Category Lead, Strategic Sourcing; Marketing & Indirect

Here at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together.

We are seeking a strategic Category Lead, Indirect Procurement & Strategic Sourcing to lead the end-to-end lifecycle of our diverse indirect spend. In this influential role, you will serve as the primary architect for our Marketing, HR, Corporate Services and other Indirect category strategies. You will manage a high-impact portfolio that includes global creative agencies, media buying, HR, and corporate services programs.

This is a mission-critical partnership role requiring deep collaboration with Marketing (CMO), HR (CPO), Legal, and Finance. You will ensure the organization partners with top-tier service providers that elevate the Appian brand while maintaining a disciplined, value-driven approach to global indirect spend.

• Strategic
  
  Roadmap:
  
  Design and execute multi-year category strategies for Marketing, HR, Corporate Services and other Indirect categories that scale with Appian’s global growth.

• Stakeholder Influence:
  Act as a strategic advisor to the Marketing and People teams; translate creative and human-centric requirements into structured procurement outcomes that drive measurable ROI.

• Market Intelligence:
  Stay ahead of trends in the Agency landscape, media inflation, and evolving labor market costs to ensure Appian remains competitive and agile.

• Demand Management:
  Collaborate with key business stakeholders to forecast seasonal spend peaks, ensuring procurement activities are aligned with the fiscal calendar and organizational priorities.

• Proactive Lifecycle Management:
  Own the “Intake-to-Contract” pipeline for indirect services, maintaining a 24-month renewal look-ahead to maximize negotiation leverage and prevent service lapses.

• Process Transformation:
  Develop Indirect Category Playbooks to standardize how we buy professional services, ensuring speed to market without sacrificing due diligence.

• Supplier Relationship Management (SRM):
  Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with key agencies and service providers to monitor KPIs, ensure brand alignment, and drive continuous value beyond the initial contract.

• Negotiation Leadership:
  Partner with Legal to navigate complex Master Service Agreements (MSAs) and Statements of Work (SOWs). Focus on commercial architecture, including performance-based incentives, intellectual property rights, and “out-clauses.”

• Spend Governance:
  Establish and maintain robust governance frameworks to manage complex fee structures, mitigate spend leakage, and ensure global compliance with corporate procurement standards.

• Strategic Reporting:
  Synthesize qualitative service metrics and quantitative financial data into concise decision memos for senior leadership, highlighting fiscal impact and strategic trade-offs.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain, or a related field.

• 6+ years of experience in procurement, sourcing, and contract management, within Indirect categories (Marketing, HR, or Professional Services) preferred.

• Direct experience negotiating with global agencies, media firms, and corporate service providers known for complex, milestone-based commercial models.

• High Emotional Intelligence:
  Demonstrated ability to build consensus with “creative” and “people‑centric” departments (Marketing, HR) while maintaining rigorous procurement discipline.

• Fluent in Service‑Level Economics:
  Deep understanding of agency retainer models, media buying mechanics, and benefits benchmarking.

• Highly proficient in TCO analysis, spend data visualization, and creating “what‑if” scenarios to support high‑stakes negotiations and budget planning.

• Training and Development:
  During onboarding, we…