Job Type:
PermanentBuild a brilliant future with Hiscox
Position Overview
Following a period of rapid growth, Hiscox has around 3,000 employees across multiple business units and countries. Procurement plays a key role in supporting the business strategy, driving value through effective supplier management, commercial excellence and strategic sourcing.
The Category Procurement Lead will be responsible for supporting the end-to-end category strategy, sourcing and supplier management activities across a range of spend categories, with a primary focus on People Services / HR. This includes working closely with HR and business stakeholders to develop sourcing strategies, optimise supplier performance and ensure procurement delivers measurable value.
This is a Procurement role at its core. The successful candidate will be a procurement / strategic sourcing professional who has previously managed procurement activity for People Services / HR categories — partnering with HR functions as an internal customer, rather than coming from an HR background.
People Services categories may include:
- Talent Acquisition Services
- Learning & Development
- Benefits & Wellbeing
- HR Operations
The role will be supported by Category Analysts based in Lisbon and will partner closely with stakeholders across the UK, Europe and the US.
Responsibilities
Category Strategy
- Develop and maintain category strategies aligned to business priorities and workforce objectives.
- Identify opportunities for cost optimisation, supplier consolidation, risk mitigation and service improvement.
- Provide market insight and recommendations to stakeholders across People Services categories.
Business Partnership
- Build strong relationships with business and HR leaders across the organisation.
- Support the development of sourcing strategies that align with business and workforce needs.
- Act as a trusted advisor on procurement, supplier management and commercial matters.
Sourcing & Procurement
- Lead end-to-end sourcing activities including RFI, RFP, RFQ and supplier selection processes.
- Develop negotiation strategies and lead commercial discussions with suppliers.
- Ensure procurement activity is executed in line with governance and risk requirements.
Supplier Management
- Manage strategic supplier relationships and performance reviews.
- Establish KPIs, governance frameworks and continuous improvement plans.
- Lead issue resolution and supplier escalation activities where required.
Contracting & Governance
- Partner with Legal, Risk and Compliance teams to ensure appropriate contractual protections are in place.
- Ensure compliance with internal procurement policies and external regulations.
- Drive best-practice procurement and supplier governance across the category.
Collaboration
- Share best practices and contribute to the continuous development of procurement capabilities.
- Collaborate effectively across Procurement, HR, Finance, Legal and operational teams.
Skills & Experience
Essential
- 6–8 years' experience in Procurement, Strategic Sourcing or Category Management.
- Previous procurement experience managing People Services / HR-related spend categories (e.g. Recruitment Services, Learning & Development, Benefits, HR Operations or similar).
- Experience partnering with HR / People functions as an internal stakeholder on procurement initiatives.
- Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills.
- Excellent supplier relationship management capabilities.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Proven ability to lead sourcing and contract negotiations.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Experience operating in large and/or complex organisations.
Desirable
- Experience across multiple People Services categories.
- Experience supporting HR transformation programmes or workforce strategies.
- Experience within Financial Services or another regulated environment.
- Professional procurement qualification (CIPS Level 5/6 or equivalent).
Qualifications
- Degree (or equivalent experience) in Procurement, Business, Finance, Law or a related discipline.
- CIPS qualification preferred.
- Additional qualifications in contract management, supplier management or procurement best practice would be advantageous
Work with amazing people and be part of a unique culture
Skills Required
- Strong leadership skills across matrix structures
- Team player at executive level to collaborate with Business Units and functional partners
- Operational management and project management skills to support procurement delivery
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- In-depth knowledge of procurement, vendor and management principles and best practices
- Strong negotiation skills; experience negotiating Legal Services spend
- Experience of Supplier Performance Management, monitoring SLAs and KPIs
- Experience with modern sourcing and procurement systems
- Expert knowledge of legislative/regulatory requirements and standard contractual terms
- Strategic mindset, problem-solving and proactive change orientation
- Change management skills and strong stakeholder self-awareness
- Degree (or equivalent experience) in business, procurement, finance, law or related discipline
- Professional procurement qualification (eg CIPS Level 5/6) or equivalent
- Contract management qualification and/or compliance training (anti-bribery, modern slavery, data protection)
- Negotiation training
Hiscox Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Hiscox and has not been reviewed or approved by Hiscox.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, two additional 'Hiscox Days,' and a four‑week paid sabbatical after five years create a notably broad time‑off offering. Policies also include paid parental leave and options to purchase extra days in some locations.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical coverage is complemented by mental‑health and wellbeing resources such as EAP and mindfulness apps, with private medical and dental options available in certain regions or after tenure. These elements provide comprehensive support across physical and mental health needs.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits include pension/401(k) programs with employer contributions that can increase with service. Share‑save options and profit‑related programs add longer‑term financial planning avenues.
Hiscox Insights
What We Do
Hiscox is a leader in specialist insurance. We seek to provide the best protection and peace of mind for our clients through high quality insurance products, backed with excellent service. We are experts in covering a wide range of personal and commercial risks.
