Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing

Are you ready to lead sourcing at a global scale while driving transformation across a high-performing international team? As our new Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing, you'll step beyond traditional sourcing and procurement.

This is a unique opportunity to combine operational leadership, strategic sourcing expertise, stakeholder management, and process transformation in a truly global role. You'll help shape how sourcing is delivered across Wolters Kluwer, supporting a fast-growing function that manages hundreds of sourcing projects every month while enabling the business to make smarter, faster decisions.

About Wolters Kluwer and our Strategic Sourcing team

Wolters Kluwer is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for professionals in the healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and ESG sectors.

Within our Global Business Services (GBS) organization, the Strategic Sourcing & Procurement team serves as the engine behind third-party spend management and supplier partnerships. The team supports business-critical sourcing activities across software, technology, professional services, and other strategic categories, working with global suppliers and stakeholders across North America, Europe, and Asia.

About the Role

In this role, you support the continued growth of the Strategic Sourcing function. Reporting to the Strategic Sourcing Director, you will provide operational leadership across the sourcing organization while personally leading complex and high-value sourcing initiatives.

You will act as a trusted advisor and day-to-day coordinator for a team of Sourcing Managers and various other sourcing professionals across multiple regions. You'll oversee delivery performance, help remove roadblocks, optimize processes, support capability development, and drive transformation initiatives that improve efficiency and business outcomes.

This is a highly visible role that sits at the center of sourcing operations, partnering with business leaders, Legal, Security, Risk, IT, and Procurement teams to ensure sourcing excellence across the organization. If you enjoy navigating complex organizations, influencing stakeholders, leading change, and delivering strategic sourcing projects in a global environment, this role offers the perfect challenge.

What You'll Do

• Lead and oversee the successful delivery of a large portfolio of sourcing projects across the organization.
• Support, coach, and guide a team of Sourcing Managers and sourcing professionals to ensure successful project delivery.
• Act as a key escalation point for sourcing, supplier, stakeholder, and delivery challenges.
• Manage workload prioritization, capacity planning, and operational performance across the sourcing function.
• Build strong partnerships with stakeholders across Legal, IT, Security, Risk Management, Operations, and senior leadership.
• Lead sourcing transformation and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance efficiency, scalability, and stakeholder experience.
• Drive the adoption of sourcing tools, procurement technology, and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Personally manage several strategic sourcing projects, particularly within software and technology categories.
• Lead commercial negotiations and supplier discussions for complex and high-value agreements.
• Develop insights, reporting, and recommendations that support strategic decision-making and operational excellence.

Your Profile

We're looking for a sourcing professional who combines strong commercial expertise with the ability to lead through influence in a complex global environment.

You'll bring:

• A Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, or a similar field.
• Experience working within large, multinational, matrixed organizations.
• Proven success leading sourcing operations, transformation initiatives, process improvements, or organizational change programs.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capability, and negotiation skills.
• Experience managing and influencing stakeholders across multiple functions and geographies.
• The confidence to operate independently, make decisions, and navigate ambiguity.
• Excellent relationship-building and communication skills.
• Fluent English language skills.

What We Offer

This role goes beyond sourcing; it's an opportunity to shape how a global sourcing organization operates.

What makes this role especially attractive:

• Global impact – work with teams and stakeholders across the US, Europe, and India.
• Operational leadership without formal people management – influence and support a large international team while focusing on delivery, transformation, and business impact.
• Strategic technology exposure – lead sourcing initiatives involving software, technology, and emerging AI-related solutions.
• High visibility – collaborate with senior leaders and key business stakeholders across the organization.
• Transformation focus – drive meaningful improvements that enhance the effectiveness of a growing global function.
• Strong support structure – work closely with an experienced leader who previously held these responsibilities and is committed to ensuring your success.
• Hybrid working model and the opportunity to be part of a forward-thinking global organization.