Position Overview
The Professional Services Category Manager is responsible for leading Agilent’s global sourcing strategy, supplier management, and commercial governance for Professional Services and Finance categories. The portfolio includes management consulting, financial and audit consulting, key strategic transformation initiatives, outsourced services, engineering and technical services, research and development support, clinical and laboratory services, and other specialized project resources.
Operating within Global Indirect Procurement and the Corporate Services team, this role partners with senior leaders across the enterprise, including Corporate Development, the Transformation Office, Finance, Global Supply, R&D, and other corporate functions, to optimize cost, improve supplier performance, mitigate risk, and enable enterprise priorities.
The role leads highly visible, complex sourcing initiatives; shapes category direction; influences executive stakeholders across regions; and serves as a procurement subject-matter expert. Success requires exceptional influencing skills, strong stakeholder management, advanced negotiation skills, and a proven ability to deliver results.
Key Responsibilities
Global Category Strategy & Planning
- Develop and execute multi-year global category strategies aligned with Agilent’s business priorities, financial objectives, and transformation agenda.
- Develop and lead Agilent's preferred supplier strategy for professional services, including supplier segmentation, governance, performance management, and adoption across business functions.
- Create category playbooks based on spend, supplier concentration, demand patterns, contract coverage, market dynamics, business risk, and stakeholder requirements.
- Identify and prioritize opportunities for competitive sourcing, supplier consolidation, standardization, demand management, and commercial model optimization.
- Build and maintain a forward-looking pipeline of sourcing events, renewals, and strategic supplier initiatives.
Business Partnership & Executive Influence
- Serve as the primary procurement advisor for Professional Services, helping senior stakeholders select appropriate sourcing strategies, suppliers, engagement models, and commercial structures.
- Influence stakeholders to increase competitive tension, use preferred suppliers, aggregate demand, improve requirements, and adopt enterprise category strategies.
- Present sourcing recommendations, negotiation outcomes, business cases, risks, and decisions in clear executive-level terms.
- Facilitate cross-functional and cross-regional alignment to maximize enterprise leverage while addressing critical business needs.
Strategic Sourcing & Negotiation
- Lead complex global and regional sourcing initiatives, including strategy development, RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluation, negotiation, recommendation, and implementation.
- Negotiate best-in-class commercial arrangements, including fixed-fee, milestone-based, outcome-based, managed-service, retainer, rate-card, and time-and-material models.
- Develop fact-based negotiation strategies that balance cost, quality, flexibility, speed, innovation, and risk.
Supplier Relationship & Performance Management
- Establish governance frameworks for strategic Professional Services suppliers, including roles, decision rights, escalation paths, KPIs, and executive review cadence.
- Lead supplier business reviews and performance discussions focused on service quality, commercial compliance, measurable outcomes, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Implement scorecards and corrective action plans and hold suppliers accountable for contractual and operational commitments.
- Monitor supplier, concentration, financial, operational, data, and reputational risks and coordinate mitigation plans.
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Economics, Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or a consulting background.
- Demonstrated experience managing Professional Services, consulting, outsourcing, or other complex indirect service categories.
- Proven success leading high-value sourcing initiatives and complex commercial negotiations in a global, matrixed organization.
- Strong stakeholder-influencing, analytical, negotiation, and executive communication capabilities.
- Ability to work independently, navigate ambiguity, manage competing priorities, and drive decisions without direct authority.
- Master’s degree, MBA, CPSM, CIPS, CPM, or an equivalent professional qualification.
- Experience in life sciences, diagnostics, technology, or another highly regulated global industry.
- Experience implementing preferred supplier programs, managed services, or supplier performance programs.
- Experience with eSourcing, spend analytics, procurement reporting, and contract lifecycle management platforms.
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Additional Details
This job has a full time weekly schedule. It includes the option to work remotely. Applications for this job will be accepted until at least October 27, 2026 or until the job is no longer posted.The full-time equivalent pay range for this position is $133,120.00 - $249,600.00/yr plus eligibility for bonus, stock and benefits. Our pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. During the hiring process, a recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for a preferred location. Pay and benefit information by country are available at: https://careers.agilent.com/locationsAgilent Technologies, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity and merit-based employer that values individuals of all backgrounds at all levels. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, pregnancy, race, religion or religious creed, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, local law, ordinance, or regulation and will not be discriminated against on these bases. Agilent Technologies, Inc., is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive in the workplace where everyone is welcome, and strives to support candidates with disabilities. If you have a disability and need assistance with any part of the application or interview process or have questions about workplace accessibility, please email [email protected] or contact +1-262-754-5030. For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please visit www.agilent.com/en/accessibility.Travel Required: OccasionalShift: DayDuration: No End DateJob Function: AdministrationSkills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Economics, Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or consulting.
- Experience managing professional services, consulting, outsourcing, or other complex indirect service categories.
- Experience leading high-value sourcing initiatives and complex commercial negotiations in a global, matrixed organization.
- Strong stakeholder-influencing, analytical, negotiation, and executive communication skills.
- Ability to work independently, navigate ambiguity, manage competing priorities, and drive decisions without direct authority.
- Master's degree, MBA, CPSM, CIPS, CPM, or equivalent professional qualification.
- Experience in life sciences, diagnostics, technology, or another highly regulated global industry.
- Experience implementing preferred supplier programs, managed services, or supplier performance programs.
- Experience with eSourcing, spend analytics, procurement reporting, and contract lifecycle management platforms.
Agilent Technologies Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Agilent Technologies and has not been reviewed or approved by Agilent Technologies.
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Retirement Support — The core U.S. package highlights a generous 401(k) match as a strength. Retirement programs are positioned as competitive within the company’s total rewards.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An Employee Stock Purchase Plan at a discount provides accessible equity and augments total compensation. Ownership opportunities are presented as a notable advantage alongside retirement benefits.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Flexible Time Off, company holidays, a personal holiday, and paid volunteer time create a broad leave offering. Time off can accrue into multiple weeks in the first year, supporting flexibility.
Agilent Technologies Insights
What We Do
Analytical scientists and clinical researchers worldwide rely on Agilent to help fulfill their most complex laboratory demands. Our instruments, software, services and consumables address the full range of scientific and laboratory management needs—so our customers can do what they do best: improve the world around us. Whether a laboratory is engaged in environmental testing, academic research, medical diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals or food testing, Agilent provides laboratory solutions to meet their full spectrum of needs. We work closely with customers to help address global trends that impact human health and the environment, and to anticipate future scientific needs. Our solutions improve the efficiency of the entire laboratory, from sample prep to data interpretation and management. Customers trust Agilent for solutions that enable insights...for a better world.
