotiation levers, benchmarks, contract templates, and supplier intelligence for local execution.
• Review and support regional category strategies, arbitrate exception requests, and serve as an escalation point for category questions.
• Build trusted-advisor relationships with global leaders in HR, Finance, Real Estate and Workplace, and other functions; shape demand and specifications, influence budget and planning cycles, and represent procurement at senior levels.
• Own executive-level relationships and governance for strategic global suppliers, including business reviews, performance frameworks, innovation and value-engineering agendas, and remediation of systemic performance issues.
• Build and maintain the global opportunity pipeline across cost, demand management, working capital, and service-quality improvements.
• Report performance, risks, and market developments to the Head of Indirect Procurement and function leadership.
• Ensure category strategies address third-party risk, data privacy, worker classification and co-employment exposure, business continuity, and regional regulatory requirements.
• Embed supplier diversity and sustainability commitments into category and supplier decisions.

Benefits

• Company-paid lunch stipend; lunch is provided via GrubHub.
• 100% employer-paid medical coverage in the High Deductible Health Plan, dental and vision benefits for employees and their families.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Life insurance.
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage.
• 401(k) with a 100% company match on employee contributions up to 6%.
• Optional employee-paid PPO medical insurance and other benefits, including Health Savings Accounts with a company contribution, Flexible Spending Accounts, supplemental life insurance, and Wellhub.
• 25 days of paid time off plus 12 company holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior