Procurement Category Manager - Travel, Meeting & Events

About us:

LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) is more than a diversified global financial markets infrastructure and data business. We are dedicated, open-access partners with a dedication to excellence in delivering the services our customers expect from us. With extensive experience, deep knowledge and worldwide presence across financial markets, we enable businesses and economies around the world to fund innovation, manage risk and create jobs. It’s how we’ve contributed to supporting the financial stability and growth of communities and economies globally for more than 300 years. Through a comprehensive suite of trusted financial market infrastructure services – and our open-access model – we provide the flexibility, stability and trust that enable our customers to pursue their ambitions with confidence and clarity.

LSEG is headquartered in the United Kingdom, with significant operations in over 60 countries across EMEA, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. We employ 25,000 people globally, more than half located in Asia Pacific. LSEG’s ticker symbol is LSEG.

About the team:

Group Procurement is responsible for managing third-party supplier engagements, partnering with the business to drive high performance and sustainable value from our supplier relationships. We aim to make LSEG easier and more attractive to do business with and we consider our suppliers as a source of competitive advantage and not just about cost.

About the role:

The Category Manager for Travel, Meeting & Events will develop and implement a comprehensive procurement strategy for Travel, M&E management across all regions. This role ensures cost efficiency, quality of service delivery, and compliance with company’s policies. The role will perform a combination of sourcing, supplier relationship management and business partnering activities, with an emphasis on sourcing for some of the above categories.

Key Responsibilities / Tasks:

1. Develop and implement a global category strategy for travel (air, hotel, ground transport) and corporate Meeting & Events.
2. Define, gain agreement to and implement strategic sourcing plans for Travel, Meeting & Events category, and sourcing initiatives in support of defined business goals and business roadmaps that also align with LSEG’s sustainability goals.
3. Lead the implementation of strategic and preferred suppliers for the Category and drive downwards the number of active suppliers.
4. Implement a programme of supplier categorisation to drive value and focus and lead supplier negotiation and contract management.
5. Use internal and external data and analysis, relationships and specialist insight to provide a clear expert view on business investment decisions (e.g. spend analysis, supply markets, sourcing value levers, supply market reviews, business case assessments etc.), to stimulate innovative problem solving within the business.
6. Develop and commit to performance targets and provide reporting in line with business compliance and procedures, provide support to business.
7. Anticipate future procurement challenges, ensuring the business is equipped with the right strategies to deliver the best possible commercial outcomes.
8. Lead and drive strategic sourcing engagement for the Category, focusing on commercial and contractual negotiations, working with internal business partners and legal colleagues.
9. Provide an advisory service within a matrix orientated business by utilising an appropriate level of commercial expertise and competence to ensure cost management and functional discipline.
10. Lead the delivery of a breadth of procurement initiatives, of varying complexity and value, using outstanding sourcing solutions.
11. Work with the business to ensure strategic SRM is considered in all procurement decisions, facilitating the handover into the contract management team and providing ongoing support and insight to address challenges with incumbent suppliers.
12. Ongoing proactive review of existing Category arrangements in collaboration with business executives and responsibility centre owners, to include ownership of the Category policy to ensure full compliance and least cost.
13. Ensure appropriate risk mitigation strategies are an intrinsic part of sourcing decisions and contract management including contractual protections and ongoing supplier risk management.
14. Act as a business partner to relevant internal business partners in the Category, by understanding business strategy and providing creative challenge and thought leadership, which influences and supports business decision-making.
15. Lead SRM of strategic supplier relationships (business critical and high spend), leading all key commercial and governance aspects. Facilitate regular supplier review meetings as well as joint steering group meetings with senior internal business partners. Lead supplier risks and issues.
16. Facilitate workload management and prioritisation processes to ensure that resource is passionate about the highest value opportunities in commercial risk management and cost benefit terms.
17. Maintain Procurement systems and tools (e.g. pipeline management tool, savings tracker, supplier and contract databases, Category spend metrics), identifying and acting upon forthcoming renewals as required and identifying future cost reduction opportunities.
18. Ensure compliance with corporate product, procedural, regulatory, quality, environmental and corporate social responsibility policies.
19. Assist in the development of the team and the wider Group Procurement function across LSEG and different geographies.
20. Identify the implications of a change and facilitate the variation of the contract.

Skills and Experiences:

1. Extensive procurement and category management experience and industry / market knowledge relating to Indirect Procurement and more specifically Travel, Meeting & Events including subcategories such as Air, Hotels, Sustainability, Venue Sourcing, Client Entertainment, Events Management, Sponsorships.
2. Strong knowledge of Travel and M&E supplier market and experience of dealing and negotiating with the major market agencies, both commercially and contractually.
3. Strong financial competence and cost management skills, ability to assess the risk of contracting with an organisation based on a review of their company accounts.
4. Familiar and comfortable with intermediate IT tools and Procurement systems, ability to provide management information to assist sourcing and contract management process.
5. Consistent record of running and leading business change and the transformation of business relationships, influence and act as an expert across the organisation.
6. Demonstrated analytical, problem solving, project management and decision-making skills in a senior sourcing leadership capacity for a major corporation.
7. Pro-active behaviour that demonstrates initiative and positive work ethic to ensure activities are delivered to the required time, budget and quality.
8. Coaching and mentoring less experienced resources (e.g. buyers).
9. Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) including the ability to produce compelling narratives to guide internal business partners to sound decision-making.
10. Educated to degree level and/or ideally procurement / supply operation qualification, e.g. MCIPS or IAACM.