Sr Category Manager, Indirect Procurement – HR, Payroll & Travel

World Fuel Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

World Fuel Group in London, UK (Hybrid) seeks a Senior Category Manager – Indirect Procurement to lead strategy across HR, Payroll and Travel, and manage supplier relations in a global setting.

The role combines commercial strategy, stakeholder engagement and procurement transformation, requiring strong negotiation skills, data-driven insights, and the ability to drive measurable cost savings.

Qualifications

• Degree qualified or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of strategic procurement and category management experience.
• Strong experience managing indirect procurement categories within a multinational or global organization.
• Experience leading procurement strategies across HR, Payroll, Travel, Professional Services, or related indirect spend categories.
• Demonstrated success delivering strategic sourcing initiatives and measurable cost savings.
• Strong commercial negotiation and contract management experience.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and leading cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong financial analysis, business case development, and commercial evaluation skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies across HR, Payroll, Travel, and other indirect procurement categories.
• Align category plans with business objectives and stakeholder priorities.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs, improve supplier performance, reduce risk, and create long-term value.
• Conduct market analysis, benchmarking, and supplier assessments to support strategic decision‑making.
• Lead complex sourcing initiatives from strategy development through supplier selection and contract award.
• Develop sourcing methodologies, evaluation frameworks, and negotiation strategies.
• Lead commercial and contractual negotiations with global suppliers.
• Challenge existing commercial arrangements and identify opportunities for improved service, pricing, and contractual protections.
• Deliver measurable savings, value creation, and operational improvements.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders across HR, Finance, Legal, Technology, and business operations.
• Act as a strategic advisor on procurement decisions and supplier strategies.
• Present recommendations, business cases, and sourcing outcomes to senior stakeholders.
• Influence decision-making through data-driven commercial insights.
• Oversee the full contract lifecycle, including renewals, amendments, reviews, and terminations.
• Establish supplier performance expectations, KPIs, and governance frameworks.
• Drive supplier innovation, continuous improvement, and value-generation initiatives.
• Manage supplier relationships to maximize business outcomes and mitigate risk.
• Lead procurement improvement initiatives focused on automation, process optimization, analytics, and digital transformation.
• Use spend analysis, benchmarking, cost modelling, and total cost of ownership methodologies to identify opportunities.
• Contribute to procurement policy development, governance improvements, and operating model enhancements.
• Support the evolution of procurement capabilities, tools, reporting, and data management.
• Coach, mentor, and develop procurement team members.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Support capability building across the broader procurement organization.

Skills

Strategic procurement

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Financial analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Degree qualified

Tools

Oracle Fusion

Job description

At World Fuel, our employees are the key to our global success. We are industry leaders due to the innumerable talents of our approximately 5000 strong professional team. Our people thrive in an entrepreneurial and culturally-diverse environment, where innovative thinking, collaboration and efficient execution are highly valued. Our high-performance culture is what allows us to drive sustained growth. Stronger together, we promote an environment where individuals can thrive.

Senior Category Manager – Indirect Procurement

Location: London, UK (Hybrid)

Drive Global Procurement Strategy. Influence Senior Leaders. Deliver Business Impact.

World Fuel is seeking an experienced Senior Category Manager – Indirect Procurement to lead the strategy, sourcing, and supplier management activities across key indirect spend categories, including HR, Payroll, and Travel.

This is a highly visible role that sits at the intersection of commercial strategy, stakeholder engagement, supplier management, and procurement transformation. You'll partner with senior leaders across HR, Finance, Legal, Technology, and other business functions to shape category roadmaps, lead complex negotiations, drive cost optimization initiatives, and deliver long-term business value.

If you enjoy influencing senior stakeholders, leading strategic sourcing programs, challenging the status quo, and shaping procurement strategy within a global organization, this is an outstanding opportunity to make a significant impact.

What You'll Do

Lead Category Strategy

• Develop and execute category strategies across HR, Payroll, Travel, and other indirect procurement categories.
• Align category plans with business objectives and stakeholder priorities.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs, improve supplier performance, reduce risk, and create long-term value.
• Conduct market analysis, benchmarking, and supplier assessments to support strategic decision‑making.

Strategic Sourcing & Negotiation

• Lead complex sourcing initiatives from strategy development through supplier selection and contract award.
• Develop sourcing methodologies, evaluation frameworks, and negotiation strategies.
• Lead commercial and contractual negotiations with global suppliers.
• Challenge existing commercial arrangements and identify opportunities for improved service, pricing, and contractual protections.
• Deliver measurable savings, value creation, and operational improvements.

Executive Stakeholder Partnership

• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders across HR, Finance, Legal, Technology, and business operations.
• Act as a strategic advisor on procurement decisions and supplier strategies.
• Present recommendations, business cases, and sourcing outcomes to senior stakeholders.
• Influence decision-making through data-driven commercial insights.

Supplier & Contract Management

• Oversee the full contract lifecycle, including renewals, amendments, reviews, and terminations.
• Establish supplier performance expectations, KPIs, and governance frameworks.
• Drive supplier innovation, continuous improvement, and value-generation initiatives.
• Manage supplier relationships to maximize business outcomes and mitigate risk.

Procurement Transformation & Continuous Improvement

• Lead procurement improvement initiatives focused on automation, process optimization, analytics, and digital transformation.
• Use spend analysis, benchmarking, cost modelling, and total cost of ownership methodologies to identify opportunities.
• Contribute to procurement policy development, governance improvements, and operating model enhancements.
• Support the evolution of procurement capabilities, tools, reporting, and data management.

Team Leadership & Development

• Coach, mentor, and develop procurement team members.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Support capability building across the broader procurement organization.

What You'll Bring

Required Experience

• Degree qualified or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of strategic procurement and category management experience.
• Strong experience managing indirect procurement categories within a multinational or global organization.
• Experience leading procurement strategies across HR, Payroll, Travel, Professional Services, or related indirect spend categories.
• Demonstrated success delivering strategic sourcing initiatives and measurable cost savings.
• Strong commercial negotiation and contract management experience.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and leading cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong financial analysis, business case development, and commercial evaluation skills.

Preferred Experience

• International procurement experience.
• Experience operating within a global matrix organization.
• Knowledge of Oracle Fusion or similar ERP platforms.
• Experience supporting procurement transformation, digitization, or automation initiatives.
• Exposure to SOX controls, internal audit processes, or procurement governance programs.

You Are Someone Who

• Thinks strategically while maintaining strong execution discipline.
• Builds credibility quickly with senior stakeholders.
• Is comfortable challenging assumptions and driving constructive change.
• Thrives in a fast‑paced, evolving global environment.
• Uses data and commercial insight to influence decisions.
• Enjoys solving complex business problems and negotiating win‑win outcomes.
• Balances supplier partnership with commercial rigor.