Senior Category Manager – Contingent Workforce & Professional Services

As Senior Category Manager youll shape our contingent workforce and professional services procurement strategy negotiate high-value commercial agreements and build strategic vendor partnerships that keep our development pipeline moving across Australia and Asia. 

Youll also help build a smarter AI-enabled procurement function using data technology and new ways of working to drive better commercial outcomes. 

We welcome applications from across Australia with a preference for candidates based in Melbourne or Sydney. 

What Youll Do 

• Category strategy: Develop and execute multi-year strategies for contingent labour (labour hire temporary and fixed-term contractors independent contractors) and professional services (engineering technical IT legal advisory and management consulting) aligned with NEXTDCs growth workforce strategy and capital program. 
• Spend and market intelligence: Analyse category spend demand drivers rate benchmarks and supply-market dynamics across Australia and Asia to identify quantify and prioritise savings demand management and innovation opportunities. 
• Strategic sourcing and negotiation: Lead end-to-end RFI RFP and tender processes and high-value negotiations with labour hire providers recruitment agencies MSPs and consulting firms to secure the best total value not just the lowest rate. 
• Operating model: Design and lead the contingent workforce operating model including preferred supplier panels rate cards margin and mark-up structures and evaluation of MSP VMS and direct sourcing options to consolidate spend and simplify the supplier base. 
• Commercial frameworks: Develop commercial frameworks and procurement models with strategic third parties to support project execution and growth 
• Compliance and risk: Own the category risk framework with People & Culture and Legal embedding controls to prevent non-compliant engagements. 
• Supplier performance: Manage strategic supplier relationships and performance through KPIs scorecards quarterly business reviews and improvement plans resolving issues and disputes promptly and constructively. 
• Stakeholder partnership: Work with Development Engineering and Construction teams to ensure critical resourcing and expertise is secured and utilised efficiently across the company.   
• Policy process and technology: Develop and implement best-practice external talent engagement policies processes and guidelines covering approvals onboarding and offboarding tenure limits conversion and procure-to-pay using procurement and workforce technology to improve control speed and data quality. 
• Value tracking and reporting: Define and report category performance metrics including savings delivered spend under management compliance rate variance time-to-engage tenure and supplier performance to Procurement leadership and executives. 
• AI-enabled procurement: Explore and adopt AI and automation throughout the category lifecycle including spend analytics market research rate benchmarking sourcing contract review and supplier performance sharing successful practices to build a best-in-class AI-enabled procurement function. 
• Regional expansion: Support NEXTDCs growth across Asia by expanding supplier coverage and establishing compliant engagement models in new markets. 
• Safety sustainability and ethics: Embed NEXTDCs safety sustainability diversity and ethical sourcing commitments into supplier selection and management including opportunities for Indigenous and social enterprise suppliers. 

What Youll Bring 

• Category leadership: Proven ability to develop and deliver category strategies that generate measurable sustained commercial value. 
• Commercial acumen and negotiation: Expert negotiation skills with strong financial and analytical capabilities including analysing rate cards margins and total external workforce costs. 
• Contingent workforce expertise: Knowledge of Australian workplace regulations relevant to contingent labour including the Fair Work Act labour hire licensing and modern slavery obligations. 
• Influence and stakeholder management: Ability to influence and challenge senior leaders when needed translating complex commercial and risk issues into clear recommendations. 
• Contracting: Strong understanding of services contract structures and commercial terms including MSAs panel agreements and SOWs. 
• Data and insight: Advanced spend analysis Excel and BI skills with the ability to turn data into actionable insights. 
• Technology: Working knowledge of e-procurement ERP and VMS platforms. 
• AI curiosity and learning mindset: Eagerness to learn and apply AI tools in daily work and become an AI-enabled operator. Hands-on procurement AI experience is advantageous but not essential. 
• Change leadership: Ability to drive adoption of new processes and ways of working in a fast-paced high-growth environment. 
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills including concise executive-ready papers and recommendations. 
• Personal attributes: High ownership resilience curiosity and unquestionable integrity. 

Qualifications :

• Bachelors degree in Business Commerce Supply Chain Law Human Resources or a related discipline. 
• MCIPS qualification or working towards it is highly regarded. 
• 5 years of procurement or category management experience including at least 3 years leading contingent labour and/or professional services categories in a large complex organisation. Experience with similar labour arrangements in Asia will be highly valued. 
• Proven track record of delivering significant savings and value across labour hire contractor and consulting spend. 
• Experience designing or transforming contingent workforce programs including MSP/VMS preferred supplier panels and SOW governance. 
• Experience in data centres critical infrastructure construction energy telecommunications or technology is highly regarded. 
• Experience operating across Asia-Pacific is desirable. 

Additional Information :

• Be part of a fast-growing future-focused technology company
• Play a key role in supporting AI and digital infrastructure in Australia
• Thrive in a collaborative inclusive and values-driven culture
• Access career development and progression opportunities as we expand

Our mission is to continue building a diverse and inclusive workforce which represents the communities in which we operate.

Make NEXTDC your next move. 

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time