Senior Director, Category Management and Procurement – Development (Clinical, Operations, Medical, Regulatory & HEOR)

Company Description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

Role Overview

The Senior Director, Category Management and Procurement– Development is a global leadership role responsible for setting and executing category strategy across Development. This position owns end-to-end category management and portfolio execution for Development R&D spend, ensuring speed, rigor, and scalability while enabling scientific innovation.

As a key member of the R&D Procurement leadership team, this role serves as the single point of accountability for all Development categories, partnering closely with R&D leaders, the Chief Procurement Officer, and cross-functional stakeholders. The Senior Director leads a global team of category professionals and plays a central role in transforming procurement into a best-in-class organization—driving value, simplifying execution, and building durable capabilities that support both near-term portfolio needs and long-term growth.

Success in this role requires deep category expertise in R&D (Development, and adjacent areas), a strong bias for action, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment where speed and quality of execution matter equally.

Key Responsibilities

Category & Portfolio Leadership

• Serve as the single point of accountability to the VP of R&D Procurement and the CPO for all Development R&D categories.
• Own and lead global category strategies that balance speed of execution, risk management, value creation, and long-term scalability.
• Ensure category strategies are directly aligned to the R&D portfolio, enabling timely delivery of programs across development stages.
• Provide procurement oversight and execution leadership for the R&D portfolio, ensuring priorities are clear and resources are deployed where they matter most.

Strategy, Value & Execution

• Lead the development and execution of robust Category Management Plans that deliver measurable value, synergies, and operational efficiency.
• Drive continuous improvement across people, process, governance, systems integration, and reporting.
• Translate complex analysis into clear strategic insights, financial impact, and executive-ready recommendations.
• Maintain P&L accountability for the portfolio, including budget management, value delivery, and financial performance tracking.

Stakeholder Engagement & Alignment

• Act as a trusted thought partner to R&D leadership, ensuring procurement strategies anticipate scientific needs and enable innovation rather than constrain it.
• Proactively solicit feedback from internal customers and address gaps in service, execution, or alignment.
• Build strong cross-functional partnerships grounded in transparency, accountability, and enterprise-first decision making.

People Leadership & Transformation

• Lead, coach, and develop a global team of category managers, building deep capability and a strong succession pipeline.
• Foster an inclusive, high-performance culture that encourages ownership, learning, and constructive challenge.
• Play a visible leadership role in transforming R&D Procurement—simplifying how work gets done, strengthening governance, and raising the bar on performance and professionalism.
• Champion AbbVie’s Ways We Work by modeling open dialogue, decisive leadership, adaptability, and accountability.

Metrics for Success

• Category Management Plan quality and execution in support of the R&D portfolio
• Delivery of people, process, governance, and value-creation goals
• Achievement of operational budget and P&L commitments
• Service level performance and internal customer satisfaction
• Supplier performance across balanced scorecards
• Organizational capability, engagement, and talent dev