Strategic Sourcing / Category Management - Marketing & Public Affairs

Job Description:

• Strategic Sourcing / Category Management - Marketing & Public Affairs

Overall Role / Manager's Needs:

• Manager is seeking an experienced Strategic Sourcing / Contract Management professional to support client's Marketing and Public Affairs organizations.
• This is a high-volume, hands-on sourcing and contracting role requiring someone who can immediately manage multiple contracts, supplier negotiations, and stakeholder relationships with minimal training.
• The position is more of a sourcing generalist role, rather than the technology-focused sourcing position manager previously recruited for.
• The ideal candidate has extensive banking experience, strong contract drafting skills, excellent project management abilities, and the ability to independently drive contracts from initiation through execution.
• Speed and productivity are critical, as the team has a significant volume of contracts that must be completed before year-end.

Top Three Priorities:

• Manager specifically identified these as her three most important qualifications:
• High-Volume Contract Management: Ability to manage numerous contracts simultaneously, including drafting amendments, new agreements, and Statements of Work (SOWs).
• Strong Contract Writing Skills: Extensive experience drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and executing contracts, with a strong understanding of legal terms and contractual requirements.
• Excellent Project Management Skills: Ability to independently manage competing priorities, coordinate stakeholders, and drive multiple sourcing initiatives through completion under tight deadlines.

Required Qualifications:
Banking Experience - Mandatory:

• Candidates must have experience working within a banking environment, preferably a large financial institution.
• Manager emphasized that banking experience is essential because she cannot spend significant time training someone on the complexities of banking procurement.

Contract Drafting and Negotiations:

• Strong hands-on experience drafting contracts, amendments, and SOWs.
• Must understand contractual and legal requirements and work effectively with Legal.
• A Juris Doctor (JD) degree would be particularly valuable but was not stated as mandatory.

Strategic Sourcing / Supplier Management:

• Experience independently managing sourcing initiatives and supplier negotiations.
• Must be comfortable communicating directly with external vendors throughout the day.

High-Volume Workload Management:

• Demonstrated ability to manage 20-30 contracts or sourcing initiatives within compressed timelines.
• Must be highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of juggling numerous competing priorities.

Stakeholder Management:

• Strong communication and relationship management skills.
• Must work independently with internal business stakeholders, vendors, and Legal.
• Preferred / Nice-to-Have Qualifications
• Marketing and Public Affairs Sourcing: Experience supporting marketing-related procurement would be a significant advantage because these are the primary internal customers.
• Print and Mail Services: Familiarity with printing, mailing, print production, and related supplier services would be beneficial.
• Technology Sourcing: Previous technology sourcing experience is welcome but is no longer the primary focus.
• Legal Background: Candidates with a JD or particularly strong legal contracting knowledge would be attractive.
• SAP Ariba: Previous experience with client's Ariba platform is helpful but not required. manager is willing to train candidates on the internal system.

Key Responsibilities:

• Independently manage the end-to-end sourcing and contracting lifecycle.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and execute contracts, amendments, and Statements of Work.
• Coordinate directly with internal Marketing and Public Affairs stakeholders.
• Manage supplier relationships and conduct vendor negotiations.
• Partner with client's Legal department to resolve contractual issues.
• Prioritize multiple simultaneous contracting projects while meeting aggressive deadlines.
• Take full ownership of assigned initiatives without relying on the manager to drive progress.

Previous Candidates / Prior Sourcing Position:

• Manager confirmed that suppliers may resubmit candidates previously interviewed or considered for her earlier technology sourcing position.
• Strong technology sourcing candidates can still be considered, provided they possess the necessary contracting, negotiation, and project management skills.
• Suppliers should clearly explain to returning candidates that this is a different position from the previous technology-focused opening.
• The previous position required deeper technology subject matter expertise and involved more complex technology sourcing.
• This position requires less specialized technical knowledge but involves approximately twice the contract volume.

Recruiting Guidance / Ideal Candidate Profile:

• Best-fit candidate: An experienced Strategic Sourcing Manager, Category Manager, Procurement Manager, or Senior Contracts Manager from a large banking institution who has personally managed high volumes of contracts, SOWs, amendments, and supplier negotiations.

Recruiters should prioritize candidates demonstrating:

• Large-bank procurement or strategic sourcing experience.
• Extensive hands-on contract drafting and negotiations.
• Independent ownership of sourcing initiatives from start to finish.
• Ability to manage 20-30 simultaneous contracting deliverables under tight deadlines.
• Strong project management and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience working directly with vendors and Legal.
• Marketing, print, mailing, or public affairs procurement experience as a differentiator.

Key Takeaway for Recruiting Team:

• Manager needs a banking-experienced, hands-on sourcing and contracting professional who can immediately take ownership of 20-30 contracts and drive them through execution before year-end.
• This is not primarily a technology sourcing SME or high-level category strategy position. The emphasis is on execution, contract writing, supplier negotiations, stakeholder management, and managing significant volume without extensive supervision.
• Candidates with strong strategic sourcing titles but limited personal experience drafting and executing contracts may not be suitable. Prioritize proven contract execution experience over specialized technology knowledge

Note:

• Length: 6 months
• Rate $85
• First 30 to 90 Days / Immediate Expectations
• Manager anticipates bringing the contractor onboard around November 1, 2026.
• The contractor could immediately inherit approximately 20 to 30 contracts requiring completion by the first week of December.
• There will be minimal time for training on contract writing, negotiations, or general sourcing responsibilities.
• Manager can provide training on client-specific systems and processes, including Ariba.
• The contractor must be capable of independently managing the entire contracting process almost immediately.
• The primary objective is to help the team complete its significant year-end contracting workload.

Contract Duration / Conversion Potential:

• Initial Contract: 6 months.
• Potential Conversion: manager indicated there could be opportunities to transition into a permanent client position.
• Client is undergoing changes related to its category management structure, and additional full-time opportunities may become available.
• Manager believes the right contractor could potentially transition into an FTE position after becoming familiar with the organization.
• Conversion is a possibility, not a guarantee.

Location / Travel:

• Location: Charlotte, NC.
• Travel Requirement: Approximately 5%, primarily local travel within Charlotte.
• Travel may include visits between client's CIC campus, Ballantyne, and downtown Charlotte offices for meetings or customer events.
• No significant out-of-town travel was discussed.

Pay Range: $XXX - $XXX
The specific compensation for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment. Our full-time consultants have access to benefits including medical, dental, vision and 401K contributions as well as any other PTO, sick leave, and other benefits mandated by appliable state or localities where you reside or work.