Global Category Specialist

Job Title: Global Category Specialist - Marketing Procurement (Agile) Contract: Permanent Location: London Closing date: 23rd March About the Function Our Procurement team are innovators, always seeking new ways to help our business, people and much-loved brands thrive. We're dedicated to maximising the £12 billion+ we spend every year, building brands of premium quality, while creating sustainable value and growth . Together, we're shaping the services, partnerships and innovations that meet our future needs. Our procurement team delivers outstanding end-to-end value across our supply chain and offers innovative supplier solutions. Together, we're driving our 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' plan across suppliers and agency partners to create a more sustainable world. Wherever you choose to carve your career, we'll support and encourage you in our inclusive culture. Join our Procurement Team As the custodians of iconic brands such as Baileys, Guinness, Smirnoff, and Johnnie Walker, at Diageo, we source, produce and deliver 6.5 billion litres of world-leading products every year, across 180 markets globally. The commercial challenges here are large, diverse and endlessly fascinating. Never more so than in Procurement. As an organisation, we spend over £5 billion per year. And as the driving force in this expenditure, our Procurement teams make a far-reaching contribution to our business, productivity and growth goals - right across the globe. Premium quality and end-to-end, sustainable value are how we measure our success - across services, partnerships and products. We always want to be the best and, along with engaging the best talent to work with the best products, this is how we attempt to do it. Ultimately, this is about people as much as numbers. We build great relationships internally and externally - so we understand our needs and how to meet them. Every time. Join us in Procurement and, if you're driven, resilient and share our pioneering spirit, there's a world of opportunity here for you. Are you passionate about driving the future of our global marketing procurement categories - with a focus of your time to support the growth of our global travel and our global brand teams (GBTs)? Do you have an interest in bringing new ideas and innovative solutions across marketing categories? Do you want to ensure our brand teams spend their A&P in the best possible way to drive growth? ... If so this role is for you Overview of the Role This role is incredibly exciting, as you will drive our Global Marketing Procurement strategic objectives and empower our Global Travel teams to grow our brands through exceptional business partnerships across all A&P categories. In this agile position, you will primarily focus on our Global Travel business while also supporting the delivery of initiatives with our Global Brand Teams. Depending on capacity, you will engage in various other projects and programs to advance our global marketing procurement strategic priorities. Key Responsibilities As the Global Category Specialist - Marketing Procurement (Agile), you will actively engage in a vibrant global community of procurement professionals across various spend categories. Your role involves participating in regular meetings to ensure strategic alignment and fostering the development of both your own and others' capabilities and expertise. Business Partnering: Cultivate and nurture key stakeholder connections to help shape strategic and investment decisions across Global Travel, Global Brand Teams, agency partners, and broader business collaborators. Drive our Relationship Collaboration Programme (RCP): Drive RCP across relevant categories, infusing insights into our global marketing procurement category teams to support global agency partner initiatives Sourcing Excellence: Spearhead sourcing activities for specific spend categories across GT & GBTs. This includes negotiating with agency partners, implementing workplans, through to navigating agency selection processes and contracting. Strategic Execution: Support the end-to-end execution of category strategies through the co-build and delivery of our implementation plans (GT & GBT), which are unlocked through our collaboration with our global marketing procurement category teams to meet strategic goals. Driving the highest standards of Compliance: Through risk management processes, spend monitoring, segmentation, risk management, savings tracking & reporting and contract management and cost modelling / benchmarking. Data led decision making: Utilise key tools and data to generate insights that enable you to objectively challenge established practice to stimulate alternative thinking and influence decision-making Subject Expertise: Develop deep expertise in all areas of Advertising and Promotion spend and lead the implementation of projects related to these critical spend areas. Support Society 2030 Ambitions: Collaborate passionately in delivering Diageo's Society 2030 ambition through innovative initiatives. Dynamic Category Collaboration: Work flexibly across categories as needed to contribute to wider procurement programs and projects. Experience, Skills & Capabilities Required A dynamic individual with the ability to thrive in an agile and fast paced environment, able to prioritise according to business needs. You can build long lasting relationships that drive value and create high impact over the short, mid and long term. Extensive experience in Marketing Procurement or relevant Marketing/Brand Manager roles. With subject-matter expertise in Marketing. Demonstrated performance in projects and in cross-market teams, experience developing and driving category and procurement strategies, managing and negotiating with suppliers and inspiring change initiatives to further business performance. Skilled at building partnerships, both externally with our agencies and suppliers, and internally with our business partners / marketing team members Independent thinker with strong leadership & communication skills, able to inspire internal marketing team members and external agency partners Strong verbal, written and presentation; strong interpersonal skills. Proven track record of consistent performance and delivery Commercial competence, and strong knowledge of Best-in-Class Procurement practices and ways of working is also desirable for this role. Strong analytical and financial awareness including a strong understanding of AOP requirements and financial goals & value drivers relevant to the categories in scope. Track record of generating insights to influence decision-making; good commercial skill. Good systems knowledge (esp. SAP, CLM, Salesforce, M/S Office, or similar systems & tools). Working with Us Flexibility is key to success in our business and many of our people work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, compressed hours, flexible location. Please talk to us about what flexibility means to you and don't let anything stop you from applying. We believe the most diverse and inclusive culture makes for a better business and a better world. We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realise its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. Around the world we have a number of inclusive Business and Employee Resource Groups known as BRGs and ERGs. These influential groups, made up of our people, represent variousviewpoints, experiences andcommunities who generate thought-provokingworkto enhance ourbusiness and workplace, creating a sense of belonging and opportunities for all. Join us and you can also expect a highly competitive and flexible rewards and benefits package including: Contemporary work life balance policies and wellbeing activities Contributary pension scheme Comprehensive health insurance Annual bonus Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and listened to, is a crucial part of this. We believe the most inclusive and diverse culture makes for a better business and a better world. We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realise its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. Join us, and you'll be part of an organisation that embraces diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you'll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You'll be part of - and help build - an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, approaches, and more. And you'll help us champion inclusion and diversity across our entire business: with our employees, our suppliers, across our brands, and within the communities in which we operate. To be considered for this role you will be redirected to and must complete the application process on our careers page. 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