Director, Global Category Lead - Cybersecurity (Job ID:10079558)

A leading global organisation is seeking a Director Global Category Lead- Cybersecurity to define and execute the worldwide procurement strategy for cybersecurity technology spend. This pivotal role offers you the opportunity to shape category direction, drive commercial excellence, and partner with senior stakeholders across regions. You will be at the forefront of supplier portfolio management, ensuring alignment with enterprise technology priorities and maximising value through strategic sourcing. The position provides a unique platform to influence technology transformation initiatives, optimise costs, manage risks, and improve supplier performance on a global scale. Flexible working opportunities, exposure to international teams, and the chance to operate as a trusted advisor make this an exceptionalcareer move for those passionate about cybersecurity procurement. • You will lead the development and execution of a multi-year global cybersecurity category strategy, aligning plans with enterprise technology roadmaps and business priorities while monitoring market trends and supplier developments. • You will serve as the primary commercial advisor to technology stakeholders, leveraging global scale to optimise cost, manage risk, improve supplier performance, and support major transformation programmes. • You will have the opportunity to build executive-level relationships with key suppliers, drive innovation and service improvement initiatives, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements through robust governance practices. What you'll do: As Director Global Category Lead Cybersecurity you will play a central role in shaping the organisation’s approach to cybersecurity procurement. Your day-to-day responsibilities will involve collaborating closely with regional procurement teams and technology stakeholders to ensure consistent execution of category strategies. You will act as the subject matter expert for all cybersecurity-related investments—advising on market intelligence, commercial frameworks, supplier selection processes, contract negotiations, and risk mitigation. Success in this role requires you to foster strong partnerships both internally across departments such as Legal and Compliance as well as externally with key suppliers. You will champion best practices in governance while driving continuous improvement in supplier performance. By leveraging your expertise in strategic sourcing you will help deliver annual savings targets, optimise spend visibility, support transformation programmes, and enhance stakeholder satisfaction throughout the enterprise. • Develop and maintain a comprehensive global cybersecurity category strategy that aligns with enterprise technology roadmaps and business priorities while establishing clear objectives and value creation initiatives. • Monitor market trends, supplier developments, technology innovation, and industry benchmarks to identify opportunities for rationalising suppliers, standardising services, and consolidating spend. • Lead high-value complex sourcing initiatives across the cybersecurity portfolio by developing strategies that balance cost, risk, resilience, performance, and innovation. • Conduct competitive sourcing events, supplier selection activities, and commercial negotiations to establish enterprise-wide frameworks and strategic agreements. • Drive total cost of ownership optimisation and value realisation initiatives in support of major technology transformation programmes. • Serve as a trusted procurement advisor to cybersecurity and technology leadership teams by supporting investment decisions through market intelligence and commercial expertise. • Influence technology planning and demand management activities by ensuring early procurement engagement in strategic initiatives and translating business requirements into sourcing strategies. • Establish and maintain executive-level relationships with key cybersecurity suppliers by developing segmentation plans, conducting business reviews, driving accountability against contractual commitments, and partnering for innovation. • Ensure sourcing strategies align with enterprise risk, resilience, and regulatory requirements by partnering with Legal, Risk, Compliance, Information Security, and Third Party Risk functions. • Support supplier risk assessments and remediation activities while maintaining visibility of renewal pipelines, supplier commitments, commercial risks, and ensuring compliance with procurement policies. What you bring: The ideal candidate for Director Global Category Lead Cybersecurity brings extensive experience in technology procurement coupled with deep understanding of cybersecurity sourcing. Your proven ability to manage complex negotiations ensures successful outcomes when engaging with major suppliers. You possess strong interpersonal skills enabling you to build trust-based relationships at executive levels both internally among stakeholders and externally with vendors. Your analytical mindset allows you to assess market trends identify opportunities for consolidation standardisation or innovation while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements. Professional certifications demonstrate your commitment to ongoing development; however your practical experience leading cross-functional teams delivering measurable results is what truly sets you apart. Your collaborative approach fosters alignment across regions supports knowledge sharing drives adoption of best practices—and ultimately contributes to improved business partnership effectiveness throughout the organisation. • Minimum 12 years of relevant experience in technology procurement or strategic sourcing, including significant exposure to cybersecurity and software-related sourcing. • Proven experience in managing complex sourcing initiatives including negotiations for high-value contracts within large multinational organisations. • Demonstrated experience leading st…