Global Category Leader

Travelport is a place of opportunity. It's our incredible team that makes our company great - our people drive our winning culture.

What's Travelport?

Travelport is a worldwide travel retail platform. Our next-generation marketplace connects buyers and sellers that share our passion for delivering exceptional travel experiences. Unconflicted and independent, we are reinventing a simpler future for travel's complex ecosystem.

What does a great Global Category Leader (GCL) do?

The GCL Develops the strategy and directs and leads the implementation of category initiatives for strategic technology partnerships and transactions in a key category primarily focused on technology; leading initiatives to optimize category spend and lower costs, and leading projects in strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, and procurement activities, providing necessary linkages and leveraging scale across the organization.

Specifically, they will need to work collaboratively to understand business needs, translate these needs into specific supplier requirements, and establish target pricing, terms, SLA's, and success measures. The leader will then need to establish sourcing/negotiating strategies and drive execution and ongoing monitoring efforts to ensure objectives are realized and sustained.

The GCL is an integral part of the Global Sourcing team at Travelport. Global Sourcing is a highly regarded and broad reaching team whose contributions ensure Travelport's various business and technical teams have the tools (products and services) they need to deliver industry leading solutions to our customers.

Responsibilities:

Partner with Business Units and Supplier Relationship teams

• Engage business units on their strategies and resulting needs for third party goods or services
• Lead and coach internal business partners and team members on the sourcing process. Sourcing Process includes gathering requirements, market analysis, identifying sources, proposal evaluation, negotiations, contract creation, contract management, and spend analysis.
• Maintain effective relationships with key internal customers and support organizations
• Set and achieve clear goals for cost savings, value creation and supplier performance in context of business unit operating plans
• Participate in scorecard development, quarterly business reviews, problem resolution/escalation arising from supplier performance issues for assigned commodities/services
• Work collaboratively with internal clients to assist in procurement forecasting, demand management, requirements development and identification of possible purchasing channels and sources
• Create collaborative partnerships with business stakeholders to plan and execute Procurement activities and category strategies
• Manage vendor service utilization and seek to reduce under-utilized consumption

Strategic Sourcing

• Develop and execute strategic sourcing plans for assigned commodities and services
• Use category expertise in relevant categories/commodities to establish or refine category strategy
• Conduct market analysis to develop supply market strategies
• Utilize understanding of industry, supplier dynamics and market trends to determine sources of leverage
• Ensure optimal global spend leverage across Lines of Business (LOB's) and geographies
• Support any new business activities within LOB's by identifying appropriate sources within existing strategy
• Create and model Total Cost of Ownership for categories and sourcing decisions
• Drive supplier-selection processes
• Lead company-wide efforts to identify new suppliers, to include leading supplier development, and new program implementation efforts for Technology products and services
• Facilitate meetings that drive cost savings initiatives. This means demonstrating the ability to develop agendas, lead meetings, and document & publish critical results

Contract Strategy and Execution

• Lead the contract negotiation process with internal partners and suppliers. Own closure on contract.
• Lead negotiations, developing negotiation strategy and approach, fallback positions, acceptable terms and conditions through to closure. Evaluate, qualify, & select suppliers
• Understand contractual framework and negotiate appropriately in conjunction with Technology, business users and Legal.
• Measure savings and seek opportunities to manage off-contract spend
• Lead cross-functional project teams to ensure successful project launch, implementation and compliance

Management and Leadership

• Participate in a Global Sourcing team that supports the Company's objectives for this function.
• Create an environment that emphasizes "Partnership" with all Technology processes within and outside of Service Delivery.
• Effectively motivate and collaborate within their team and across their peer group.
• Lead cross functional teams, mentor team members
• Lead efforts to drive business process improvements in support of team objectives

What we look for/who would prosper in this role?

• 3 - 7 years proven experience within procurement organizations encompassing sourcing, supplier management, supplier quality management and procurement execution
• Previous Spend Responsibility at least $25+ million
• Ability to work in fast paced, complex and dynamic environment
• Demonstrated ability to think globally/strategically, turn information into effective strategies and drive results.
• Superior interpersonal skills, strong verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrates good judgment in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.
• Strong organizational and multitasking capabilities.
• Analytical skills to solve complex problems.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Experience with various sourcing and procurement practices and tools (i.e. 7 Step Sourcing Process, Oracle iProcurement), and ability to lead/support efforts to enhance the value of purchasing to the client.
• Must have a thorough understanding of contracting principles and contract structure, time and materials negotiations, and understanding of technology.
• Must have strong team building skills to integrate and motivate people from different organizations to work together in achieving process objectives and project goals.
• Must be adept at communicating with vendors and internal business partners to establish and maintain credibility for the sourcing function, while increasing service to our internal business partners - improving the quality and performance levels of the supply base to achieve the lowest total cost to the Company.

Preferred, but not required

• Degrees: BA/BS in Technology, Finance, Accounting and Business, Engineering, or related degree or equivalent experience in Procurement
• MBA and/or Purchasing Certification
• Technology organization experience is a plus

As we evolve and grow as a business, so will you.

You will thrive within an inclusive and diverse workplace where you are encouraged to think differently, and have the courage, confidence & ambition to challenge what's been done before, and be bold to win!

See yourself here: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/life-at-travelport/

These are just a few of our employee's favourite benefits/perks...

• Exposure to a diverse and interesting technology landscape consisting of both legacy (mainframe) and modern (cloud and other) technologies that power the sale of travel products and ensure the operational reliability of one of the world's best airlines.
• Part of a highly regarded team with a "hand in glove" relationship with the internal customers that we serve.
• Excellent flexibility in working arrangements, where working from our offices and from home are welcomed and encouraged.
• Travelport's "people first culture" provides for highly engaging and transparent relationships among employees and line managers.

Interested? We'd love for you to get in touch!

We are an equal opportunities employer and will consider all qualified applicants purely on their skills and abilities. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation, if needed.