HR Senior Category Manager in London

Exciting opportunity with our client to help build global infrastructure and teams from the ground up. What makes this especially compelling is that you’re not just stepping into a role—you’re helping shape how the business operates moving forward, with real visibility and impact. It’s a chance to be part of a well-known global brand at a pivotal moment of transformation and growth.

Location: United Kingdom - London - Hybrid

Role Overview:

• Owns the end-to-end HR and Total Resource Management procurement category, including strategy development, sourcing, contracting, and ongoing vendor management across key HR spend areas (e.g., benefits, payroll, HRIS, talent, learning).
• Acts as the primary commercial partner to HR stakeholders, translating business requirements into effective category/sourcing strategies and contract structures to secure optimal, compliant, competitive and risk-managed procurement outcomes.
• Leads commercial negotiations with strategic HR providers to deliver cost savings and avoidance, reduce risk, and assure that service-level outcomes are aligned to business priorities.
• Plays a critical role in standing up and maturing the indirect procurement function, with specific focus on HR-related provider selection and contract execution.
• Ensures all HR-related service providers, their selection and contracts comply with all labour laws, the company’s code-of-conduct, and internal procurement policies.
• Participates as an invited member of the senior HR leadership team, acting as the bridge between the senior leadership team and procurement, while providing commercial input and assuring organizational strategic alignment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain a multi-year HR category strategy, including detailed spend analyses by sub-category, demand assessments, sourcing roadmaps, and contract renewal planning.
• Demonstrate data-led ownership to develop and execute transformational category strategies that align with business needs, external market dynamics, technological advancement and continuously manage the end-to-end performance of the category to deliver incremental value to the business.
• Lead scoping, sourcing, and negotiation of HR vendor contracts, including commercial terms, SLAs, pricing models, and risk provisions.
• Partner closely with HR (P&C) stakeholders and legal to understand requirements, align on priorities, and ensure contracts support operational, strategic and legal requirements.
• Manage ongoing vendor relationship and performance scorecards, to include governance forums, issue resolution, and value realization tracking across the HR supplier portfolio.
• Support transition and stand-up activities (e.g., Day 1 readiness, contract stand up), ensuring continuity of critical HR services.
• Acting as an agent of change by respectfully challenging the status quo to ensure optimum results are achieved between HR and Procurement.
• Build category knowledge across the wider procurement organization to end end-to-end strategy execution.
• Accountable and oversee the professional services and talent category and ensure end-to-end execution of the category strategies.

Experience & Qualifications:

• 15+ years of experience in procurement, category management, or strategic sourcing, with direct experience managing HR and/or related professional services categories. Note that 5+ years of direct experience working in the HR function, coupled with 8+ years of procurement experience, would also meet this minimum requirement.
• Proven track record of leading complex commercial negotiations and managing strategic vendor relationships in a matrixed environment.
• Strong understanding of HR services and vendor models (e.g., payroll, benefits, HRIS, talent, learning providers, etc).
• Experience supporting organizational change, separations, or procurement function stand-ups is strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or professional procurement certification (e.g., CPSM) a plus.

What Makes This Opportunity Unique:

• Help shape and build an indirect procurement organization, including stand up of critical contracts and the development of overarching HR sourcing strategies.
• Participating as a part of the senior HR leadership team.