Job Description

GLOBAL CATEGORY LEADER (PROCUREMENT) | LANGLEY, UK

Travel obsessed? Big tech fan? Hey, you’re in good company. If you want to be part of the industry that makes the world go round, then look no further.

Travelport is the brains behind lots of your travel bookings- plane, car or hotel. Our technology is used to book that magical holiday, long-awaited bucket-list trip or overdue school reunion. While we can’t solve mosquito bites or lost luggage, we can simplify a lot of the technical parts of travel, and we’re looking for the best thinkers to help us do it.

We’re hiring right now for a Global Category Leader ! Search for #Travelport on LinkedIn and hear from our amazing team.

Global Procurement Category Leader develops the strategy and directs and leads the implementation of category initiatives for strategic partnerships and transactions in the key categories of business services, which includes Finance, Legal, Workplace and HR, as well as Marketing and Commercial Operations, and also Technology and Telecom; leading initiatives to optimize category spend and lower costs, and leading projects in strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, and procurement activities, providing necessary linkages and leveraging scale across the organization.

Specifically, they will need to work collaboratively to understand business needs, translate these needs into specific supplier requirements, and establish target pricing, terms, SLA’s, and success measures. The leader will then need to establish sourcing/negotiating strategies and drive execution and ongoing monitoring efforts to ensure objectives are realized and sustained.

The Global Procurement Category Leader is an integral part of the Global Sourcing team at Travelport. Global Sourcing is a highly regarded and broad-reaching team whose contributions ensure Travelport’s various business and technical teams have the tools (products and services) they need to deliver industry leading solutions to our customers.

Responsibilities

Partner with Business Units and Supplier Relationship teams

• Engage business units on their strategies and resulting needs for third party goods or services
• Lead and coach internal business partners and team members on the sourcing process. Sourcing Process includes gathering requirements, market analysis, identifying sources, proposal evaluation, negotiations, contract creation, contract management, spend analysis, PR creation / assistance with PR creation, contract execution and assisting with invoicing/Accounts Payable questions as needed.
• Maintain effective relationships with key internal customers and support organizations
• Set and achieve clear goals for cost savings, value creation and supplier performance in context of business unit operating plans
• Participate in scorecard development, quarterly business reviews, problem resolution/escalation arising from supplier performance issues for assigned commodities/services
• Work collaboratively with internal clients to assist in procurement forecasting, demand management, requirements development and identification of possible purchasing channels and sources
• Create collaborative partnerships with business stakeholders to plan and execute Procurement activities and category strategies
• Manage vendor service utilization and seek to reduce under-utilized consumption

Strategic Sourcing

• Develop and execute strategic sourcing plans for assigned commodities and services
• Use category expertise in relevant categories/commodities to establish or refine category strategy
• Conduct market analysis to develop supply market strategies
• Utilize understanding of industry, supplier dynamics and market trends to determine sources of leverage
• Ensure optimal global spend leverage across Lines of Business (LOB’s) and geographies
• Support any new business activities within LOB’s by identifying appropriate sources within existing strategy
• Create and model Total Cost of Ownership for categories and sourcing decisions
• Drive supplier-selection processes
• Lead company-wide efforts to identify new suppliers, to include leading supplier development, and new program implementation efforts for Technology products and services
• Facilitate meetings that drive cost savings initiatives. This means demonstrating the ability to develop agendas, lead meetings, and document & publish critical results

Contract Strategy and Execution

• Lead the contract negotiation process with internal partners and suppliers. Own closure on contract.
• Lead negotiations, developing negotiation strategy and approach, fallback positions, acceptable terms and conditions through to closure. Evaluate, qualify, & select suppliers
• Understand contractual framework and negotiate appropriately in conjunction with Technology, business users and Legal.
• Measure savings and seek opportunities to manage off-contract spend
• Lead cross-functional project teams to ensure successful project launch, implementation and compliance

Management and Leadership

• Participate in a Global Sourcing team that supports the Company’s objectives for this function.
• Create an environment that emphasizes “Partnership” with all Technology processes within and outside of Service Delivery.
• Effectively motivate and collaborate within their team and across their peer group.
• Lead cross functional teams, mentor team members
• Lead efforts to drive business process improvements in support of team objectives

Additional Responsibilities

• Keep the contract management repository and Spot project tool up to date
• Ensure the Supplier Spend Data Analytics Tool is accurate
• May be required to raise Purchase Requests (PRs) and manage Purchase Order & Invoice queries
• Serve as a contractual and vendor subject matter expert
• Master and facilitate the process from source to payment, stepping in and out as and when needed

Could this be you

• Experience within procurement organizations encompassing sourcing, supplier management, supplier quality management and procurement execution
• Previous Spend Responsibility at least $25+ million
• Ability to work in fast paced, complex and dynamic environment
• Demonstrated ability to think globally/strategically, turn information into effective strategies and drive results.
• Superior interpersonal skills, strong verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrates good judgment in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.
• Strong organizational and multitasking capabilities.
• Analytical skills to solve complex problems.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Experience with various sourcing and procurement practices and tools (i.e. 7 Step Sourcing Process, Oracle iProcurement), and ability to lead/support efforts to enhance the value of purchasing to the client.
• Must have a thorough understanding of contracting principles and contract structure, time and materials negotiations, and understanding of technology.
• Must have strong team building skills to integrate and motivate people from different organizations to work together in achieving process objectives and project goals.
• Must be adept at communicating with vendors and internal business partners to establish and maintain credibility for the sourcing function, while increasing service to our internal business partners - improving the quality and performance levels of the supply base to achieve the lowest total cost to the Company.
• Continually embodies a “can do” attitude – working with other Procurement team members, legal and business teams to eliminate blockers and get the job done
• Flexibility and willingness to work both within the Sourcing and Operational Procurement processes to ensure completion of projects and adherence to internal processes and standards

Preferred

• Degree qualified in Finance, Accounting and Business, or related degree or equivalent experience in Procurement
• MCIPS qualified or working towards this qualification.

Discover why our teams love working here

Where do we start! Our benefits package includes:

We offer a package that includes 25 days annual leave per annum, hybrid working model, pension contribution, private medical, life assurance and personal travel insurance.

Search for #lifeattravelport & #travelportGDL for our employee stories on LinkedIn!

Your journey at Travelport starts here.

Our application process is quick, easy, and hassle-free — apply in just a few minutes!

We are an equal opportunities employer and will consider all qualified applicants purely on their skills and abilities. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation, if needed.