Procurement Director, Global Spend Management

AON PLC; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Aon plc in Chicago is seeking a senior procurement leader to drive global spend management, develop and govern multi-year category roadmaps, and lead cross-functional sourcing initiatives. You will negotiate complex contracts, partner with Finance, Legal, and other senior stakeholders, and supervise supplier relationships to optimize value and risk across enterprise categories.

The role requires 8–10+ years of experience in procurement, a Bachelor's degree, and the ability to work in a diverse,

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of progressive procurement and strategic sourcing experience across enterprise spend categories.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
• Ability to work in a geographically diverse workplace.
• Excellent presentation, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Strategic thinker with ability to execute tactically.
• Experience working with all levels of management including C-level.
• Strong negotiation and world-class supplier relations skills.
• Position requires some travel.
• Excellent people management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of sourcing strategies with long-range objectives and clear metrics.
• Build multi-year category roadmaps, pipelines, and dashboards to drive value and compliance.
• Lead complex sourcing, RFP, and negotiation efforts with strong commercial judgment.
• Partner with senior stakeholders across Finance, Legal, Privacy, and Operations.
• Manage supplier relationships and drive performance to business objectives.
• Champion supplier diversity and inclusive sourcing via prime suppliers and tiered sourcing.
• Engage in periodic supplier reviews, renewals, and transitions.
• Draft and negotiate above-average complexity contracts with legal and partners.
• Support alignment and timely execution of recommendations across teams.
• Assess financial, operational, and risk implications of options.

Skills

Negotiation

Supplier relations

Strategic thinking

People management

Presentation skills

Written and verbal communication

C-level collaboration

Travel required

Geographically diverse teams

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Posting Description

As part of an industry-leading team, you will help empower results for our clients by delivering innovative and effective solutions as part of our Global Spend Management (GSM) team.

Please note: this role is NOT remote. It will require 2-3 days per week in the downtown Chicago office. We are open to fill this role in our London office.

Aon is in the business of better decisions

At Aon, we shape decisions for the better to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world.

As an organization, we are united through trust as one inclusive team and we are passionate about helping our colleagues and clients succeed.

What the day will look like

• Lead the development of advanced sourcing strategies for your assigned category(ies), including long-range objectives, performance goals, and clear metrics.
• Build and manage multi-year category roadmaps, opportunity pipelines, and performance dashboards that drive value, resilience, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Independently lead complex sourcing, RFP, and negotiation efforts, applying strong commercial judgment while balancing value, risk, stakeholder priorities, and long-term category strategy.
• Act as a primary procurement partner to senior business and functional leaders (e.g., Finance, Legal, Privacy, Operations, and category-specific stakeholders)—translating business needs into sourcing approaches that enable outcomes.
• Manage overall supplier relationships for assigned categories, aligning supplier goals and performance with business objectives and holding suppliers accountable for results.
• Champion supplier diversity objectives, seeking opportunities to engage diverse suppliers directly or via prime suppliers' subcontracting and tiered-sourcing commitments.
• Stay closely engaged in periodic supplier reviews to identify opportunities, address issues early, verify performance against contractual commitments, and proactively plan renewals, extensions, or transitions.
• Draft and negotiate business and commercial contract language of above-average complexity in collaboration with legal and functional partners.
• Support internal clients in building alignment and consensus on recommendations, then drive timely execution, communication, and implementation/transition activities.
• Assess financial, operational, and risk implications of sourcing options and make sound trade-off decisions that clearly connect to business outcomes.
• Leverage leading-edge tools and technologies, including AI-enabled solutions, to improve speed, insight, and quality of procurement work.

Throughout, you will demonstrate

• Curiosity: deeply understanding markets, suppliers, and stakeholder needs; continuously scanning for new ideas and better ways of working.
• Action orientation: moving initiatives forward with urgency and discipline, removing barriers, and delivering on commitments.
• Accountability: owning category results, supplier performance and stakeholder satisfaction end-to-end.
• Flexibility and priority management: adapting quickly to changing business needs, confidently re-prioritizing work and resources, and managing time and workload to consistently deliver on the most critical outcomes first.
• Continuous improvement: proactively identifying and implementing process, cost, and value enhancements across categories and ways of working.
• Effective stakeholder partnering: building trusted relationships, challenging constructively, and co-creating solutions that balance short-term needs and long-term strategy.

How this opportunity is different

The Director of Procurement leads global category strategy and executes sourcing initiatives to deliver best overall value for the firm, while maintaining appropriate quality and managing risk through well-structured contracts.

This role partners closely with business and functional leaders, applying enterprise sourcing and procurement policies to meet internal stakeholder requirements. You will independently lead cross-functional teams of category and subject-matter experts through the strategic sourcing process for complex, high-impact initiatives across a range of spend categories.

We welcome applications from well-qualified procurement leaders with a proven track record of delivering value across global, enterprise-scale categories.

Skills and experience that will lead to success

• 8–10+ years of progressive procurement and strategic sourcing experience across one or more enterprise spend categories, including substantial experience with complex contracts and management of key supplier relationships.
• Bachelor's degree
• Ability to work in a geographically diverse workplace
• Must have excellent presentation, written, and verbal communication skills
• Ability to think and act strategically while engaging and executing tactically as appropriate to drive results
• Experience working with all levels of management including "C" Level
• Strong negotiation and world‑class supplier relations skills
• Position requires some travel
• Excellent people management skills

For positions in San Francisco and Los Angeles, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction record in accordance with local Fair Chance ordinances.

Aon is not accepting unsolicited resumes from search firms for this position. If you are a search firm, you will not be compensated in any way for your submission of a candidate, even if Aon hires that candidate.

Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Pay Transparency Laws

The salary range for this position (intended for U.S. applicants) is $140,000 - $165,000 annually. The actual salary will vary based on applicant’s education, experience, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. The salary may also be adjusted based on applicant’s geographic location.

The salary range reflected is based on a primary work location of Chicago, Illinois. The actual salary may vary for applicants in a different geographic location.

This position is eligible to participate in one of Aon’s annual incentive plans to receive an annual discretionary bonus in addition to base salary. The amount of any bonus varies and is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable incentive plan.

Aon offers a comprehensive package of benefits for full-time and regular part‑time colleagues, including, but not limited to: a 401(k) savings plan with employer contributions; an employee stock purchase plan; consideration for long-term incentive awards at Aon’s discretion; medical, dental and vision insurance, various types of leaves of absence, paid time off, including 12 paid holidays throughout the calendar year, 15 days of paid vacation per year, paid sick leave as provided under state and local paid sick leave laws, short-term disability and optional long‑term disability, health savings account, health care and dependent care reimbursement accounts,employee and dependent life insurance and supplemental life and AD&D insurance; optional personal insurance policies, adoption assistance, tuition assistance, commuter benefits, and an employee assistance program that includes free counseling sessions. Eligibility for benefits is governed by the applicable plan documents and policies.

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