Procurement Specialist T4

Client is seeking a highly experienced and immediately available Interim Category Manager for Events & Sponsorships to join the Global Marketing Procurement team on a freelancer/C-User assignment for a minimum of six months, with possible extension. This urgent role focuses on driving a critical, high-profile procurement category, including active global RFPs, supplier negotiations, and board-level cost optimization. The successful candidate will also develop and execute a forward-looking vendor ecosystem strategy for a category with over 300 million EUR in spend, characterized by high complexity and diverse stakeholders.

About the Role

The interim Category Manager will act as a catalyst for change, providing strategic leadership to drive a future operating model and governance framework for the Events & Sponsorships category. In partnership with senior Marketing and Business stakeholders, the role positions Procurement as a trusted strategic partner, harmonizing processes and embedding new ways of working across a global, matrixed organization.

Responsibilities

• Immediate RFP Programme Delivery & Contracting
  • Take immediate ownership of active global RFPs within Events & third-party Sponsorships and drive them to completion.
  • Finalize supplier negotiations and lead supplier selection processes in line with commercial targets.
  • Execute contracting for selected suppliers, ensuring legal compliance and alignment with Client procurement standards.
  • Deliver measurable savings outcomes as part of the board-level cost optimization programme.
  • Provide regular status updates and executive-level reporting on programme progress and commercial outcomes.
• Strategic Category Management & Vendor Ecosystem
  • Develop and execute a comprehensive category strategy for Events & Sponsorships, covering both short-term delivery and long-term strategic direction.
  • Design and implement the future vendor ecosystem, rationalizing the supply base and establishing strategic partnerships.
  • Bring structure and clarity to a highly complex category (over 300 million EUR spend) with a large and diverse supplier and requester landscape.
  • Lead complex global sourcing initiatives, including high-value eRFX processes, multi-year agreements, and regional event frameworks.
  • Harmonize Source-to-Pay, contracting, and vendor management processes across regions to ensure consistency, compliance, and agility.
• Operating Model, Governance & Organisational Change
  • Define and implement a future operating model and governance framework for the Events & Sponsorships category globally.
  • Establish governance structures that drive accountability, transparency, and sustainable performance across the category.
  • Lead change management initiatives to embed new ways of working, tools, and governance frameworks within the team and across stakeholder communities.
  • Develop knowledge-sharing frameworks, metrics, and performance tracking mechanisms to ensure continuous improvement.
  • Support the definition of a future-proof organizational design and team structure for category management within Marketing Procurement.
• Senior Stakeholder Engagement & Business Partnering
  • Act as a strategic advisor and trusted business partner to senior Marketing and Business stakeholders across Client.
  • Engage, challenge, and align senior stakeholders across functions and geographies to ensure procurement objectives are understood and supported.
  • Influence decision-making at senior and executive levels through well-structured analysis, clear communication, and authoritative subject-matter expertise.
  • Build strong relationships with key internal requesters to understand business needs and deliver tailored, value-driven procurement solutions.
• Supplier & Performance Management
  • Build and manage strategic partnerships with key vendors across Events & Sponsorships, leveraging SRM best practices.
  • Oversee supplier performance management across value, quality, risk, and ESG dimensions.
  • Design and establish a robust supplier management model for the Events & Sponsorships category, including SLAs, a structured KPI framework, and performance review cadences.
  • Drive innovation, sustainability, and diversity across the supplier base in support of Client corporate ESG goals.
• Data, Analytics & Digital Enablement
  • Leverage data, analytics, and digital tools to generate actionable insights and drive evidence-based decision-making.
  • Drive adoption of digital procurement and event management solutions to increase operational efficiency, transparency, and scalability.
  • Apply AI-enabled capabilities where relevant to enhance category intelligence and procurement performance.

Requirements

• Professional Experience
  • 10+ years of strategic procurement experience, with a strong focus on Events & Sponsorships category management within complex, multinational environments.
  • Demonstrable experience in Events Procurement and Events Category Management at a senior level, with the ability to take up active programmes immediately.
  • Proven track record of successfully running and closing complex global RFP/eRFX processes, including supplier negotiations and supplier selections.
  • Solid experience in executing procurement contracting for Events and/or Sponsorships categories at scale.
  • Demonstrated success in managing multi-million or multi-hundred-million EUR spend portfolios and delivering measurable cost optimization outcomes.
  • Background in defining and executing global or regional category strategies, including the design of vendor ecosystem and operating models.
  • Experience working within or closely with an event agency, experiential marketing agency, or sponsorship agency is a strong advantage.
• Change Leadership & Transformation
  • Proven experience leading organizational or category change, including implementing new governance frameworks, operating models, and procurement processes.
  • Comfortable operating in dynamic, fast-paced environments and capable of delivering results under time pressure.
  • Experience driving procurement transformation and managing stakeholder change in large, matrixed organizations.
  • Ability to lead without authority, steering cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams toward shared outcomes.
• Skills & Competencies
  • High analytical capability: ability to collect, interpret, and synthesize complex data to support category decisions and business cases.
  • High communication skills: ability to convey complex topics clearly and concisely at all levels, including senior and executive leadership.
  • High influencing skills: able to shape and guide decisions across functions, hierarchies, and geographies without direct authority.
  • Strong business partnering skills: ability to build trust-based relationships with senior stakeholders and act as a credible strategic advisor.
  • Structured approach to complexity: ability to bring order, clarity, and rigor to a highly fragmented and complex category environment.
  • Strong project management skills: capable of managing multiple concurrent workstreams, priorities, and stakeholders in a global environment.
  • Deep understanding of supply markets, commercial drivers, and value levers within the Events & Sponsorships space.
  • Proficiency in digital procurement tools, analytics platforms, and willingness to leverage AI-enabled capabilities.
• Qualifications
  • University degree in Business, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
  • Professional procurement certification (e.g., CIPS, CPM) or equivalent practical experience.
  • Fluency in English, written and spoken; additional languages are an advantage.

Assignment Details

This is a freelancer/C-User (external contractor) assignment with a minimum duration of 6 months and the option to extend. The role reports to the Global Head of Marketing Procurement.

About Client

Client’s Global Marketing Procurement function manages one of the company’s largest and most strategically significant spend areas. The Events & Sponsorships category is a cornerstone of Client’s brand and customer engagement strategy, spanning a global portfolio with a spend volume exceeding 300 million EUR. The team is on a transformative journey toward becoming an agile, data-driven, and strategically valued procurement organization, and this interim assignment plays a pivotal role in that journey.