Global Category Manager ICT & Professional Services

Global D&T; Category Manager

Function/ Region: Heineken Global Procurement

Fulltime: 40 hours per week

Closing Date: 5th July 2026

What will you do as Global D&T; Category Manager?

As the Global D&T; Category Manager, you will be the strategic architect behind our global technology spend. You will design, execute, and manage end-to-end sourcing strategies across the D&T; ecosystem. Serving as a trusted business partner to the D&T; senior stakeholders, you will drive digital transformation, optimize commercial value, mitigate supplier risk, and ensure our technology partnerships foster long-term innovation.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Category Management

• Strategy Development: Design and execute a 3–5 year global procurement strategy for the D&T; category, covering sub-categories such as SaaS, Cloud Infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP), Enterprise Software (ERP/CRM), Digital Marketing Tech, and IT Consulting/Professional Services.
• Spend Analysis: Conduct continuous spend analysis and market intelligence mapping to identify cost-optimization opportunities, rationalization levers, and emerging technology trends.
• Demand Management: Aggregate global demand across business units to leverage economies of scale and maximize purchasing power.

Commercial Negotiations & Sourcing Execution

• End-to-End Sourcing: Lead complex, high-value RFxs, global supplier selections, and commercial negotiations for enterprise-grade technology solutions.
• Deal Structuring: Drive creative commercial models (e.g., consumption-based pricing, value-based pricing, and hybrid licensing) that align with modern cloud and agile product deployment models.
• Contracting Excellence: Partner with Finance, Legal and Data Privacy (GDPR/Compliance) teams to negotiate robust Master Services Agreements (MSAs), End User License Agreements (EULAs), and detailed Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

Stakeholder Collaboration & Digital Transformation

• Business Alignment: Establish deep, collaborative partnerships with global D&T; leadership, product owners, and regional business heads to align procurement pipelines with the corporate digital roadmap.
• Innovation Scouting: Act as a bridge between the startup ecosystem/tech giants and internal teams to bring cutting-edge digital capabilities into the organization.

Supplier Relationship & Risk Management (SRM)

• Strategic SRM: Manage a portfolio of critical, tier-1 global technology partners (e.g., Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, Oracle, Accenture) to unlock value beyond contract terms.
• Risk Mitigation: Continuously assess and mitigate risks related to software compliance/audits, cybersecurity, vendor lock-in, and operational resilience.

Experience & Profile (what & how)

What:

• Education: Bachelor or Masters degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, IT or equivalent. Purchasing and/or Business qualification desirable (CIPS/MBA)
• Work experience: 7–10+ years of progressive experience in strategic procurement, with a minimum of 5 years dedicated specifically to Global IT/D&T; procurement.
• Ability to understand complex D&T; transformation projects
• Good knowledge and broad understanding of global IT supplier market and specific in the domain of ERP and enterprise technology solutions.
• Other fields of expertise: experience in the IT and/or Professional Services categories
• International Exposure: Demonstrated experience working within a matrixed, multinational corporate environment, managing cross-border stakeholders and diverse global supplier pools

How:

• Key Leadership expectations: shape, connect, develop, deliver and/or role model HEINEKEN behaviours
• Functional skills: Analytical, strong business acumen, interpersonal skills, negotiations
• Communication skills: Fluent in English (written and verbal), with the executive presence to influence C-suite stakeholders and challenge technical assumptions constructively.
• Resilient & Adaptable: Thrives i