We are seeking a strategic, detail-oriented procurement leader to serve as our Director, Supplier & Agency Performance & Innovation - Global. This is a hybrid position in Atlanta, GA.

About the Role

In this newly created role, you will establish and run supplier/agency performance management, and procurement best practices across the marketing and indirect procurement organization. You will drive continuous improvement and supplier-enabled innovation across the ecosystem - turning performance insight into measurable improvement, new capabilities, and strategic value-creation projects with our most important agencies and suppliers. This role spans > $800M in marketing and indirect spend across a wide range of strategic suppliers and agencies in the U.S. and EU.

Who You'll Work With

You will report to the Global Head of Marketing/Selling & Impact Procurement and will partner closely with the Director, Agencies & Media, and the Director, Market Insights & Patient Services Procurement, as well as business stakeholders across Marketing, Finance, Patient Insights, and Patient Services, to:

• Build performance standards into contracts at signature
• Elevate agency and supplier performance through continuous improvement after signature
• Establish enterprise-wide governance and best practices
• Report performance results with clear, data-driven narratives
• Drive supplier-enabled innovation and new agency/supplier operating models across the ecosystem

What You'll Do

• Supplier/Agency Performance Management Framework : KPIs, SLAs, and scorecards tied directly to MSA/SOW commitments, balanced across cost, quality, service, innovation, and sustainability - used to surface improvement and value-creation opportunities, not only to monitor
• Continuous Improvement Program : Design and lead a structured continuous-improvement program across the supplier and agency ecosystem - benchmarking, maturity assessment, and joint improvement roadmaps that raise quality, speed, and effectiveness year over year
• Supplier-Enabled Innovation : Build a supplier-/agency-led innovation pipeline - source new capabilities, ways of working, and emerging technologies from partners; run innovation forums and pilots; and scale what works across markets
• Strategic Partnerships & SRM : Segment suppliers and agencies into strategic, preferred, and transactional tiers with differentiated engagement - executive sponsorship and joint business planning that turn top partners into sources of competitive advantage
• Agentic AI & Emerging Technology in the Ecosystem : Shape how agentic and generative AI is deployed across the agency and supplier ecosystem as an innovation and productivity lever - setting standards for quality, data privacy, IP, brand safety, and human oversight, and reflecting AI-driven productivity in commercial models and ways of working
• Contracting/Procurement Best Practices : Partner with category leadership. Establish and document procurement best practices, playbooks, and standards across the function, and embed a continuous-improvement capability within the category teams so improvement and innovation become business-as-usual
• Quarterly/Annual Business Reviews (QBRs) : Lead with top-tier agencies and suppliers, presenting performance data and improvement plans. Run a tiered cadence where each review drives a decision (retain / expand / reduce / remediate / exit) and advances a joint innovation and improvement agenda - not a read-out
• Vendor Improvement Plans : Identify underperformance trends and drive corrective action plans in partnership with category leads, using structured root-cause / CAPA methodology with timelines, measurable targets, and tracking to closure
• Agile Teams & Strategic Value-Creation Projects : Develop agile methodology to partner with adjoining Marketing & Selling Procurement teams to assist with major PR/RFP processes with best practices / performance improvement. Stand up and lead cross-functional agile squads that deliver strategic value-creation projects with our most important agencies and suppliers - e.g., agency-model redesign, ways-of-working and speed-to-market improvements, and co-innovation initiatives - mobilizing the right experts, running in sprints, and delivering measurable outcomes
• Sustainability & Supplier Diversity : Advance ESG and supplier-diversity goals as part of the improvement and innovation agenda - partnering with suppliers and agencies on responsible, sustainable, and inclusive practices

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred, in business or a related discipline
• 12+ years in procurement, supplier/vendor management, or contract management, ideally within marketing or indirect procurement
• Experience building supplier performance management frameworks, scorecards, and supplier-enabled innovation / continuous-improvement programs that delivered measurable value
• Strong analytical and reporting skills; experience with BI/dashboard tools.
• Track record of leading cross-functional, agile value-creation and supplier-innovation initiatives with senior stakeholders
• Ability to influence senior-level stakeholders through clear, concise, executive-ready communication

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in pharma or life sciences procurement or in strategic consulting in a related field.
• Experience establishing governance frameworks in a matrixed, multi-region organization
• Strong digital and innovation fluency
• Known for elevating organizational clarity through structured reporting and narrative leadership
• Experience designing supplier and agency innovation ecosystems and new operating models

This position's reasonably anticipated base salary range is $184,000 to $241,500 per year. The actual salary offered will take into account internal equity and may also vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, among other factors.

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!

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