Director-Partner Category & Contract Management

Job Description: Director – Partner, Category & Contract Management | GUA | GSW | QRO | Other locations The Director – Partner, Category & Contract Management leads the enterprise capability responsible for maximizing value, performance, risk management and strategic leverage across MGS partners, categories and contracts.

The role exists to create a consistent approach to partner governance, category strategy and contract management, ensuring Mars has the right partners, commercial structures and management disciplines to deliver sustainable business outcomes. The Director – Partner, Category & Contract Management operates as a core leadership role within Enabling Capabilities and serves as the enterprise point of integration for strategic partner relationships, category strategy and contract-management disciplines across MGS.

The role extends beyond traditional supplier or contract administration. Its mandate is to ensure that MGS actively manages external partnerships as strategic assets, understands where commercial and operational dependencies exist and continuously improves the value received from its third-party ecosystem. The position leads a team of partner, category and contract-management professionals and is accountable for building the organizational capability, governance and tools required to manage a complex global supplier portfolio consistently.

The Senior Director operates in close partnership with Procurement and Commercial teams, while maintaining a distinct focus on business ownership, operational performance, relationship effectiveness and value realization throughout the contract lifecycle. The role works closely with:

• MGS Leadership Team and Functional leaders.
• MGS Service and Capability Owners.
• SCDT Global Process Owners and service-line leaders.
• Portfolio, Demand & Value Realization.
• Process, Automation & Productivity.
• Digital Technologies and Data & Analytics teams.
• Finance and Strategy teams.
• Segment and business stakeholders.
• Customer and associate experience teams.
• Risk, Controls and Governance teams.
• External strategic and service partners. Key Responsabilities: Lead the Partner, Category & Contract Management capability, defining its strategy, establishing the enterprise framework, operating model, governance, standards and multi-year roadmap. Champion Enabling Capabilities within MGS, leading the organization to maturity and a strong experience with Enabling Capabilities.· Lead, develop and inspire a high-performing team responsible for partner management, category management, contract governance and commercial performance. Establish an integrated enterprise framework for managing strategic partners, suppliers, categories and contracts across MGS. Develop and maintain a clear segmentation of strategic partners and suppliers based on business criticality, spend, risk, dependency and value potential. Define and embed consistent partner-governance models, including executive sponsorship, governance forums, performance reviews, escalation mechanisms and relationship-management standards. Shift strategic supplier relationships from transactional vendor management toward outcome-focused partnerships that create mutual value and support MGS strategy. Partner with Procurement and business leaders to develop category strategies aligned to MGS priorities, future capability needs, market dynamics and enterprise sourcing principles. Provide visibility of category landscapes, supplier concentration, commercial opportunities, market trends and emerging risks. Job Specifications/Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, Law, Economics, Engineering, Technology or a related discipline required. MBA, Master’s degree or equivalent advanced qualification strongly preferred. Professional qualifications in Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Commercial Management, Contract Management or Supply Chain are advantageous. Certifications such as CIPS, CPSM, IACCM/World Commerce & Contracting or equivalent are beneficial. Extensive senior leadership experience in strategic supplier management, category management, procurement, commercial management, contract management or outsourced-services leadership within a complex global organization. Demonstrated experience building and leading high-performing teams across partner, category, sourcing or contract-management disciplines. Strong experience managing strategic suppliers and complex third-party ecosystems. Deep understanding of category strategy, strategic sourcing, commercial models, negotiation and contract lifecycle management. Proven experience with large and complex contracts, including managed services, technology, outsourcing, consulting and professional-services agreements. Strong understanding of supplier-performance management, governance, service levels, incentives, obligations and commercial levers. Experience identifying and delivering savings, cost avoidance, value improvement and commercial optimization opportunities. Strong understanding of contractual, operational, financial and supplier-risk management. Demonstrated ability to lead major renewals, renegotiations and commercial interventions. Experience building strategic partnerships that extend beyond traditional vendor-management relationships. Strong financial and commercial acumen, including understanding of pricing models, total cost of ownership, business cases and financial commitments. Proven ability to influence and constructively challenge senior executives, procurement leaders and external partner executives. Experience working across Procurement, Finance, Legal, Risk, Technology and Operations in a highly matrixed environment. Experience in Global Business Services, shared services, technology services or complex outsourced operating models strongly preferred. Excellent executive communication, negotiation, facilitation and stakeholder-management skills. Fluency in English required; additional languages are advantageous.