Procurement Category Manager - Talent

Make your mark for patients

We are looking for a Procurement Category Manager – Talent who is commercially focused, collaborative, and relationship-driven to join our Global Procurement organization, based in Brussels, Belgium.

About the Role

As Procurement Category Manager – Talent, you will support the development and execution of category strategies across a diverse Talent supplier portfolio, including areas such as contingent workforce, recruitment, learning and development, and other talent-related services.

You will manage end-to-end sourcing projects, lead supplier negotiations, optimize commercial outcomes, and ensure procurement decisions align with business requirements.

You will build a strong understanding of stakeholder needs and external supplier markets, and emerging workforce and talent solutions enabling you to provide informed sourcing recommendations and identify opportunities for innovation, efficiency, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement.

In addition to strategic sourcing and contracting activities, you will play an important role in supplier relationship management, governance, and performance management, helping to ensure suppliers deliver against agreed business objectives, service levels, and commercial commitments.

Who You’ll Work With

You will work closely with the Category Lead for Talent, business stakeholders, Legal, the Procurement Centre of Excellence, Sustainability and Risk teams, and Procurement Value colleagues.

You will also develop and maintain relationships with Talent suppliers, acting as a key commercial contact and supporting effective collaboration, performance management, and value delivery.

What You’ll Do

• Support the execution of global procurement strategies across the Talent supplier portfolio.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing projects, including market analysis, supplier identification, RFI and RFQ processes, evaluations, and recommendations.
• Develop negotiation strategies with the Procurement Lead and negotiate commercial terms and conditions with suppliers.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with business stakeholders, suppliers, and procurement partners.
• Translate business requirements into effective sourcing solutions while promoting preferred suppliers and established buying channels.
• Manage strategic supplier relationships, governance forums, and commercial performance, including leading regular business reviews, performance discussions, and escalation management where required.
• Support the governance and continuous improvement of managed service arrangements and supplier ecosystems across Talent categories, ensuring alignment with business objectives, service expectations, and commercial commitments.
• Contribute to the development and optimization of Talent procurement operating models, including contingent workforce, recruitment, learning and development, and other outsourced service solutions .
• Manage supplier relationships, monitor commercial performance, and act as an escalation point when required.
• Collaborate with Legal to establish appropriate contract terms and safeguard agreed KPIs and service-level agreements.
• Incorporate risk-management, regulatory, audit, and sustainability requirements into supplier selection and contracting activities.
• Use market trends, competitive insights, procurement analytics, and supplier knowledge to support fact-based decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement, procurement compliance, and greater coordination across supplier management, buying channels, and the wider category ecosystem.

Interested? For this role we’re looking for:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• E xperience sourcing, negotiating, and managing external service providers, ideally within Talent, HR, contingent workforce, recruitment, learning and development, or professional services categories.
• Experience working with and managing external service providers is highly valued, ideally within Talent, HR, or professional services.
• Experience managing procurement projects, sourcing processes, commercial negotiations, and supplier relationships.
• Experience managing supplier performance, governance processes, and strategic supplier relationships, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs) or other outsourced service models, is highly desirable.
• Strong contracting capabilities, including experience reviewing commercial terms and working with Legal partners.
• Good analytical skills, knowledge of procurement systems, and an understanding of relevant Talent supplier markets.
• Experience with contingent workforce programmes, Managed Service Providers (MSP), Vendor Management Systems (VMS), or workforce supply-chain management would be considered an advantage.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, with fluency in English and the ability to work effectively across global, cross-functional, and culturally diverse teams.

Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!

About us
UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company, focusing on neurology and immunology. We are over 9.000 people in all four corners of the globe, inspired by patients and driven by science.

Why work with us?
At UCB, we don’t just complete tasks, we create value. We aren’t afraid to push forward, collaborate, and innovate to make our mark for patients. We have a caring, supportive culture where everyone feels included, respected, and has equal opportunities to do their best work. We ‘go beyond’ to create value for our patients, and always with a human focus, whether that’s on our patients, our employees, or our planet. Working for us, you will discover a place where you can grow, and have the freedom to carve your own career path to achieve your full potential.

At UCB, we’ve embraced a hybrid-first approach to work, bringing teams together in local hubs to foster collaborative curiosity. Unless expressly stated in the description or precluded by the nature of the position, roles are hybrid with 40% of your time spent in the office.

UCB is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be made without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on EMEA-Reasonable_Accommodation@ucb.com. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments; we will not be able to support you through this channel.