Associate Director - Strategic Sourcing (Marketing)

Cellco Partnership; Ireland; On-site; EUR 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Verizon is seeking an Associate Director to lead Strategic Sourcing for Marketing from its Ireland-based Dublin team. You will shape global sourcing strategy for a multi-billion marketing portfolio, partnering with the CMO and senior leaders to align procurement with brand priorities and speed-to-market.

You will build and coach a high-performing team, drive category roadmaps, and push innovative AI-enabled sourcing across Creative, Communications, MarTech and Digital platforms.

Qualifications

• Significant progressive experience in Strategic Sourcing / Commercial Category Management at a senior level.
• Proven experience managing large-scale spend portfolios ($1B+) within complex orgs.
• Strong ability to lead, coach and develop sourcing professionals and engage execs.

Responsibilities

• Partner with CMO and Marketing leadership to design category roadmaps aligned to business strategy.
• Build and mentor a team of marketing sourcing experts; oversee recruitment and career plans.
• Lead multi-year strategies integrating AI MarTech, creative content tools, and omnichannel delivery.
• Negotiate with agencies, AI content partners, MarTech providers, and vendors for value and SLAs.
• Govern budgets and working capital with Finance and senior leadership; monitor DPO targets.
• Collaborate with IT and Legal to streamline contracting and procurement processes.

Skills

Strategic Sourcing

Executive Engagement

Leadership

Spend Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Marketing/Finance

Job description

When you join Verizon You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely - even if they're daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love - driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together - lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife.

As our Associate Director leading Strategic Sourcing for Marketing, you will be accountable for the development, implementation, and overall management of the global sourcing strategy across a Multi-billion Marketing portfolio (encompassing Creative, Communications, MarTech, Print, Retail/Store Execution, Merchandise, Research, and Digital).

Operating in a fast-evolving ecosystem where Generative AI, AI MarTech solutions, and dynamic creative optimization are rapidly reshaping content creation and omnichannel delivery, you will lead and mentor a high-performing team based in Ireland.

You will be responsible for evaluating proposals, transforming the agency landscape, and driving Verizon's overall commercial, financial, and working capital goals (including DPO90 mandates).

At the core of this role is direct strategic alignment and close partnership with the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Marketing VPs, Brand Leaders, and executive business leadership. Serving as a trusted commercial co-pilot to the CMO, you will bridge marketing vision with commercial strategy-ensuring procurement actively enables brand priorities, creative ambition, and speed-to-market while maximizing commercial value. You will lead high-visibility initiatives in a dynamic, high-performing Sourcing team based in Verizon's Dublin office.

What you will be doing:

• Executive & CMO Partnership: Serving as the primary sourcing partner to the CMO and Marketing leadership team; co-designing category roadmaps that directly mirroring business strategy, brand ambitions, and commercial growth targets.
• Team Leadership & Development : Building, mentoring, and leading a dedicated team of marketing sourcing experts; manage recruitment, compensation planning, performance appraisals, and draft customized career development plans to enhance team capabilities.
• Category Strategy & AI Evolution: Leading multi-year global marketing category sourcing strategies that adapt to shifting technologies-integrating cutting-edge AI MarTech firms, generative creative content tools, and automated omnichannel delivery platforms to optimize brand velocity and customer experience.
• Strategic Partner & Agency Negotiations: Leading high-stakes negotiations with strategic agency networks, AI-driven content partners, MarTech providers, and production vendors to maximize commercial value, secure service level guarantees, and establish sustainable win-win partnerships.
• Budget & Portfolio Governance: Managing the multi-billion-dollar marketing vendor portfolio against cost budgets in lockstep with Marketing Finance and business leadership, leveraging commercial levers, agency rate-card benchmarking, and working capital optimization (e.g., DPO90).
• Cross-Functional & Business Alignment: Collaborating closely with Marketing executives, IT, and Legal to streamline contracting (MSAs, SOWs, expedited AI tool procurement) and actively participating in Strategic and Operational Reviews alongside senior leadership.
• Market Insight & Analytics: Conducting ad-hoc financial and market analyses to provide foresight on emerging agency models, GenAI pricing structures, and omnichannel MarTech trends to inform CMO-level decisions.
• Transformation & Process Leadership: Overseeing and leading the transformation initiatives-such as rapid AI contracting enablement and agency ecosystem restructuring-to accelerate go-to-market execution and process efficiency.
• Industry Representation: Representing Verizon at marketing, supply chain, and procurement industry forums, associations, and events.
• Travel: Some travel may be required to support global partner relationship management and executive stakeholder alignment.

What we're looking for...

You'll need to have:

• A Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, or a relevant discipline.
• Significant progressive experience in Strategic Sourcing / Commercial Category Management at a senior level, with a track record of executive stakeholder engagement.
• Proven experience managing large-scale spend portfolios ($1Billion+) within complex matrix organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop a team of sourcing professionals delivering strategic transformation.
• Valid right to work in Ireland.

Even Better If You Have:

• A Master's degree or MBA in a related field.
• Direct sourcing or commercial experience in Marketing and Mar