Head Of sourcing

Lead Sourcing & Expert Lead Transformation

[Expert Lead Transformation III – GJA 19]

Your role & work environment

You will join the Operational Excellence and Safe Business structure, where sourcing plays a critical role in enabling safe, compliant, and sustainable delivery across the bank. In this environment, your role is to lead strategic sourcing ensuring optimal supplier outcomes, regulatory compliance, and strong governance.

You act as a strategic interface between sourcing, business, procurement, risk, and senior governance bodies. By setting clear standards, strengthening oversight, and guiding complex sourcing decisions, you contribute directly to business continuity, cost efficiency, and regulatory confidence. You embed a strong value‑for‑money mindset across all sourcing initiatives and ensure sourcing decisions deliver sustainable, fit‑for‑purpose outcomes.

Role Purpose and Responsibilities

As Lead Sourcing, you lead a team of experts and set standards for sourcing in alignment with global sourcing strategy. You are accountable for developing and safeguarding sourcing expertise, steering complex sourcing initiatives, and ensuring alignment with business strategy, regulatory requirements, and operational resilience objectives.In a fast‑evolving and global environment, you define and steer a forward‑looking sourcing strategy focused on performance and long‑term value.

You work closely with senior leaders, ExCo-level stakeholders, risk and compliance functions, and delivery teams to ensure sourcing decisions are well prepared, properly governed, and executed with impact.

Key responsibilities

• Lead strategic sourcing projects, in alignment with procurement strategy and business priorities
• Steer sourcing and supplier-related initiatives linked to offshoring and outsourcing, or operational change
• Define and maintain sourcing frameworks, standards, and governance models in line with internal policies and regulatory expectations
• Prepare, structure, and facilitate governance and decision forums, including steering committees involving ExCo members or Board representatives (TIPM, TIPM Sub Committee)
• Monitor supplier-related risks, dependencies, and performance issues in collaboration with business contract owners and operational resilience stakeholders
• Monitor sourcing performance and cost efficiency, and propose corrective actions where required
• Ensure compliance with regulations for both third party and intragroup by pro-actively managing the sourcing portfolio
• Build and develop sourcing and category management capabilities within the team through coaching and formal development
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders on sourcing decisions and supplier-related topics
• Ensure clear governance, roles, responsibilities, and decision-making structures across sourcing initiatives
• Drive stakeholder engagement and communication to support buy-in, adoption, and sustainable change
• Contribute to the definition and continuous improvement of the sourcing strategy, ensuring strong alignment with the department’s strategic positioning, global context, and long-term objectives
• Proactively challenge and improve sourcing initiatives by assessing their performance outcomes and value for money, including intragroup sourcing arrangements

Additional leadership and management responsibilities

Drawing on best practices from sourcing and leadership:

• Act as a business partner for internal stakeholders, balancing cost, risk, resilience, and strategic objectives
• Set clear performance objectives, track delivery, and hold teams accountable for results
• Drive continuous improvement by simplifying, standardizing, and professionalizing sourcing and vendor management practices
• Support capacity and workforce planning to ensure adequate expertise for sourcing and supplier oversight

Success Profile

We are looking for someone who demonstrates:

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to build, inspire, and develop high-performing expert teams
• A strategic mindset combined with strong execution discipline
• High standards of ownership, accountability, and results orientation
• Excellent communication skills, able to translate strategy into clear direction and action
• Proven experience in strategic sourcing, or supplier governance in regulated environments
• The ability to operate confidently with senior management, ExCo members, and governance bodies; and navigate organizational complexity
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Comfort dealing with ambiguity and complex regulatory expectations

Key skills and expertise

• Governance design and assurance for large and complex initiatives
• Risk, issue, and dependency management
• Stakeholder engagement and senior-level advisory skills
• Performance management and results tracking
• Continuous improvement and innovation in ways of working
• Financial and business acumen to support business cases and investment decisions
• Sourcing and supplier management capabilities, including the ability to steer strategic sourcing activities and vendor-related initiatives in collaboration with procurement and business stakeholders’ expectations
• Experience in preparing, structuring, and facilitating governance forums, steering committees, and decision-making bodies involving ExCo members or Board of Directors representatives
• Strong understanding of sourcing-related regulations, outsourcing frameworks, third-party risk requirements, and regulatory
• Knowledge of operational resilience principles, including critical service identification, dependency mapping, and impact tolerance considerations
• Familiarity with the TIPM ecosystem and its application for managing third-party risks, controls, and oversight across transformation initiatives
• Strategic sourcing and category management expertise
• Supplier and contract management for complex and critical services
• Strong strategic reflection capabilities, with the ability to contribute to the long-term development, positioning, and maturity of the sourcing domain
• Negotiation and influencing skills to challenge sourcing approaches, suppliers, and intragroup arrangements, and to drive increased value, performance, and sustainability of sourcing outcomes

Recommended qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience
• 6 to 10 years of experience in sourcing, category management, procurement, or supplier governance; or transformation, change management, or complex program delivery
• Several years of experience leading teams or complex (sourcing) initiatives
• Strong knowledge of sourcing frameworks, negotiation, contract management, and regulatory requirements
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills

Employee Experience and Benefits

ING supports your professional development and wellbeing. You will benefit from autonomy in your role, a hybrid working model supporting work-life balance, and collaboration with experienced colleagues committed to operational excellence and safe business.

In addition, ING offers competitive compensation, health coverage, retirement benefits, paid time off, learning opportunities, mobility support, and wellbeing services. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and value diversity, learning, and innovation.