Global Category Leader/ Responsable Catégorie Achats - Media Planning & Buying Services
Title:
Global Category Leader/ Responsable Catégorie Achats - Media Planning & Buying Services
Company:
Ipsen Pharma (SAS)
About Ipsen:
Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation.
Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company’s success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society!
For more information, visit us at https://www.ipsen.com/ and follow our latest news on LinkedIn and Instagram .
Job Description:
Global Category Leader – Media Planning & Buying Services
Division / Function : Global Procurement / Commercial
Location: Paris or London
WHAT - Summary & Purpose of the Position
The Global Category Leader – Media Planning & Buying Services is responsible for defining and deploying global and regional procurement strategies for Media Services, enabling marketing effectiveness, commercial value delivery, and consistent execution across markets. The role is responsible for designing and deploying a high-performing, scalable, and innovative agency ecosystem, ensuring strong affiliate-level adoption while balancing global consistency with local relevance. Reporting to the Senior Director – Global Marketing Procurement, the role acts as a strategic partner to Global Brand Teams, Global Digital, Corporate Affairs, Medical Affairs while ensuring strong collaboration with regional procurement and Brand’s affiliates network (incl. North America).
WHAT - Main Responsibilities & Technical Competencies
Global & Regional Category Strategy with Affiliate Impact
• Be accountable for end-to-end Category Management for Media Planning & Buying Services, including strategy, sourcing, supplier performance, governance, and value delivery at global and regional levels.
• Define and lead global and regional sourcing strategies supporting Media Strategy & Planning, Media Buying, Digital Media, Content and Publishing services, in close partnership with Global and Affiliate Brand Teams, Neurosciences, Corporate Affairs, Medical Affairs leadership (incl. North America)
• Determine the most relevant level of strategy (global vs. regional) to best support brand ambition, agency models, and market needs
• Ensure strategies deliver tangible value at affiliate level (incl. North America), are scalable across markets, and balance global consistency with local relevancy.
• Align strategies with brand lifecycle stages (prelaunch, launch, maturity) and therapeutic priorities, including Neuroscience
• Maintain a strong understanding of the external landscape, key market trends, and emerging innovations, and translate these into recommendations to continuously evolve the category strategy.
• Lead strategic sourcing and negotiations for major engagements (>€300k), including global framework agreements, rate cards/pricing models, and performance-based contracts.
Value Delivery & Deployment Across Affiliates
• Design and continuously improve the supplier ecosystem, including scope of work structures and commercial frameworks that enable innovation, speed, and consistency across markets
• Ensure effective deployment and adoption of global and regional frameworks across affiliates
• Monitor value realization and performance across regions (North America, EMEA, JAPAC & LATAM)
• Leverage spend analytics, supplier benchmarking, and market intelligence to identify value creation, innovation, and risk mitigation opportunities across the Communication category.
• Business Partnering & Affiliate Network Leadership
• Animate and enable the International and NA Procurement Business Partner community through regular category updates, best-practice sharing, and structured communication to support consistent execution and continuous improvement.
• Act as a strategic partner to Media Services Leaders, influencing investment strategies, agency ecosystems, and omnichannel execution
• Build and lead a global Media Services Procurement Affiliate Network, anchored at affiliate level across North America, EMEA, JAPAC & LATAM to influence agency selection and ways of working, and to ensure adoption of strategies and models.
• Drive affiliate impact and network engagement by capturing feedback, sharing best practices, and supporting resolution of key affiliate challenges related to agency services.
Supplier Ecosystem, SRM & Industrialization
• Define and lead a high performing global Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and ecosystem strategy across Communication Services.
• Establish strategic supplier partnerships supported by clear performance management, innovation roadmaps, and continuous improvement in service quality, cost efficiency, and innovation.
• Design and deploy industrialized, scalable supplier models, including standard service packages, rate cards, benchmarking tools, and volume based commercial frameworks, ensuring consistent, high quality delivery across regions and sustainable value creation
Execution Model Alignment (SSC Integration)
• Ensure global category strategies are fully aligned with Shared Service Center (SSC) execution models.
• Enable efficient and consistent execution through the deployment of standard playbooks, RFP templates, and clear sourcing frameworks.
• Continuously improve execution efficiency and end‑user experience to support scalable and reliable delivery across markets.
Governance, Compliance & Performance
• Ensure compliance with Procurement policies, sourcing thresholds, governance frameworks, and ESG commitments, embedding responsible sourcing and sustainability principles into category strategies and
execution.
• Define and negotiate Global framework agreements, Rate cards & Performance-based contracts • Monitor performance and value delivery, including savings realization, SLA compliance, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Act as the escalation point for supplier issues, adoption challenges, and service delivery risks, ensuring timely resolution and continuity of service.
HOW - Behavioural Competencies Required
Strategic thinking & commercial acumen: links procurement choices to brand and business outcomes; anticipates future agency/market evolutions.
Influence & stakeholder management: builds credibility with Brand Leaders and drives alignment in a complex matrix.
Collaboration & matrix leadership: partners effectively across global, regional and affiliate teams to enable adoption and execution.
Supplier partnership mindset: develops long-term, value-creating relationships; promotes innovation and continuous improvement.
Change & adoption leadership: drives new ways of working and manages resistance to standardisation and new agency models.
HOW - Knowledge & Experienc
Experience
• 8–10+ years in Procurement, with significant experience in: o Media & Communication Procurement (media agencies, social media, digital/content production)
o Global category leadership • Experience in pharmaceutical or healthcare industries (or other highly regulated, brand-driven environments such as cosmetics/beauty).
Technical Expertise
Deep knowledge of:
o Agency models o Strategic sourcing and supplier management
o Commercial contracting and negotiation • Understanding of:
o Pharma commercial model (launches, congresses, compliance)
o Consumer Healthcare Industry Dynamics
Leadership Experience
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders
• Experience in global, matrix organisations
Education:
• Bachelor’s degree required
• MBA or advanced degree preferred
Language(s) (essential):
• English fluent
Language(s) (preferred):
• French
Other Useful
We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels heard, valued, and supported; where we embrace “The Real Us”. The value we place on different perspectives and experiences drives our commitment to inclusion and equal opportunities. When we include diverse ways of thinking, we make more thoughtful decisions and discover more innovative solutions. Together we strive to better understand the communities we serve. This means we also want to help you perform at your best when applying for a role with us. If you require any adjustments or support during the application process, please let the recruitment team know. This information will be handled with care and will not affect the outcome of your application.