UKI External Talent Category Delivery Lead

Accenture

Location: London
Working arrangement: Hybrid

Career Level: 8

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Procurement Category Manager to join our UKIA Procurement Plus organisation, leading activities across the External Talent Sourcing & Contracting category.

External Talent is one of the largest and most strategically important categories within Accenture’s UK, Ireland and Africa (UKIA) market unit. This role will play a key part in ensuring we have the right external talent and supplier partnerships in place to support our client projects and wider business objectives.

You’ll work closely with stakeholders across Procurement, Category Management, Legal and Operations, taking ownership of sourcing, supplier and contract management activities across the External Talent category.

What You’ll Do Category Strategy & Management

• Support the implementation of Global and Regional External Talent category strategies across UKIA.
• Deliver local category projects and sourcing initiatives aligned to wider Procurement and category objectives.
• Support category planning, governance and strategic initiatives.
• Build and manage strong relationships with key stakeholders, including senior business leaders and Client Account Leads.
• Manage External Talent projects through Accenture’s SynOps system.
• Drive adherence to procurement processes and compliance requirements.
• Participate actively in the wider category community and contribute to a collaborative team culture.

Sourcing & Procurement

• Lead and support sourcing and contracting projects from initial market research through to supplier award.
• Use Accenture’s sourcing methodology to drive value through sourcing, negotiation and contracting activities.
• Conduct market research and identify potential suppliers.
• Develop technical specifications based on stakeholder requirements.
• Design and develop RFP documentation in line with Global and Regional strategies.
• Utilise e-sourcing and e-auction tools where appropriate.
• Lead supplier evaluation and commercial negotiations.
• Prepare supplier recommendations and decision materials for stakeholders.
• Manage the supplier award process and support implementation.

Contract Management

• Negotiate and deploy supplier contracts in partnership with Accenture’s Legal teams.
• Ensure contracts include appropriate performance measures, KPIs and SLAs.
• Manage contract execution and ensure agreements are signed by all relevant parties.
• Support implementation of Local Country Addendums to Global and Regional agreements.
• Ensure contracts are accurately stored and maintained within relevant contract repositories and archiving tools.
• Ensure compliance with local legislation, regulations and Accenture policies.

Supplier Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key local suppliers.
• Lead supplier performance management activities, ensuring agreed KPIs and metrics are achieved.
• Promote the use of Global and Regional Strategic Providers and preferred suppliers.
• Monitor supplier performance and stakeholder feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain and support the preferred supplier list and drive adoption of negotiated agreements.

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with stakeholders across Category Management, Procurement, Legal and Operations.
• Act as a key escalation point for sourcing and supplier-related challenges.
• Gather and manage stakeholder feedback on category performance and supplier delivery.
• Ensure strong communication and collaboration across multiple functions and seniority levels.

Reporting & Insights

• Maintain monthly reporting for the UKIA External Talent category.
• Identify opportunities to enhance management information and provide greater insight into category performance.
• Monitor key KPIs, including preferred supplier usage and contract compliance, taking appropriate action where required.

People Management

• Supervise and support assigned team members across both onshore and nearshore locations.
• Foster collaboration, engagement and high performance within the team.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone with strong experience in procurement, category management, strategic sourcing and supplier management, ideally within a large, complex or global organisation.

You will be comfortable managing multiple stakeholders and projects simultaneously, with the ability to balance strategic priorities with operational delivery.

Experience within External Talent, Professional Services, Resourcing or Contingent Workforce categories would be highly beneficial.

You’ll also bring

• Strong sourcing, negotiation and commercial management skills.
• Experience managing supplier relationships and performance.
• Contract management experience and confidence working alongside Legal teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Strong analytical and reporting capabilities.
• An understanding of procurement governance, compliance and risk requirements.
• The ability to work effectively across global, regional and local teams.
• Experience supervising or managing team members would be advantageous.