Head of Sourcing - Indirect Spend

UL Solutions • Northbrook, IL

10d • Hybrid

About The Position

UL Solutions is seeking a senior leader to build and lead our indirect sourcing strategy across enterprise services and technology. This role is central to shifting the organization from reactive procurement to a disciplined, category-led model that shapes demand, drives enterprise alignment, and delivers measurable value. This position focuses on enterprise services and technology spend outside of the lab production ecosystem. While direct sourcing supports lab equipment and consumables tied to revenue generation, this role owns the broader enterprise categories that enable the business to operate and scale. The Head of Category Strategy will define how sourcing engages the business, influence decisions upstream, and establish a structured, scalable approach to category management globally. This is a full-time, hybrid (3 days in office) position located at our Northbrook, IL or Chicago, IL office.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Technology, Supply Management, or a related field, and 10+ years of experience developing and executing category strategies.
• Strong experience creating category strategies involving $1M+ CAPEX investments.
• Deep knowledge of technologies available in today’s marketplace.
• Ability to solve complex problems and take a broad perspective to identify innovative solutions.
• Comfortable interacting with and presenting to senior leadership.
• Works independently, requiring guidance only in the most complex situations, and leads functional teams and projects.
• Proven track record of delivering significant and sustainable cost reductions through the effective development and execution of sourcing strategies.
• Superior relationship management and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Experienced sourcing practitioner with a strong understanding of best-practice sourcing methodologies and a demonstrated track record of working ethically to achieve excellent outcomes.
• Knowledge of standard commercial contracting practices and procedures.
• Ability to interpret and summarize contractual terms for internal clients, including license rights, product entitlements, intellectual property, and use restrictions.
• Ability to take a hands-on approach to analyzing and interpreting spend data in support of sourcing initiatives and UL business objectives.
• Strong process management, organizational, and time management skills.
• Proven experience leading enterprise IT sourcing, supplier negotiations, and services-based category management.
• Experience building and scaling sourcing or procurement operating models.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and shape decisions upstream.
• Demonstrated success driving transformation in complex, matrixed organizations.

Nice To Haves

• CPM/CPSM certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement category strategies across major indirect spend areas
• Establish preferred supplier models and structured commercial frameworks
• Drive supplier consolidation and stronger strategic partnerships
• Engage early with business and functional leaders to translate needs into structured options
• Shift sourcing upstream from transaction execution to decision enablement
• Bring transparency to tradeoffs across cost, speed, and strategic fit
• Build a consistent, end-to-end sourcing approach from intake through contracting
• Standardize processes, templates, and governance to reduce fragmentation
• Drive portfolio-level prioritization across competing investments
• Personally lead complex IT sourcing initiatives and critical negotiations
• Elevate the quality and consistency of commercial outcomes
• Ensure disciplined decision making in partnership with Finance, IT, and Legal
• Lead and develop a team of category leaders across indirect spend
• Clarify roles between strategy and execution to improve speed and accountability
• Build long-term capability, including future IT category leadership
• Move the organization from request-based sourcing to category-led planning
• Replace fragmented supplier usage with structured, scalable ecosystems
• Improve sourcing cycle time, predictability, and compliance
• Introduce portfolio thinking into capital and commercial decision making
• Create a sourcing function that is seen as a strategic partner, not a gatekeeper

Benefits

• health benefits such as medical, dental and vision
• wellness benefits such as mental and financial health
• retirement savings (401K)
• paid time off including vacation (15 days), Holidays (9 days), Personal days (3 days) and sick time off (72 hours)

What This Job Offers

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