Associate Vice President, Procurement and Business Services

About the Department

The Finance & Operations department brings insights and intelligence to inform decision making and drives digitalization and business solutions to attain NNI goals. Finance & Operations works closely across the organization to guide enterprise-wide resource allocations, investment choices, drive core operations, and develop insights to drive growth and operational excellence across the value chain while innovating for future capabilities. We're responsible for regulating accounting, upholding workplace safety, managing our supply chain and sampling, supporting technological and data innovation, maintaining our facilities, and assuring the integrity and completeness of all business transactions.

At Novo Nordisk, you will have the opportunity to build a career in a global business environment. We encourage our employees to make the most of their talent, and we reward hard work and dedication with opportunities for continuous learning and personal development.

About the Role

The Procurement and Business Services organization has grown substantially in recent years to become a multi-disciplined, strategic and operational center of excellence across several US-based affiliates. In addition to leading Procurement Category Management and Contracting Excellence, the department oversees and operates all Facilities for USO Home Office and Washington DC office locations, operations for an expansive 3,000+ vehicle fleet, USO Travel and Expense Programs, External Workforce Program (GetResources temp labor program), USO Security (inclusive of Executive Protection and Product Security), Strategic Meetings & Events, in-house Conference and Production Solutions, and Supplier Risk and Compliance programs.

The Associate Vice President (AVP), Procurement and Business Services oversees the effective operation, execution, and coordination of all functional areas across Novo Nordisk’s US Operations and Affiliates. Acts as an enterprise-wide strategic partner to lead the development and achievement of sourcing goals. Ensures departments including Indirect Procurement, contract operations, External Workforce operations, Meetings and Events, Production and Conference Center operations, building operations, cafeteria and catering services, fleet, travel, security, product security, and wellness services operate in alignment with business objectives and in an employee-centered, cost-effective manner.

This position reports directly to the SVP, Finance & Operations (F&O) and interacts with the Executive Team and their leadership teams, certain budget managers, and key suppliers of goods/services. Manages a team of individuals focused on category spend, procurement operations, supplier diversity, as well as Facilities function, including Fleet, Security, Meetings & Events, External Workforce Solutions, Travel, and Reception areas. Represents USO in the Global Procurement Forum and chairs the North American Procurement Group, with extended relationships with site leads at US Affiliates for Security, Travel, Fleet, and External Workforce.

Responsibilities

Procurement Responsibilities

• Set the strategic agenda for Procurement across North America, aligning category and sourcing plans with business priorities to deliver measurable cost, quality, and service outcomes.
• Lead US Ops Indirect Procurement and represent the region in Global Procurement governance, ensuring regional plans advance enterprise objectives and drive synergies.
• Define and execute a supplier partnership strategy that optimizes supplier selection, contract terms, performance governance, and exit planning to minimize risk and maximize value.
• Translate business objectives into targeted category strategies and procurement roadmaps that deliver defined savings, risk reduction, and capability improvements.
• Deploy advanced spend analytics to uncover savings opportunities, inform sourcing decisions, and measure the impact of procurement initiatives.
• Accelerate innovation and supply resilience by developing alternative sourcing, cultivating new supplier capabilities, and integrating market intelligence into sourcing strategies.
• Deliver on bottom-line targets through disciplined sourcing, negotiation, and category management, with clear metrics for savings, cost avoidance, and value creation.
• Continuously monitor technology and global market trends to proactively adjust procurement strategies and preserve competitive cost and quality advantages.
• Represent the company at industry procurement functions and present at company meetings as required.
• Develop and drive RFI/RFP and bid evaluation processes.
• Oversee the development of the US Supplier Relationship Manager program, monitoring and analysis of key procurement metrics for continuous improvement.
• Proactively look for synergies across the organization to reduce costs and leverage resources.
• Set strategic direction and drive the company-wide Supplier Diversity Program.
• Understand legal and commercial aspects of negotiations and contract management to ensure optimal positioning for Novo’s US Operations.

Business Operations

• Provide strategic leadership and accountable oversight for all functions: Large Fleet Operations, Transient and Executive Travel, Security and Product Security, Meetings & Events, Conference Center & Studio Production, and External Workforce programs.
• Develop and execute a multi-year strategy that aligns transportation, travel, security, event, and external workforce operations with business objectives, risk tolerance, and cost efficiency targets.
• Serve as the leader for operational performance, safety, compliance, service quality, and continuous improvement across all managed domains.
• Lead and develop a high-performing, cross-functional organization; build capability in operations, security, event production, vendor management, and workforce governance.
• Partner with senior stakeholders (HR, Legal, Procurement, Facilities, IT, Business Units) to integrate operational plans, support business growth, and ensure cohesive policies and decision-making.
• Establish and monitor clear KPIs and SLAs for fleet utilization, travel service levels, security incidents, event delivery, studio uptime, and contractor performance; drive performance through data and fact-based decisions.

Large Fleet Operations

• Define and optimize fleet strategy (vehicle mix, ownership vs. lease, electrification, telematics) to meet mobility needs, sustainability goals, and total cost of ownership targets.
• Oversee fleet maintenance, lifecycle management, vendor partnerships, fuel/electric charging programs, and telematics/asset tracking to maximize availability, safety, and utilization.
• Implement and enforce fleet policies (driver eligibility, training, incident management) and continuous improvement programs to reduce accidents, downtime, and costs.

Transient and Executive Travel

• Own policy, program design, and vendor landscape for transient business travel and executive travel services, including duty of care and traveler security.
• Ensure traveler safety and compliance through travel risk management, emergency response protocols, and pre-travel approvals for high-risk itineraries.
• Optimize travel spend and traveler experience by leveraging negotiated rates, preferred suppliers, travel technology, and centralized booking and reporting.

Security and Product Security Operations

• Establish the enterprise security strategy covering physical security, executive protection, travel security, and product security aligned to global risk assessment and compliance requirements.
• Oversee threat assessment, incident response, investigations, crisis management, and liaison with law enforcement and intelligence partners as required.
• Lead product security programs to protect R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, and information assets from theft, tampering, sabotage, and IP compromise; embed security requirements into operations and events.

Meetings, Events, Conference Center & Studio Production

• Oversee end-to-end planning and delivery of internal and external meetings, conferences, and studio productions, ensuring brand standards, compliance, and cost control.
• Manage conference center(s) and studio assets, including scheduling, technical production, AV/IT integration, stage/set design, and vendor/supplier relationships.
• Drive excellence in attendee experience, stakeholder coordination, health & safety, and contingency planning for live, hybrid, and virtual events.

External Workforce

• Lead governance and operational management for contingent labor, contractors, consultants, and staffing vendor programs to ensure quality, compliance, cost control, and workforce agility.
• Implement workforce onboarding/offboarding, access controls, contract compliance, background screening, and performance monitoring in coordination with HR and procurement.
• Ensure external workforce is integrated into safety, security, and event protocols and that roles/responsibilities are clearly defined and enforced.

Continuous Improvement & Digital Enablement

• Drive adoption of digital tools (fleet telematics, travel management platforms, event tech, security monitoring, and workforce management systems) to increase efficiency, visibility, and decision support.
• Sponsor process improvement and automation initiatives (lean, Six Sigma) to raise service quality, reduce cycle times, and eliminate waste.
• Use analytics and predictive modeling to proactively manage capacity, risk, and spend across operations.

Crisis & Incident Leadership

• Lead enterprise readiness for major incidents that impact travel, fleet, events, or security; chair crisis response as required and ensure timely, coordinated communications.
• Maintain playbooks, escalation procedures, and scenario-based training exercises for business continuity and recovery.

Deliverables & Success Measures

• Improved fleet utilization and reduced total cost of ownership by targeted percentage.
• Reduction in travel incidents and faster traveler assistance response times.
• Measured decrease in security incidents and improved time-to-resolve for product security issues.
• On-time, on-budget delivery of major events and studio productions with high stakeholder satisfaction scores.
• Compliance metrics met for external workforce governance; reduced contractor-related incidents.

Development of People

• Ensure that reporting personnel have individual development plans (IDP), with annual goals and measurements that are consistent with the priorities of the business, and that interim reviews are held so that their work is focused on those priorities, and they understand their level of accountability for results and the measurement process.
• Ensure that the IDP forms include completed learning and aspiration plans and are in place for all reporting personnel to enable the achievement of goals and capability to assume increased levels of responsibility.
• Manage the application and communication of all Novo Nordisk policies, procedures, and Novo Nordisk Way.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s Degree required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred. C.P.M. preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive procurement and operations-related experience, most of which is in indirect/services; pharma industry experience preferred but not required.
• 10+ years of prior experience leading and developing teams.
• 10+ years leading leaders.
• Ability to deliver data-driven updates and presentations to all levels within the organization.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to influence others and work across organizational boundaries.