Airtel - Head - Services Sourcing - Indirect Procurement

• Function: Supply Chain - Indirect Sourcing
• Location: Gurgaon
• Who are we?

We are a leading telecommunications and digital services company with a strong global footprint across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the US. Our Supply Chain organization plays a critical role in enabling business growth by driving strategic sourcing, category transformation, supplier partnership, and cost excellence across all business units.

The Services Sourcing vertical manages a wide portfolio of indirect categories critical to the company's operations, customer experience, and brand presence. With a cumulative annual spend of INR 4,000 Cr+, the team drives value, governance, and innovation across functions.

Role Purpose:

The Head - Services Sourcing will lead all enterprise wide indirect sourcing related to HR & Employee Services, Marketing, Customer Experience, Warehousing & Transport, Retail & Security Services, Digital Services, and Network Infrastructure (selected service categories).

She will be responsible for developing long term sourcing strategies, driving cost optimization, enhancing service quality, ensuring supplier governance, and building high performing teams.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategy & Planning:

• Develop and institutionalize the annual sourcing strategy for the Services Sourcing vertical.
• Drive long term transformation across cost, quality, productivity, and supplier partnerships.
• Align sourcing strategy to business, digital, customer experience, and network priorities.
• Conduct enterprise wide spend analysis and category segmentation for strategic planning.

2. Category Ownership (Indirect Services):

Lead sourcing across the following categories:

• HR & Employee Services - staffing, training, engagement platforms, payroll services, etc.
• Marketing - creative, digital, media services, research, events, printing, POSM, merchandising, brand activation.
• Customer Experience - call center, retention processes, document management, KYC/verification, onboarding services.
• Warehouse & Transport - warehousing services, transportation contracts, logistics operations.
• Retail - store build up, fit-outs, fixtures, branding, uniforms, maintenance services.
• Security Services - manpower, tech security solutions, audit services.
• Digital & Network Infra (Services) - AMC, MRO services, new site build up, audits, selected infra service categories.

3. Sourcing Execution & Value Delivery:

• Lead complex supplier selection processes and commercial negotiations.
• Drive cost optimization, value engineering, waste elimination, and process consolidation.
• Manage an overall spend base of INR 4,000 Cr+, ensuring strong ROI and strategic supplier leverage.
• Enhance supplier competitiveness through continuous improvement and innovation programs.

4. Contracting & Governance:

• Lead end to end commercial contracting in partnership with Legal, Finance, Risk, and business stakeholders.
• Ensure strong governance on scope adherence, SLAs, KPIs, performance scorecards, and contract renewals.
• Strengthen category frameworks, sourcing processes, and audit compliance.

5. Stakeholder Management:

• Partner closely with CHRO, CMO, CX leadership, Retail leadership, Supply Chain, Network teams, and business heads.
• Build strong cross-functional alignment to ensure on-time delivery of business commitments.
• Position sourcing as a strategic value creator rather than a transactional function.

6. Team Leadership:

• Lead and mentor a team of category managers and sourcing leads.
• Build capabilities in strategic sourcing, analytics, negotiation, and governance.
• Foster a culture of ownership, high performance, and business partnership.

Skills & Competencies:

• Strategic Sourcing & Category Management
• Contract Management & Commercial Acumen
• Strategic Negotiation
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Spend Analytics & Market Intelligence
• De-risking & Business Continuity
• Team Leadership & Cross-functional Collaboration
• Governance, Compliance & Process Excellence

Success Measures:

• % Cost savings & value creation delivered
• Supplier performance improvement (SLA/KPI consistency)
• Risk reduction & contract compliance
• Stakeholder satisfaction
• Team capability uplift
• Process maturity across sourcing cycles

Educational Qualification - MBA with strong experience in indirect sourcing/procurement.