Position Overview
Following a period of rapid growth, Hiscox has around 3,000 employees across multiple business units and countries. Procurement plays a key role in supporting the business strategy, driving value through effective supplier management, commercial excellence and strategic sourcing.
The Category Procurement Lead will be responsible for supporting the end-to-end category strategy, sourcing and supplier management activities across a range of spend categories, with a primary focus on People Services / HR. This includes working closely with HR and business stakeholders to develop sourcing strategies, optimise supplier performance and ensure procurement delivers measurable value.
This is a Procurement role at its core. The successful candidate will be a procurement / strategic sourcing professional who has previously managed procurement activity for People Services / HR categories — partnering with HR functions as an internal customer, rather than coming from an HR background.
People Services categories may include:
- Talent Acquisition Services
- Learning & Development
- Benefits & Wellbeing
- HR Operations
The role will be supported by Category Analysts based in Lisbon and will partner closely with stakeholders across the UK, Europe and the US.
Responsibilities
Category Strategy
- Develop and maintain category strategies aligned to business priorities and workforce objectives.
- Identify opportunities for cost optimisation, supplier consolidation, risk mitigation and service improvement.
- Provide market insight and recommendations to stakeholders across People Services categories.
Business Partnership
- Build strong relationships with business and HR leaders across the organisation.
- Support the development of sourcing strategies that align with business and workforce needs.
- Act as a trusted advisor on procurement, supplier management and commercial matters.
Sourcing & Procurement
- Lead end-to-end sourcing activities including RFI, RFP, RFQ and supplier selection processes.
- Develop negotiation strategies and lead commercial discussions with suppliers.
- Ensure procurement activity is executed in line with governance and risk requirements.
Supplier Management
- Manage strategic supplier relationships and performance reviews.
- Establish KPIs, governance frameworks and continuous improvement plans.
- Lead issue resolution and supplier escalation activities where required.
Contracting & Governance
- Partner with Legal, Risk and Compliance teams to ensure appropriate contractual protections are in place.
- Ensure compliance with internal procurement policies and external regulations.
- Drive best-practice procurement and supplier governance across the category.
Collaboration
- Share best practices and contribute to the continuous development of procurement capabilities.
- Collaborate effectively across Procurement, HR, Finance, Legal and operational teams.
Skills & Experience
Essential
- 6–8 years' experience in Procurement, Strategic Sourcing or Category Management.
- Previous procurement experience managing People Services / HR-related spend categories (e.g. Recruitment Services, Learning & Development, Benefits, HR Operations or similar).
- Experience partnering with HR / People functions as an internal stakeholder on procurement initiatives.
- Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills.
- Excellent supplier relationship management capabilities.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Proven ability to lead sourcing and contract negotiations.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Experience operating in large and/or complex organisations.
Desirable
- Experience across multiple People Services categories.
- Experience supporting HR transformation programmes or workforce strategies.
- Experience within Financial Services or another regulated environment.
- Professional procurement qualification (CIPS Level 5/6 or equivalent).
Qualifications
- Degree (or equivalent experience) in Procurement, Business, Finance, Law or a related discipline.
- CIPS qualification preferred.
- Additional qualifications in contract management, supplier management or procurement best practice would be advantageous
