Category Manager - Patient Services & Market Access - EU

UCB; Brussel; Hybrid; EUR 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

UCB is seeking a Category Manager – Patient Services & Market Access (EU) to drive sourcing strategies across Europe, based in Brussels. You will partner with the Global Category Lead and stakeholders to enable patient access solutions through strong supplier relationships and commercial agreements.

You will lead RFIs/RFQs, negotiate terms, and embed sustainability and risk management across sourcing activities, supporting patient services and market access in a hybrid work setup.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred in a related field.
• 5-8+ years in procurement, sourcing, or category management.
• Experience in Patient Services, Market Access, or healthcare procurement.
• Strong sourcing, supplier management, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to lead complex procurement initiatives across multiple countries.

Responsibilities

• Support development and execution of category strategies aligned to Patient Access and EU priorities.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing activities: RFIs, RFQs, evaluations, negotiations, contracting.
• Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships as commercial partner for strategic suppliers.
• Provide market insights and data-driven recommendations for procurement decisions.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify value-creation opportunities.
• Support supplier segmentation and performance management activities.
• Negotiate terms ensuring alignment with legal, compliance, and procurement requirements.
• Embed sustainability and risk management across sourcing and supplier governance.

Skills

Fluent English

Stakeholder engagement

Sourcing expertise

Contract negotiation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Job description

We are looking for a Category Manager – Patient Services & Market Access - EU who is strategic, commercially minded, and collaborative to join our Procurement team, supporting the delivery of sourcing strategies and supplier partnerships that enable patient access solutions across Europe based in Brussels, Belgium.

About The Role

As Category Manager, Patient Access (EU), you will play a key role in translating category strategies into sourcing initiatives, supplier partnerships, and commercial agreements that support business priorities across Europe.

Working closely with the Global Category Lead and cross-functional stakeholders, you will drive sourcing excellence, supplier performance, risk management, sustainability initiatives, and value creation across the Patient Access category. You will be responsible for managing end-to-end sourcing activities while helping shape long-term supplier strategies and ensuring alignment with procurement objectives.

This is an exciting opportunity to combine strategic category management with hands-on execution, influencing procurement decisions that directly support patient access and healthcare service delivery.

Who You'll Work With

You will work closely with colleagues across Procurement, Market Access, Patient Services, Legal, Risk Management, Sustainability, and Procurement Centers of Excellence. You will also collaborate with external suppliers and strategic partners to develop strong commercial relationships and deliver value across the supplier ecosystem.

What You'll Do

• Support the development and execution of category strategies aligned to Patient Access and EU business priorities.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing activities, including RFIs, RFQs, supplier evaluations, negotiations, and contracting activities.
• Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships and act as a key commercial partner for strategic suppliers.
• Provide market insights, sourcing expertise, and fact-based recommendations to support procurement decision-making.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to understand business requirements and identify opportunities for value creation.
• Support supplier segmentation, commercial relationship models, and supplier performance management activities.
• Negotiate contractual terms and conditions while ensuring alignment with legal, compliance, and procurement requirements.
• Embed sustainability, risk management, and supplier governance principles across sourcing and supplier management activities.
• Support preferred vendor strategies, buying channel adoption, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Work collaboratively across global and regional teams to enhance procurement effectiveness and stakeholder experience.

Interested? For this role we're looking for:

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred, with 5-8+ years of experience in procurement, sourcing, category management, or a related commercial function.
• Experience within Patient Services, Patient Support Programs, Market Access, healthcare services procurement, or closely related categories.
• Strong sourcing, supplier management, contract negotiation, and stakeholder engagement experience, with the ability to independently lead complex procurement initiatives.
• Demonstrated success operating within global or regional matrix organizations, managing stakeholders, suppliers, and projects across multiple countries and time zones.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capability, and the ability to leverage market insights and procurement data to drive decision-making.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and relationship-building skills, with fluency in English.

Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!

About Us

UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company, focusing on neurology and immunology. We are over 9.000 people in all four corners of the globe, inspired by patients and driven by science.

Why work with us?

At UCB, we don't just complete tasks, we create value. We aren't afraid to push forward, collaborate, and innovate to make our mark for patients. We have a caring, supportive culture where everyone feels included, respected, and has equal opportunities to do their best work. We ‘go beyond’ to create value for our patients, and always with a human focus, whether that’s on our patients, our employees, or our planet. Working for us, you will discover a place where you can grow, and have the freedom to carve your own career path to achieve your full potential.

At UCB, we’ve embraced a hybrid-first approach to work, bringing teams together in local hubs to foster collaborative curiosity. Unless expressly stated in the description or precluded by the nature of the position, roles are hybrid with 40% of your time spent in the office.

UCB is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be made without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on [e-mail]. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments; we will not be able to support you through this channel.