Title:  Professional Services Procurement Expert

Main Responsibilities:

• Lead clients through end-to-end lifecycle of category strategy development, issuance of competitive tenders, and compliant contract negotiation and execution.
• Act as a subject matter expert in professional services procurement, in categories including consulting and legal,  advising clients on supplier capabilities and best practices.
• Develop and implement sourcing and procurement strategies to drive value for clients.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on supplier offerings, providing insights into strategies and developing innovative solutions with a focus on Category Strategies and initiatives, Development and Execution. 
• Strategic Sourcing & Category Management for professional services including areas such as Consulting, Legal Services, Audit  and HR Services.
• Analyzing market trends, supplier capabilities, and cost structures to identify and deliver savings and value improvement opportunities
• Supplier Selection & Negotiation Leading RFPs, RFIs, and competitive bidding processes.
• Negotiating contracts, pricing, service levels, and performance metrics.
• Stakeholder Management, partnering closely with clients to understand needs, timelines, and strategic priorities. 
• Supplier Relationship & Performance Management, manage ongoing supplier relationships to ensure quality, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Resolve issues related to delivery, quality, or cost.
• Analyze spend data to identify savings opportunities and efficiency gains.
• Mitigate risks related to supplier reliability, compliance, and market volatility.
• Supporting the sourcing lead and team leads in conducting sourcing initiatives which vary in terms of complexity, scope and scale, both global and domestic. 
• Managing the process of market tenders and subsequent evaluation of bid proposals across a cross-functional team to determine supplier selection.
• Understanding business requirements and shaping deals to meet those requirements.
• Drafting contracts based on standard terms and conditions.
• Negotiating contracts to achieve optimal commercial terms.
• Maintaining market awareness of professional services supplier landscapes and contributing to sourcing area plans and business development.
• Establishing and maintaining strong relationships with our business partners, key suppliers, and multiple client groups. 

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred (Supply Chain concentration or MBA is a plus)
• Minimum 5+ years (ideally 10+) in Professional Services Sourcing, with contract and commercial negotiations, ideally in categories like Consulting, Tax, Accounting, Audit, Legal Services and HR Services
• Proven sourcing and negotiation experience with major suppliers
• Ability to draft and negotiate contracts with minimal legal support, ideally including structuring contracts with multiple Schedules, Annexes and Attachments globally
• Identifying savings opportunities and leading negotiating strategies
• Experience in relationship management, deal structuring, vendor management, and procurement
• Proven capability with multi-million-dollar sourcing projects
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills in German and English
• Ability to prioritize initiatives under tight deadlines
• Professional, committed, motivated, and flexible team player
• Client/stakeholder focus within the corporate environment with the gravitas to influence senior stakeholders and executive project sponsors
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects, often to tight deadlines, and deliver results
• Experience in working with market leading sourcing tools and systems
• Professional team player, motivated and highly flexible with dedication towards delivering meaningful results