Global Category Manager Professional Services

At ING, this role is responsible for developing and driving category strategies related to Professional Services, including consultancy activities (strategy, management, IT), contingency and temporary labour, and legal services. The role focuses on achieving goals by setting favourable conditions for the organization, steering vendor strategy, ensuring significant year-on-year cost improvements while meeting financial and budget targets, and providing financial market updates for forecasting and budget purposes. You will identify and implement demand, productivity, and innovative improvements while maintaining quality and managing vendor service levels. The role also works closely with internal and external key stakeholders, including Board members, to develop effective cost reduction strategies and implementation plans.

Your role

The Global Category Manager Professional Services is responsible for developing and driving category strategies related to Professional Services, including consultancy activities (strategy, management, IT), contingency and temporary labour, and legal services. You will achieve goals by setting favourable conditions for the organization, steering vendor strategy, ensuring significant year-on-year cost improvements while meeting financial and budget targets, and providing financial market updates for forecasting and budget purposes. The role also involves identifying and implementing demand, productivity, and innovative improvements while maintaining quality and managing vendor service levels, and working closely with internal and external key stakeholders, including Board members, to develop effective cost reduction strategies and implementation plans.

Your responsibilities

Category Expertise

• Provide and share category trends, developments, and risks for assigned sub-categories with Procurement colleagues and senior business stakeholders to identify opportunities or trigger awareness.
• Use extensive experience with top 10 strategic Professional Services vendors to successfully lead negotiations with strategic supplier firms such as McKinsey, BCG, and Oliver Wyman, steer decisions, and present results up to C-level and Board level.
• Lead negotiations with consulting firms such as EY, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, Accenture, and Capgemini, implementing pricing mechanisms across the organization.
• Manage sourcing initiatives related to professional services and apply a strong understanding of professional services fee structures.
• Apply a solid understanding of the consulting market, including strategic advisory services and management consulting such as business transformation, risk consulting, and tax consulting, benchmarking rates, and pricing models.
• Apply a solid understanding of legal panel services, including litigation services, regulatory advisory, and specialist legal expertise, with proven experience in contracting frameworks, fee models, and billing structures such as T&M, fixed fee, retainer, outcome-based fee, and capped fee.
• Manage contracts that include clauses and obligations specific to advisory services, including confidentiality, IP, and conflict of interest.
• Apply a solid understanding of the workforce market, including contingency and temping, related regulatory frameworks, and optimization initiatives.

Category Management

• Execute business partnering activities by establishing and managing business stakeholder relationships and aligning on business-specific objectives and targets.
• Establish, review, and monitor governance policies with business stakeholders and provide training where necessary.
• Identify business innovation opportunities and stakeholder needs and expectations, and monitor and analyse stakeholder satisfaction.
• Gather market intelligence and assess supplier innovation opportunities and market innovation trends.
• Develop and execute forward-looking category strategies and plans for the Professional Services category, incorporating input from team members managing strategic suppliers and contracts.
• Establish KPIs and manage category performance.
• Manage supplier segmentation, supplier performance, and risk.
• Perform strategic activities around innovation management and the development and release of new specifications with suppliers.
• Execute strategic sourcing activities, provide project-level risk assessments and mitigation plans, define project scope and objectives, develop sourcing approaches and strategies, conduct complex supplier negotiations, and manage the supplier selection process.
• Build supplier relationships, prepare and validate negotiation strategies, conduct strategic and complex supplier negotiation sessions, and manage escalations and conflicts.
• Give direction to teams on sourcing initiatives, RFX activities, contract signings, and approvals.
• Provide guidance to the contract management team for contract creation and finalization.
• Consult the Procurement Leadership team on procurement strategy development by analysing market trends, communicating governance strategies, and reviewing corporate strategy.
• Manage buying channel strategies.
• Function as an SME for the business in the respective category.
• Develop and implement the global strategy and include local requirements where applicable.
• Drive contract and third-party risk compliance for a full area of responsibility.

People Management

• Lead sourcing and category experts in their area of expertise and procurement generally through influence.
• Coach category buyers on negotiation, analysis, and strategy building, and lead and influence cross-functional teams across regions.
• Execute functional, talent, people, and performance management.
• Perform stakeholder management activities with senior stakeholders by leveraging advanced advisory skills.

Strategic Challenges

One of the key challenges in this role, and across the broader organisation, is transitioning from a business partner model to a category-focused approach. Success in this position depends on the ability to embed category management practices in close collaboration with local procurement teams, thereby unlocking strategic category opportunities. Importantly, this challenge extends beyond capability building in alignment with global direction; it also involves ensuring the consistent adoption and practical application of these capabilities across all locations.

Your profile

Work Experience

• More than 6 years in Procurement, preferably at a strategic level in an international financial services provider organisation.
• More than 6 years of experience managing direct reports or actively coaching procurement colleagues.
• More than 5 years of category-specific experience in workforce management, including contingency and temping labour, with understanding of different country legal frameworks and related market technologies.
• Experience in promoting and setting initiatives around workforce location strategy and cost optimization programmes.
• Proven experience in managing a global legal panel.
• Proven track record in delivering procurement value.
• Experience in leadership and transformation.
• Experience working with offshore teams.

Competencies

• Excellent English business communication skills, spoken and written.
• Strong project management skills to align with multiple stakeholders.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Understanding of regulatory and compliance aspects of procurement in a finance organisation.
• Legal acumen.
• Analytical skills.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to develop and execute best-in-class sourcing strategies with business stakeholder involvement.
• Influencing and conflict resolution skills.
• Agile and self-driven.
• Drive sustainable procurement.
• Proficient in data analysis and executive presentation.

Rewards & benefits

• 13th month salary
• 8% Holiday payment
• Individual Savings Contribution (BIS), 3.5% of your gross annual salary
• Mobility card
• Attractive pension scheme
• Hybrid working to blend home working for focus and office working for collaboration and co-creation

About ING as an employer

With 60,000 employees and operations in approximately 40 countries, ING offers opportunities for people with initiative who want to help people take a step ahead in life and in business. You will work with integrity, keep the customer’s interests at heart, and be surrounded by progressive, inspiring, diverse and supportive colleagues.