Global Category Manager, Digital & Technology Procurement at Diageo

About the role 

• Global Procurement delivers significant contribution towards Diageo business, productivity, and growth goals. The Digital & Technology category is seeking to deliver value creation to support operating margin improvement and competitive advantage through sourcing, negotiation, optimization, and supplier partnerships, leveraging the sweet spot between efficiencies and effectiveness of our investment.
• This category is complex, with varying stakeholder needs, significant external spend and key relationships at an executive level. The prime accountability for the role is to drive value through ensuring the commercial elements of spend in this category are executed brilliantly with our vendors. This role will lead sourcing decisions with key stakeholders and will support the maximization of value as well as ROI, whilst minimizing risk from all external spend - assuring quality of delivery and performance.
• The Digital & Technology category is additionally going through a period of transformation. Digital & Technology is growing in importance and becoming strategically more integrated in our planning and decision making. This is the most complex of all procurement categories due to the complexity and risks associated with the products and services in D&T categories.
• This role acts as the interface between business users and senior Stakeholders and the Procurement community (accountable for the purchasing strategy) ensuring Diageo buys the right goods and services from the right supplier at the right price. The role will play a key part in developing and leading D&T procurement across Consumer, Customer, Supply, Tech Foundations, Analytics & Insights and Corporate spaces; through effective business partnering and collaboration across Procurement CoEs. This includes (but is not limited to):
• Applying strategic procurement excellence, through the creation of category strategies built on Diageo’s best methods, standards and tools to deliver procurement value for Diageo.
• Driving end-to-end execution of category strategies, ensuring that global and market category professionals are aligned and working in line with strategy.
• Serving as subject-matter expert for specific spend categories, ensuring collection and leverage of supply market expertise and close engagement with stakeholders for value-adding procurement.

REQUIREMENTS

Qualifications

• Graduate or equivalent qualification and member of professional body, e.g., CIPS

Experience

• Minimum 7-10 years’ experience in Procurement, Finance, FMCG Commerical or other relevant role. Subject-matter expertise in supply markets and spend categories relevant to the role is desirable but not a barrier.
• Demonstrated performance in leading projects and teams, experience developing and executing category and procurement strategies, managing and negotiating with suppliers
• Strong analytical and financial awareness including a comprehensive understanding of AOP requirements and financial goals & value drivers relevant to the categories in scope
• Track record influencing and managing senior stakeholders and budget holders and driving cross-border teams.
• Expertise in business and commercial acumen and broad understanding of IT related legal and contractual concepts associated with technology – e.g. effective statements of work (SOWs)
• Advanced business, financial, legal and commercial acumen gained from previous negotiations on sourcing projects and or contact negotiations

Skills

• Advanced prior experience and understanding of IT sourcing and contracting processes and practices is essential
• Solid understanding of automation, AI, robotics, and other digital solutions