Director, Category Management; Human Resource and Legal

Director, Category Management

We're determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals – and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future.

The Director, Category Management in the Human Resource and Legal space is a senior leader within the Strategic Sourcing & Real Estate organization (SSRE) responsible for developing and executing category strategies for complex, high-value spend categories. Reporting to the AVP, Category Lead for Corporate Service, this role manages categories typically ranging from $100M-$200M in annual spend and plays a critical role in translating enterprise procurement strategy into actionable category plans and measurable business outcomes.

This role can have a hybrid or remote work arrangement. Candidates who live near Hartford will have an expectation of working in an office in alignment to our hybrid work schedule (currently three days per week (Tuesday through Thursday)). Candidates who live near other office locations may have a similar expectation or may have a remote work arrangement depending on location.

Candidates who do not live near an office will have a remote work arrangement, with the expectation of coming into an office as business needs arise.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading the sourcing and contracting of Human Resources and Legal services, ensuring alignment to business strategy, cost optimization, risk management, and delivery of measurable outcomes.
• Developing and executing multi-year category strategies aligned to enterprise objectives.
• Conducting market analysis to understand trends, cost drivers, risks, and opportunities.
• Driving maturity and continuous improvement across outsourcing models, global delivery structures, and commercial frameworks, including managed services and outcome-based agreements.
• Establishing category-level objectives, KPIs, and value-tracking mechanisms to measure performance.
• Leading end-to-end sourcing initiatives for complex, high-impact spend areas.
• Developing negotiation strategies and leading supplier negotiations for commercial, risk, and service outcomes.
• Drafting and negotiating complex contracts in partnership with Legal when needed, ensuring compliance with business, regulatory, and risk requirements.
• Ensuring consistent contract quality, documentation standards, and adherence to procurement policies.
• Using spend analytics, performance dashboards, and sourcing insights to inform decisions and prioritize opportunities.
• Leveraging procurement technologies (e.g., sourcing platforms, CLM, analytics tools) to drive efficiency, transparency, and value.
• Ensuring accuracy and integrity of sourcing, supplier, and contract data within enterprise systems.
• Identifying opportunities to apply emerging tools and AI-enabled capabilities to category management activities.
• Partnering with business and functional stakeholders to align sourcing strategies with operational and strategic needs.
• Serving as a trusted advisor to Human Resources and Legal senior leaders, providing clear recommendations and insights supported by data.
• Supporting change initiatives and new ways of working, maintaining engagement and accountability.
• Modeling enterprise leadership principles by driving results with accountability and integrity, partnering effectively across functions with an enterprise mindset, using data and insights to inform decisions, continuously improving how work gets done, contributing to a high-performing, inclusive team culture and embracing change and helping others adapt to evolving priorities and tools.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in category management and strategic sourcing within a complex corporate environment, experience supporting Human Resources categories, including Employee Benefits. Proven ability to develop sourcing strategies, manage vendor relationships, and deliver business value across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Proven experience managing complex Human Resources and Legal Services spend, including leading the sourcing process as well as drafting and…