Senior Manager, Process Management & Excellence, Procurement

Senior Manager, Process Management & Excellence, Procurement

Location: Taastrup, Denmark

Are you an experienced leader who can bring clarity and direction in a complex and changing environment? Can you empower highly capable specialists while creating the structure and boundaries that enable them to perform at their best? And are you comfortable influencing senior stakeholders, challenging constructively and shaping how an organisation operates?If you are motivated by leading through transformation rather than simply maintaining established processes, this could be your opportunity to help shape the next chapter of Global Direct Procurement at Novo.

The position

As Senior Manager, Process Management & Excellence, you will lead a newly established team within Procurement Solutions, part of Global Direct Procurement.Following the recent evolution of the organisation, your initial challenge will be to bring together a highly capable group of professionals, establish a clear operating model and create alignment around the team's purpose, priorities and ways of working.

This is not a traditional operational people-management role. Your team brings significant subject matter expertise and is capable of operating with a high degree of independence. Your role will be to provide direction, create the conditions in which they can succeed and ensure their expertise is focused on the areas that create the greatest impact for the wider organisation.

Operating across an organisation of approximately 200 colleagues, you will also act as a senior delegate and sparring partner to the Director of Procurement Solutions. You will work independently with senior stakeholders, helping translate changing organisational needs into clear priorities while establishing appropriate expectations and boundaries for the team.

Your key responsibilities will include

• Leading, coaching and developing a team of professionals with different levels of seniority, creating clear expectations while empowering them to operate independently.

• Establishing and continuously developing the team's operating model, mandate, priorities and ways of working.

• Creating clarity around roles, responsibilities and interfaces following organisational change.

• Acting as a senior sparring partner and delegate for the Director of Procurement Solutions and representing the team with senior stakeholders.

• Influencing and challenging stakeholders across Global Direct Procurement and connected functions, ensuring priorities and expectations remain aligned.

• Driving process excellence and transformation across purchase planning and related procurement processes.

• Setting direction across areas including risk, cost and budget processes, sourcing activities, analytics, performance management, inventory and scrap.

• Translating complex or changing business requirements into clear priorities and practical action.

• Supporting fact-based senior decision-making, including recommendations on priorities, trade offs, resources, risks and business impact.

• Building an engaged and aligned team with a strong sense of collective purpose, accountability and performance.

About the department

Global Direct Procurement is responsible for end-to-end procurement strategy and execution for direct materials and services supporting Novo's global manufacturing network. The organisation is strengthening global scale, standardisation, cross-regional collaboration and transparency across procurement activities.

Procurement Solutions is one of the business functions within Global Direct Procurement. It brings together specialist capabilities in business partnering, project management, process management, analytics, planning excellence and risk management.

The Process Management & Excellence team works across the wider organisation, supporting strategically important processes and priorities. As the organisation continues to evolve, the team has an important role in creating greater clarity, consistency, performance and transparency across Global Direct Procurement.

You will collaborate closely with colleagues across category management, strategic sourcing, supplier operations, digital procurement, finance, supply chain and risk.

Your skills and qualifications

We are looking for an experienced, structured and independent people leader who can create followership in a complex stakeholder landscape. You combine strategic ownership with pragmatic execution and are motivated by building a team that helps the wider business perform better.

We expect that you have:

• A master's degree or equivalent within business administration, supply chain, engineering, economics or another relevant field.

• Significant experience from procurement, supply chain, sourcing, process excellence, operational excellence, business transformation or a related area within a complex international environment.

• Proven people leadership experience with professionals with different levels of seniority.

• Demonstrated experience owning a functional agenda, operating model, governance structure or transformation roadmap beyond pure execution.

• Experience driving cross-functional process improvements, analytics, planning excellence or implementation of process solutions.

• An understanding of direct procurement value chains and experience in areas such as sourcing, risk management, planning, budgeting, performance management or business case development.

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence, challenge and build alignment across seniority levels and functions.

• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Direct procurement expertise would be valuable, but it is not the only route into this position. We are equally interested in leaders from areas such as supply chain, operational excellence or business transformation who can demonstrate strong people leadership and experience shaping organisations through change.

As a person, you create clarity in ambiguity and make fact-based recommendations. You are comfortable taking ownership and challenging constructively, while empowering talented specialists to operate independently. You combine collaboration and inclusion with the judgement and resilience required to establish boundaries, make decisions and maintain focus in a changing environment.

Deadline

The position will initially be open to internal candidates until 10/08/2026. following this date, and depending on the ouctome of the process, the position may also be advertised externally with an extended application deadline.

Why Novo

At Novo, we don’t wait for change. We drive it. We’re a dynamic company in an even more dynamic industry, and we know that what got us to where we are today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future. We embrace the spirit of experimentation, striving for excellence without fixating on perfection. We never shy away from opportunities to develop; we seize them. From research and development to manufacturing, marketing, and sales we’re all working to move the needle on patient care.

Working at Novo

Every day we seek the solutions that defeat serious chronic diseases. To do this, we approach our work with determination, constant curiosity and a commitment to finding better ways forward. For over 100 years, this dedication has driven us to build a company focused on lasting change for long term health. One where diverse thinking, shared purpose and mutual respect come together to create extraordinary results. When you join us, you are not just starting a job – you are becoming part of a story that spans generations.

Salary and benefitsThe salary range for this position is DKK 742,600 to 1,091,600 per year, depending on experience and qualifications.

Incentives and benefits

Novo offers a competitive compensation package, including pension, bonus opportunities and a range of employee benefits designed to support your professional and personal wellbeing.

What we offer

There is, of course, more on offer here than the unique opportunity to work at a global healthcare company. We offer you the chance to make a difference in the lives of millions of people living with serious chronic diseases. In addition, you will have access to opportunities for professional development and career progression in an international organisation.

We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we're life changing. 

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.