Business Services Procurement Manager – Global Outsourcing
Unilever · Katowickie Centrum Biznesu, Poland
Earlier this year, Unilever announced an agreement to combine its Foods business with McCormick & Company, creating a scaled global flavour powerhouse. The proposed combination would bring together iconic Foods brands, including Hellmann’s and Knorr, with McCormick’s portfolio to create a global leader across spices, seasonings, condiments and complementary food categories, supported by strong retail and foodservice platforms. McCormick brings more than 135 years of heritage, a presence in 150+ countries and territories, and a portfolio of trusted brands. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, with completion estimated for mid-2027.
Job Title Business Services Procurement Manager – Global Outsourcing
Function Procurement
Reports to Business Services Procurement Director
Scope Global
Country Location and Worksite Details Poland Katowickie Centrum Biznesu
JOB PURPOSE
This role exists to lead the global Outsourcing procurement portfolio, with responsibility for managing approximately €450+ million in spend, translating business requirements, service expectations, capability gaps and transformation needs into effective future-fit sourcing strategies, operating models and supplier roadmaps. The role develops and executes multi-year strategies across business-process, knowledge-process and managed-service outsourcing, balancing global scale, specialist capability, regional requirements and retained-organisation needs. Working with Business Services, Finance, HR, Legal, Tax, Privacy, Information Security, Technology, Risk, regional teams and service providers, the role enables value creation, controlled outsourcing decisions, robust transitions, supplier performance, compliance, automation and AI-enabled service improvement.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead, develop and empower the Global Outsourcing Procurement team of three FTEs, including this Manager role, with two Assistant Managers reporting directly, responsible for approximately €450+ million managed spend.
- Develop and execute multi-year strategies across business-process, knowledge-process and managed-service outsourcing, balancing global scale, specialist capability, regional requirements and retained-organisation needs.
- Lead multimillion-value global sourcing programmes from make-versus-buy assessment and business-case development through market engagement, e-tender, due diligence, solution design, negotiation, contracting, transition and stabilisation.
- Develop cost models, benchmarks, commercial agreements and statements of work covering scope, pricing, productivity, service levels, change control, benchmarking, innovation, exit support and continuous improvement.
- Own strategic supplier relationships and vendor-evaluation processes across BPO, KPO and managed-service providers, managing service, cost, quality, capacity, compliance, innovation, resilience, information security and continuity.
- Partner with Business Services, Finance, HR, Legal, Tax, Privacy, Information Security, Technology, Risk and regional teams to align outsourcing decisions and deployment.
- Build value, compliance and transformation pipelines through demand management, delivery-model choices, supplier consolidation, competitive sourcing, automation, AI-enabled approaches, knowledge transfer, control readiness and benefits tracking.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- University degree in Procurement, Business, Finance, Operations, Technology, Law or a related discipline, with 7–10 years of relevant procurement, outsourcing, shared-services, operations or supplier-management experience.
- Strong strategic-sourcing, negotiation and contracting capability across BPO, KPO, managed-service or related outsourced-service categories, including large global RFPs and statement-of-work closure.
- Strong understanding of outsourcing business cases, cost drivers, pricing models, service levels, governance, transitions, retained organisations, benchmarking and provider economics.
- Working knowledge of operational, financial, legal, tax, privacy, information-security, concentration, continuity and responsible-sourcing risks in global outsourcing.
- Demonstrated success leading global outsourcing procurement strategies and programmes across multiple markets, with experience operating at comparable spend and organisational scale.
- Strong financial, analytical, stakeholder-management, executive communication, influencing and bias-for-action capabilities, with fluent written and spoken English.
- Enterprise leadership mindset, with the ability to set clear priorities, lead through ambiguity and outsourcing-market change, balance strategic thinking with execution, build trusted senior stakeholder relationships and develop the two Assistant Managers while contributing to broader procurement capability development.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Relevant postgraduate or professional qualification in Procurement, Business, Finance, Operations, Technology, Law or a related discipline.
- Exposure to digital procurement, analytics, automation, AI-enabled sourcing or service-management approaches.
- Experience supporting supplier transitions, process transformation, e-tendering, due diligence or change across functions or geographies.
We welcome applicants from all walks of life and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive/succeed. All applicants will receive fair and respectful consideration, and we actively support the growth and development of every employee.
We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment journey. Should you require additional information or reasonable adjustments to allow you to present your best self during this process, please contact your Talent Partner.
Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.