Jobs › AbbVie

Associate Director, Procurement Category Management & Capability Leadership – AI/Emerging Technology

AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Full time · Finance

Posted Jul 21, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

Apply at AbbVie

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you partnered with a VP-level stakeholder on a sourcing strategy. How did you earn a seat at the table?

What they are checking: Influencing senior leaders as a strategic partner, not a buyer.

Tell me about a complex program you led from strategy through implementation. What made it complex?

What they are checking: Whether they have led a hard program from strategy through to delivery, rather than only designing plans for others to carry out.

How do you stay current on the AI vendor landscape, and how do you share that with the team?

What they are checking: Whether they keep learning about a fast-moving vendor market and share it widely, since the team's advice ages quickly otherwise.

Describe a time a procurement project you ran delivered value beyond cost savings.

What they are checking: Whether they see procurement value beyond savings, such as risk reduction, speed and innovation, which matters especially in emerging technology.

What would you do

A business leader has already picked an AI vendor and wants procurement to just sign. What do you do?

What they are checking: Protecting governance and leverage while keeping the business on side.

How do you fit stage gates, approvals and risk reviews into a sourcing process without making it painfully slow?

What they are checking: Whether they can fit risk reviews into sourcing without stalling the business, so teams do not bypass procurement out of frustration.

How would you handle a small startup vendor that the business loves but that can't meet standard contract terms?

What they are checking: Whether they can adjust standard terms by risk level for small vendors, without blocking promising technology or exposing the company.

About the work

How would you build a global procurement strategy for AI and emerging technology, where the market changes every few months?

What they are checking: Whether they can build a sourcing strategy for a market that changes every few months, where suppliers are young and terms unsettled.

What risks are specific to buying AI tools in a regulated pharma company, and how would procurement address them?

What they are checking: Understanding of data, IP, model, privacy and regulatory risk in AI sourcing.

Walk me through how you'd negotiate with an AI vendor whose pricing is usage-based and hard to forecast.

What they are checking: Whether they can negotiate usage-based AI pricing with caps and visibility, so costs do not spiral unexpectedly as adoption grows.

What would go into a capability playbook for the procurement team on AI and emerging tech?

What they are checking: Whether they can turn their own expertise into guidance and training, so the wider procurement team can buy AI well too.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at AbbVie from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

Practice this out loud

The full job description

As published by AbbVie.

The Associate Director, Procurement Category Management partners with VP-level business or functional stakeholder(s) to develop global procurement strategies, contributing to a cross-functional team that informs strategy through analysis, market expertise, and understanding of broader business objectives. This role builds a capability strategic plan and playbook to enable procurement best practices in this highly complex and changing environment. Specific Categories and Capabilities within leadership are Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies amongst other technologies and services as required. Responsibilities : • Partner with VP-level business or functional stakeholders to develop global procurement strategies for AI and Emerging Technologies in alignment with the internal governance, stage gate processes, approvals, and risk/regulatory requirements. • Drive Innovation/Thought Leadership and lead complex programs, initiatives from strategy through implementation. Orchestrate procurement projects with a strategic lens, ensuring they are not only aligned with overarching business objectives but also contribute to the long-term strategic vision. • Create comprehensive capability playbook, negotiation strategy and deployment training for the procurement team keeping with trends and market analysis to ensure is continuous evolving • Ensure education and governance of capabilities are aligned and continuously evolving • Contribute to a cross-functional team that informs strategic decision-making by leveraging market intelligence, staying abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and market dynamics. • Define and develop strategic value drivers with key category suppliers to secure collaborative partnerships that challenge the status quo to achieve cost savings, optimize processes, and enhance overall procurement value. • Integrate sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures into category strategies, collaborating with suppliers to enhance sustainable and responsible sourcing practices. • Lead Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) strategies, driving innovation with key category suppliers and collaborating to enact creative and cutting-edge solutions that deliver on long-term business needs. Develop and activate mitigation strategies to proactively define and manage procurement risk across the relevant category, ensuring compliance. • Lead the large and complex supplier roadmaps, strategies, programs and negotiations. • Ensure effective project management from initiation to completion, directing and guiding cross-functional teams to deliver strategic category-related projects. Identify opportunities for process optimization and efficiency gains, leveraging data analytics to develop long-term continuous improvement programs that achieve strategic objectives. • Drive the end-to-end procurement process from sourcing strategy to contract negotiation and execution, leading negotiations with key category suppliers and strengthening decisions with strong analytical insight and strategic perspective. • Drive use cases and use case adoption for competitive edge, speed, quality and market place advantages. • Player – Coach mindset and activities from business partnering, consulting, project/program leadership and training to ensure the capability strategy is pulled through. • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Mgmt, Technology or related field. Master’s degree is preferred or equivalent experience. • Minimum of 10 years of experience in procurement, supply chain, technology, consulting or related business or operations function. Previous experience leading category teams, IT teams, consulting, partnering with major suppliers, and reporting to senior leaders. Strong proficiency in developing high-impact executive-level deliverables. • Comprehensive expertise in category management, including market analysis, cost and financial assessment, ensuring strategic and informed procurement decisions. Fluency in negotiation and bidding, adept in overseeing complex projects with a focus on effective change management. • Strong capabilities in internal stakeholder management and influence, aligning procurement strategies with business needs and fostering collaborative supplier relationships. • Strategic thinking and accountability, anticipating future trends, and taking responsibility for impactful procurement outcomes that challenge the status quo. • Innovative problem-solving skills combined with a significant executive presence, enabling creative solutions and influential communication at all organizational levels. High cross-functional leadership abilities, conflict resolution skills, effectively navigating & harmonizing diverse team dynamics. • Exceptional interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, facilitating empathetic interactions, effective communication, and robust relationship-building across a matrixed organization. High resilience under pressure and autonomous work ethic, maintaining performance in challenging situations and making independent decisions. Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​ • The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​ • We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​ • This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs. ​ Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more: https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html

Apply at AbbVie