Associate Director - Creative Procurement

Role Summary

Associate Director - Creative Procurement. This role leads regional category management and sourcing for Creative, Digital Production & Publishing, and Medical Education within Marketing Procurement, partnering with Human Health business teams and regional/local sourcing professionals in a matrix organization. The role involves global-level sourcing strategy development, cross-functional team leadership, and oversight of regional/local category components, with a focus on value creation, service delivery, innovation, digitalization, and corporate social responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams through the sourcing process; provide strategy oversight for regional/local components of the category.
• Partner with Procurement Colleagues, Business Partners, and Suppliers to develop and implement strategic source plans and meet business requirements.
• Manage supplier relationships and performance; promote diversity in supplier selection; optimize spend.
• Strategy Creation: define high-level objectives, engage senior stakeholders, and contribute to long-term sourcing strategy.
• Strategy Execution: develop RFIs/RFPs, re-engineer processes, and execute strategic goals with Global Procurement.
• Operations: manage day-to-day procurement activities, contracts, vendor creation, issue resolution, and data-driven insights.
• Supplier Relationship Management: plan and implement actions to develop and sustain strategic supplier relationships.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor's degree in supply chain, procurement, or business administration.
• Required: Minimum of 5 years in strategic procurement, creative agency procurement, marketing, or related role.
• Required: Strong experience in digital production and publication; ability to work with various operational and commercial models.
• Required: Strong analytical skills; subject matter expertise in creative/production agencies or sourcing; knowledge of industry trends and best practices.
• Required: Proven success in developing and executing global or regional creative sourcing strategies; strong communication and influencing skills at senior levels.
• Required: Ability to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders and prioritize in dynamic environments.
• Preferred: Negotiating with creative/digital/marketing agencies of record; advanced Microsoft Office; knowledge of Decideware; knowledge of procurement sourcing tools; knowledge of analytic dashboards.

Skills

• Global Mindset
• Strategic Sourcing
• Negotiation
• Project Procurement Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Vendor Relationship Management
• Data Analysis

Education

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, procurement, business administration.

Additional Requirements

• Travel: 25%