Associate Director – Strategic Sourcing (Marketing) at Verizon in Dublin

Job description

When you join Verizon You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely — even if they’re daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love — driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together — lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife. As our Associate Director leading Strategic Sourcing for Marketing, you will be accountable for the development, implementation, and overall management of the global sourcing strategy across a Multi-billion Marketing portfolio (encompassing Creative, Communications, MarTech, Print, Retail/Store Execution, Merchandise, Research, and Digital). Operating in a fast-evolving ecosystem where Generative AI, AI MarTech solutions, and dynamic creative optimization are rapidly reshaping content creation and omnichannel delivery, you will lead and mentor a high-performing team based in Ireland. You will be responsible for evaluating proposals, transforming the agency landscape, and driving Verizon’s overall commercial, financial, and working capital goals (including DPO90 mandates). At the core of this role is direct strategic alignment and close partnership with the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Marketing VPs, Brand Leaders, and executive business leadership. Serving as a trusted commercial co-pilot to the CMO, you will bridge marketing vision with commercial strategy—ensuring procurement actively enables brand priorities, creative ambition, and speed-to-market while maximizing commercial value. You will lead high-visibility initiatives in a dynamic, high-performing Sourcing team based in Verizon’s Dublin office. What you will be doing: Executive & CMO Partnership: Serving as the primary sourcing partner to the CMO and Marketing leadership team; co-designing category roadmaps that directly mirroring business strategy, brand ambitions, and commercial growth targets. Team Leadership & Development : Building, mentoring, and leading a dedicated team of marketing sourcing experts; manage recruitment, compensation planning, performance appraisals, and draft customized career development plans to enhance team capabilities. Category Strategy & AI Evolution: Leading multi-year global marketing category sourcing strategies that adapt to shifting technologies—integrating cutting-edge AI MarTech firms, generative creative content tools, and automated omnichannel delivery platforms to optimize brand velocity and customer experience. Strategic Partner & Agency Negotiations: Leading high-stakes negotiations with strategic agency networks, AI-driven content partners, MarTech providers, and production vendors to maximize commercial value, secure service level guarantees, and establish sustainable win-win partnerships. Budget & Portfolio Governance: Managing the multi-billion-dollar marketing vendor portfolio against cost budgets in lockstep with Marketing Finance and business leadership, leveraging commercial levers, agency rate-card benchmarking, and working capital optimization (e.g., DPO90). Cross-Functional & Business Alignment: Collaborating closely with Marketing executives, IT, and Legal to streamline contracting (MSAs, SOWs, expedited AI tool procurement) and actively participating in Strategic and Operational Reviews alongside senior leadership. Market Insight & Analytics: Conducting ad-hoc financial and market analyses to provide foresight on emerging agency models, GenAI pricing structures, and omnichannel MarTech trends to inform CMO-level decisions. Transformation & Process Leadership: Overseeing and leading the transformation initiatives—such as rapid AI contracting enablement and agency ecosystem restructuring—to ac