Global Procurement Category Director - Marketing

Job Description

You’re not the person who will settle for just any role. Neither are we. Because we’re out to create Better Care for a Better World, and that takes a certain kind of person and teams who care about making a difference. Here, you’ll bring your professional expertise, talent, and drive to building and managing our portfolio of iconic, ground-breaking brands. In this role, you’ll help us deliver better care for billions of people around the world. It starts with YOU. 

As the Global Procurement Director – Marketing, you’ll be a thought leader, accountable for world-class procurement of Media, Creative & Marketing Services globally, and will be the kind of person who thrives in an environment where you have the empowerment to succeed. Following a recent business-wide transformation and associated operating models, you will embed and optimize the commercial outcomes and opportunities that the new approach will deliver.You will create outstanding stakeholder partnerships internally, and collaborative relationships externally with our key marketing agencies – these relationships will be key to delivering beyond expectations in the key deliverables of full potential value.Serving all business segments and partnering closely with our Global Growth Organization, the global Marketing Procurement team consists of 7 procurement professionals and manages a network of global vendors, with $1.3 billion in annual spend.

Key focus areas of role:

Strategic Category Management & Execution

• Lead the annual development / review and execution of global Marketing category strategies aligned to business needs, leveraging a deep understanding of the relevant considerations in procuring Media, Creative, Insights & Analytics, & Marketing services.
• Anticipate future business needs and proactively develop options to allow for quicker decision making and speed-to-market supporting projects with large potential impact to business results.
• Execute commercial negotiation of vendor contracts on behalf of K-C, in alignment with key business stakeholders. Utilize experience creating negotiation strategy to develop a business-aligned approach and to coach team toward successful outcomes.
• Drive initiatives that enable spend optimization / reduction, revenue growth, margin improvement, risk management and process optimization.
• Establish and foster a global Marketing Procurement community that brings together both Global and Regional procurement team members from across our four business segments, and who work in the marketing procurement category, as well as cross-functional partners in the Marketing organizations
• Provide on-going, expert level, category knowledge and insights into each business Segment and the Global Growth Organization.
• Build and nurture excellent stakeholder relationships across the Segment Marketing and Global Growth partner organizations – these relationships will be key to the success of this role, and the ideal candidate will need to have demonstrated a track record of bringing insights and thought leadership to established and productive stakeholder relationships.

Vendor Performance and Relationship Management:

• Provide global leadership for vendor collaboration and innovation in alignment with long-term business strategies.
• Following the implementation of a new Marketing Agency model in early 2025, the successful candidate will be responsible for establishing supplier relationship management with our agency partners, optimizing the model with our Global Growth Organization, and incenting our agency partners to operate at higher levels of performance.
• Identify, cultivate, and develop excellent relationships with vendors, in particular our media, creative and insights agencies, that can become strategic partners.Establish aggressive objectives for total value delivery including price, service, innovation, compliance, and cost objectives for key vendors. Maintain an understanding of global benchmarks for key performance measures and best practices.
• Partner with business teams to regularly engage strategic vendors at the leadership level.

Team Leadership:

• Responsible for hiring and onboarding team members and managing ongoing performance with a direct team of 7 based across 5 different geographies.
• Provide coaching and identify targeted development opportunities to continuously improve functional capability.
• Challenge and stretch team to reach full potential performance for primary objectives, and best in class stakeholder engagement.
• Maintain a high level of Procurement expertise within the team, in particular in the key skills of Strategic Category Management, Negotiation Standards, and Supplier Relationship Management.
• Act as escalation point to resolve vendor disruption or to collaborate with senior stakeholders as needed.

About Us

Huggies®. Kleenex®. Cottonelle®. Scott®. Kotex®. Poise®. Depend®. Kimberly-Clark Professional®. You already know our legendary brands—and so does the rest of the world. In fact, millions of people use Kimberly-Clark products every day. We know these amazing Kimberly-Clark products wouldn’t exist without talented professionals, like you.

At Kimberly-Clark, you’ll be part of the best team committed to driving innovation, growth and impact. We’re founded on more than 150 years of market leadership, and we’re always looking for new and better ways to perform – so there’s your open door of opportunity. It’s all here for you at Kimberly-Clark.

Led by Purpose. Driven by You.

About You

You perform at the highest level possible, and you appreciate a performance culture fueled by authentic caring.  You want to be part of a company actively dedicated to sustainability, inclusion, wellbeing, and career development. You love what you do, especially when the work you do makes a difference. At Kimberly-Clark, we’re constantly exploring new ideas on how, when, and where we can best achieve results. When you join our team, you’ll experience Flex That Works: flexible (hybrid) work arrangements that empower you to have purposeful time in the office and partner with your leader to make flexibility work for both you and the business.

To succeed in this role, you will need the following qualifications:

Required:

• Ability to work cross-functionally and cross-culturally across multiple business segments and with central functions
• A depth of knowledge in procurement category strategy development and implementation.
• A wide degree of creativity and business judgement is required.
• Proven track record of strong internal (stakeholder) and external (vendor) relationships & network cultivation
• Bachelor’s Degree Supply Chain, Business Administration, or Finance
• 10+ years of senior-level procurement or related business experience
• Proven track record of talent building within a global environment
• Occasional travel may be required to support the business, depending upon your location (up to 40%)

Preferred:

• Master’s degree in supply chain, Business Administration, or Finance
• International sourcing, negotiating, and contracting experience
• Relevant procurement experience specifically in the Marketing category will be a significant advantage
• Experience of leading global teams across multiple geographies

Total Benefits

Here are just a few of the benefits you’d enjoy working in this role for Kimberly-Clark. For a complete overview, see www.mykcbenefits.com.  

Great support for good health with medical, dental, and vision coverage options with no waiting periods or pre-existing condition restrictions. Access to an on-site fitness center, occupational health nurse, and allowances for high-quality safety equipment.

Flexible Savings and spending accounts to maximize health care options and stretch dollars when caring for yourself or dependents.

Diverse income protection insurance options to protect yourself and your family in case of illness, injury, or other unexpected events.

Additional programs and support to continue your education, adopt a child, relocate, or even find temporary childcare.

To Be Considered Click the Apply button and complete the online application process. A member of our recruiting team will review your application and follow up if you seem like a great fit for this role.

In the meantime, please check out the careers website.

And finally, the fine print….

For Kimberly-Clark to grow and prosper, we must be an inclusive organization that applies the diverse experiences and passions of its team members to brands that make life better for people all around the world.  We actively seek to build a workforce that reflects the experiences of our consumers.  When you bring your original thinking to Kimberly-Clark, you fuel the continued success of our enterprise. We are a committed equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification. Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, and DMV check.

Salary Range: $181,500 – 235,000 USD

At Kimberly-Clark, pay is just one aspect of our total rewards package, which also includes a variety of benefits and opportunities to achieve, thrive and grow. Along with base pay, this position offers eligibility for a target bonus and a comprehensive benefits suite, including our 401(k) and Profit-Sharing plan. The anticipated base pay range for this role is provided above for a fully qualified hire. Actual pay will depend on several factors, such as location, role, skills, performance, and experience. Please note that the stated pay range applies to US locations only.

Veterans and members of the Reserve and Guard are highly encouraged to apply.

This role is available for local candidates already authorized to work in the role’s country only. Kimberly-Clark will not provide relocation support for this role.

#LI-Hybrid

Primary Location

Chicago Commercial Center

Additional Locations

USA-GA-Atlanta-Roswell, USA-WI-Neenah

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time