Global Director, Supplier Agency Performance & Innovation

UCB • Atlanta, GA

14d • $184,000 - $241,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

UCB is seeking a strategic, detail-oriented procurement leader to establish and run supplier and agency performance management and procurement best practices across its marketing and indirect procurement organization. This newly created global role spans more than $800 million in marketing and indirect spend and a broad ecosystem of strategic suppliers and agencies in the U.S. and EU. The position is hybrid in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Director will drive continuous improvement and supplier-enabled innovation by translating performance insights into measurable improvements, new capabilities, and strategic value-creation projects. The role includes developing performance frameworks, innovation programs, strategic partnerships, governance, procurement standards, business reviews, and supplier improvement plans. It will also shape the use of agentic and generative AI across the supplier and agency ecosystem, including standards for quality, data privacy, intellectual property, brand safety, and human oversight.

The Director will report to the Global Head of Marketing/Selling & Impact Procurement and partner closely with procurement directors and stakeholders across Marketing, Finance, Patient Insights, and Patient Services. UCB describes its workplace approach as hybrid-first, with 40% of time spent in the office unless otherwise specified or precluded by the position.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business or a related discipline.
• 12 or more years of experience in procurement, supplier/vendor management, or contract management, ideally in marketing or indirect procurement.
• Experience building supplier performance management frameworks and scorecards.
• Experience developing supplier-enabled innovation or continuous-improvement programs that delivered measurable value.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills, including experience with BI or dashboard tools.
• Track record of leading cross-functional, agile value-creation and supplier-innovation initiatives with senior stakeholders.
• Ability to influence senior-level stakeholders through clear, concise, executive-ready communication.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in business or a related discipline.
• Experience in pharmaceutical or life sciences procurement, or strategic consulting in a related field.
• Experience establishing governance frameworks in a matrixed, multi-region organization.
• Strong digital and innovation fluency.
• Ability to elevate organizational clarity through structured reporting and narrative leadership.
• Experience designing supplier and agency innovation ecosystems and new operating models.

Responsibilities

• Establish supplier and agency performance frameworks, including KPIs, SLAs, and scorecards tied to MSA and SOW commitments and balanced across cost, quality, service, innovation, and sustainability.
• Design and lead a continuous-improvement program using benchmarking, maturity assessments, and joint improvement roadmaps.
• Build a supplier- and agency-led innovation pipeline, source new capabilities and technologies, run innovation forums and pilots, and scale successful approaches across markets.
• Segment suppliers and agencies into strategic, preferred, and transactional tiers, with differentiated engagement, executive sponsorship, and joint business planning for top partners.
• Shape the deployment of agentic and generative AI across the supplier and agency ecosystem, setting standards for quality, data privacy, intellectual property, brand safety, and human oversight, and reflecting AI-driven productivity in commercial models and ways of working.
• Partner with category leadership to establish and document procurement best practices, playbooks, and standards, and embed continuous-improvement capabilities within category teams.
• Lead quarterly and annual business reviews with top-tier agencies and suppliers, presenting performance data and improvement plans and driving decisions and joint innovation and improvement agendas.
• Identify supplier underperformance trends and lead corrective action plans with category leads using structured root-cause and CAPA methods, timelines, measurable targets, and closure tracking.
• Develop agile methods to support Marketing & Selling Procurement teams with major PR/RFP processes and performance improvement.
• Form and lead cross-functional agile squads delivering measurable value-creation projects with key agencies and suppliers, such as agency-model redesign, ways-of-working and speed-to-market improvements, and co-innovation initiatives.
• Advance ESG and supplier-diversity goals by partnering with suppliers and agencies on responsible, sustainable, and inclusive practices.
• Report performance results through clear, data-driven narratives.

Benefits

• A caring, supportive and inclusive culture with equal opportunities.
• Opportunities to grow and the freedom to shape a career path.
• Hybrid-first work approach, with 40% of time spent in the office unless otherwise specified or precluded by the position.

What This Job Offers

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