Strategic Sourcing Manager, Marketing & Advertising

Overview

Aquent is thrilled to partner with an industry-leading retail brand seeking an experienced Strategic Sourcing professional to support its Marketing and Advertising organization. This highly visible role will work across Marketing, Finance, Legal, and supplier partners to manage agency relationships, contracts, sourcing initiatives, and day-to-day commercial activities across a broad portfolio of marketing services.

This opportunity is ideal for someone who brings a strong foundation in strategic sourcing or procurement specifically within Marketing and Advertising categories and who is equally comfortable developing sourcing strategy, negotiating with agencies, and handling the detailed execution required to move contracts and supplier engagements forward. The team needs someone who understands how Marketing and creative stakeholders operate, can communicate effectively with agencies, and is willing to remain hands-on with contracts, renewals, SOWs, reporting, supplier coordination, and other day-to-day sourcing activities.

What You Will Do to Make an Impact

• Lead and support end-to-end strategic sourcing activities across Marketing and Advertising categories, including agency/vendor intake, requirements gathering, market assessment, RFx activity, supplier evaluation, negotiation, contracting, implementation, and ongoing supplier management.
• Manage a portfolio of marketing-related contracts, renewals, SOWs, agency agreements, commercial terms, and supplier requests, including the detailed administrative and coordination work required to move engagements from intake through execution.
• Negotiate commercial terms, agency fee structures, rate cards, scopes of work, renewals, and other supplier agreements in partnership with Legal, Finance, Marketing, and shared-services teams.
• Lead or support RFI, RFP, and RFQ processes for marketing services, including requirements development, supplier outreach, bid analysis, evaluation governance, award recommendations, and implementation.
• Support Marketing and Advertising categories such as creative agencies, media, social media, influencer marketing, content production, experiential or immersive agencies, PR and external communications, print, direct mail, branded materials, and related marketing services.
• Build strong relationships with Marketing and creative stakeholders, translating business needs into clear scopes, sourcing strategies, commercial recommendations, and executable agreements.
• Prepare executive-ready materials including deal summaries, rate comparisons, spend analyses, supplier recommendations, savings opportunities, risk considerations, and presentations for senior leadership.
• Analyze agency rates, commercial models, supplier performance, spend, and market benchmarks to identify savings opportunities, improve value, and support category decisions.
• Contribute to category strategies, sourcing roadmaps, supplier strategies, preferred-vendor approaches, and longer-term Marketing procurement priorities.
• Monitor supplier performance and support supplier relationship management, including business reviews, performance discussions, issue resolution, and ongoing optimization.
• Identify and communicate contractual, commercial, supplier, project, and operational risks and work cross-functionally to develop practical solutions.
• Balance strategic work with hands-on execution, including contract administration, renewals, SOW coordination, tracking, reporting, supplier follow-up, and other day-to-day sourcing needs in a fast-paced environment.

What You’ll Bring to the Team (Must-Have Qualifications)

• Approximately five or more years of cumulative experience in Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, Category Management, or a closely related function, with direct responsibility for Marketing and Advertising categories.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience sourcing marketing services, such as creative agencies, media, social or influencer marketing, content production, experiential/events, PR/external communications, print, direct mail, branded merchandise, research, or related agency services.
• Experience leading or supporting end-to-end strategic sourcing processes, including requirements gathering, supplier identification, RFI/RFP/RFQ activity, bid evaluation, supplier selection, negotiation, contracting, and implementation.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating or managing marketing-related contracts, agency agreements, MSAs, SOWs, renewals, rate structures, agency fee models, and commercial terms.
• Strong understanding of how agencies and Marketing organizations operate, with the ability to communicate naturally and credibly with creative, marketing, procurement, finance, legal, and supplier stakeholders.
• Ability and willingness to balance strategic sourcing work with hands-on execution and administrative responsibilities, including renewals, contract and SOW coordination, tracking, reporting, supplier follow-up, and day-to-day stakeholder support.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills with the ability to work across complex organizations and present recommendations, risks, financial considerations, and sourcing decisions to senior leadership when needed.
• Strong analytical skills, including experience with spend analysis, rate comparisons, supplier evaluations, savings opportunities, commercial models, or other sourcing-related analysis.
• Proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint, including the ability to create clear analyses, comparisons, reports, and leadership-ready presentations.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple sourcing initiatives, contracts, stakeholders, and deadlines simultaneously.
• A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Operations, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

What Will Set You Apart (Nice-to-Have Qualifications)

• Experience developing Marketing category strategies, sourcing roadmaps, spend plans, preferred-supplier strategies, or supplier consolidation initiatives.
• Experience with agency fee models, rate-card benchmarking, production economics, media or agency commercial models, or other Marketing-specific cost structures.
• Experience delivering measurable savings, cost avoidance, spend optimization, supplier consolidation, or improved commercial terms.
• Experience with supplier relationship management, QBRs, supplier scorecards, diversity initiatives, sustainability considerations, or supplier-risk management.
• Experience using sourcing, procurement, or contract-management platforms such as Coupa, Ariba, Ironclad, SAP, GEP, or similar tools.
• Previous agency-side, brand-side, consulting, CPG, consumer, entertainment, media, technology, apparel, beauty, or retail experience. Beauty or retail experience is not required.
• Previous experience working directly within or closely supporting a CMO or Marketing organization.
• A consultative, service-oriented approach and the ability to work effectively with both highly creative stakeholders and commercially focused partners.
• Ability to move comfortably between detailed execution and senior-level communication without losing attention to either.

Occasional travel may be required for this role.

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