Global Category Manager – Meetings, Conferences, Events

Position Summary

This role manages the Global Meetings, Conferences, and Events category, an area that supports scientific exchange, business engagement, employee connectivity, and external stakeholder interactions. The role will develop and execute category plans that balance experience, service quality, compliance, sustainability, resilience, and total cost while working within the global direction established by the Global Category Lead. Working within the strategy and governance established by the Global Category Lead, this role owns category execution from end to end. The Global Category Manager converts enterprise priorities into actionable plans, engages stakeholders before requirements and suppliers are finalized, leads complex sourcing and contracting work, manages supplier performance, and delivers measurable value across financial performance, business outcomes, quality, sustainability, resilience, and risk.

Objectives

• Develop and execute the Global Meetings, Conferences, and Events category plan in alignment with enterprise priorities and the strategy set by the Global Category Lead.
• Partner with business and program stakeholders to shape requirements, service models, demand, supplier choices, and commercial decisions before commitments are made.
• Build and manage a competitive supplier ecosystem supported by effective governance, preferred buying channels, and measurable performance outcomes.
• Deliver an actionable sourcing and value pipeline across cost, service, innovation, compliance, sustainability, risk, and stakeholder experience.

Accountabilities

• Analyze spend, demand, event types, attendee needs, supplier performance, market dynamics, risk, and sustainability data to identify category priorities and opportunities.
• Create and maintain category plans covering meetings management, event agencies, venue sourcing, production, attendee technology, group travel, and related services.
• Partner with stakeholders to define fit for purpose specifications, planning standards, service levels, buying channels, and supplier engagement approaches.
• Lead complex global and regional sourcing initiatives, negotiations, supplier selections, transitions, and contract implementations.
• Manage master agreements and commercial frameworks, including pricing, fees, service levels, incentives, performance guarantees, data requirements, and escalation provisions.
• Reduce supplier fragmentation and leakage by directing demand to the right preferred suppliers, commercial frameworks, competitive processes, and buying channels.
• Integrate third party risk, confidentiality, conflicts, information security, privacy, business continuity, responsible sourcing, and knowledge retention requirements into category decisions.
• Translate the global category strategy into an executable category plan, initiative pipeline, sourcing calendar, supplier roadmap, and stakeholder engagement plan.
• Operate within global strategies, decision rights, preferred supplier models, commercial frameworks, and buying channels while adapting execution to legitimate regional, market, and functional requirements.
• Engage upstream, before specifications, statements of work, supplier selections, and budgets are finalized, to shape demand and improve business outcomes.
• Maintain an end-to-end view of assigned spend, demand, pipeline, contracts, supplier performance, risk, tail spend, and value realization.
• Escalate portfolio choices and exceptions to the Global Category Lead.
• Deliver assigned targets and KPIs across P&L impact, P&L protection, cash improvement, innovation, quality, sustainability, risk, and business performance.
• Use market intelligence, advanced analytics, automation, and responsible AI solutions to improve decisions, execution speed, transparency, and stakeholder experience.
• Lead cross functional project teams without direct authority and create clarity on decisions, actions, owners, milestones, and value outcomes.
• Provide the Global Category Lead with clear insights, recommendations, risks, decisions required, and progress against the category plan.

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, finance, economics, or a related field required. Master's degree or MBA preferred.

Experience and Capabilities

• 8+ years of experience in procurement, category management, strategic sourcing, supplier management, or a related commercial function within complex global organizations.
• Subject matter expertise across relevant categories such as meetings management, conferences, congresses, event agencies, venue sourcing, production, audiovisual services, attendee technology, virtual or hybrid events, group travel, and related services.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing category plans and complex sourcing initiatives that deliver measurable enterprise value.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including sourcing, negotiation, supplier economics, total cost of ownership, contract management, and value realization.
• Ability to influence and constructively challenge senior stakeholders across functions, business units, and geographies.
• Experience leading cross functional initiatives in a highly matrixed and regulated environment.
• Strong supplier relationship management capabilities, including segmentation, governance, performance management, issue resolution, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement.
• Strong analytical and communication skills, with the ability to turn market, supplier, spend, and performance data into clear recommendations and decisions.
• Experience with digital procurement tools, automation, analytics, and AI enabled approaches.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, financial services, or another highly regulated global industry.
• Experience sourcing and managing meetings and events services across multiple countries or regions.
• Knowledge of event technology, data, payment, compliance, sustainability, and attendee experience considerations.
• Experience working with global strategies that require thoughtful regional and local adaptation.