Director, Procurement Operations

Location: Bangalore, India

Job Purpose  

At Alcon, we are driven by the meaningful work we do to help people see brilliantly. We innovate boldly, champion progress, and act with speed as the global leader in eye care. Here, you’ll be recognized for your commitment and contributions and see your career like never before. Together, we go above and beyond to make an impact on the lives of our patients and customers. Are you ready to join us?

This role is part of Alcon's Process Excellence organization, where we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture and attracting diverse, high-performing talent.

Alcon is seeking an experienced operations leader to lead the Global Procurement Operations organization within Alcon Global Services (AGS).

The Director, Procurement Operations is responsible for the end-to-end delivery of global procurement operations, overseeing the processes, governance, systems, controls, and support services that enable supplier onboarding, purchasing, contract administration, compliance, and procurement user support across Alcon's global enterprise.

Serving as the critical operational link between Strategic Procurement and downstream Invoice-to-Pay processes, this leader will ensure operational excellence, effective governance, and a seamless stakeholder experience across Alcon's global delivery network.

The Director is accountable for service delivery performance, organizational leadership, operational governance, process standardization, risk management, and continuous improvement. In partnership with Procurement, Finance, Accounts Payable, Legal, IT, and AGS leadership, the role will drive operational effectiveness, strengthen controls, advance digital capabilities, and support the ongoing evolution of Alcon's global procurement operating model.

Major Accountabilities

Leadership & Organization:

• Lead the global Procurement Operations organization across India, Poland, Malaysia, Mexico, and other supporting locations.
• Build and develop a high-performing organization focused on accountability, operational excellence, customer service, and continuous improvement.
• Establish clear performance expectations, operating rhythms, governance forums, and management routines.
• Drive workforce planning, organizational design, succession planning, and talent development.
• Lead operational issue resolution and escalation management for critical business and supplier impacts.
• Ensure alignment and coordination across all Procurement Operations functions and regions.

Service Delivery & Operational Excellence:

• Accountable for global service delivery performance, operational effectiveness, customer experience, and achievement of key performance indicators.
• Oversee the operational capabilities supporting the Procure-to-Order lifecycle, including:
  • Vendor onboarding and vendor master maintenance
  • Procurement user support and service management
  • User access management
  • Direct and Indirect purchase requisition and purchase order support
  • Supplier enablement and catalog administration
  • Contract lifecycle management system administration, workflow facilitation, and user support (Icertis)
  • Procurement compliance support activities
• Monitor global workload, resource allocation, capacity utilization, and business continuity readiness.
• Establish consistent global performance reporting and operational review processes.
• Drive standardization, process simplification, automation, and productivity improvements across Procurement Operations.
• Leverage operational data and analytics to improve decision-making and service performance.
• Support implementation and adoption of new processes, technologies, and operating models impacting Procurement Operations.

Risk, Controls & Governance:

• Ensure adherence to procurement policies, internal controls, and established operating procedures.
• Maintain effective control execution across Procurement Operations activities.
• Monitor operational risks and ensure timely resolution of identified issues.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action planning for significant service, control, or compliance issues.
• Support internal and external audit activities and ensure timely remediation of audit findings and control deficiencies.
• Strengthen governance practices that support compliant, scalable, and sustainable operations.

Strategic Partnership & Business Enablement:

• Partner with Procurement, Finance, AP, IT, Legal, and AGS leadership to improve end-to-end procurement support services.
• Support future-state operating model design, process harmonization, and organizational optimization initiatives.
• Drive adoption of best practices that improve service quality, scalability, and business value.
• Serve as a key operational leader supporting Procurement's strategic objectives and business enablement goals.

What you will bring to the role 

Education:
(minimum/desirable)

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, or related field
• MBA or advanced degree preferred
• Lean/ Six Sigma Certified preferred

Languages:               

• Fluent English + other languages a plus

Experience:              

• 10+ years leading shared services, procurement operations, procure-to-pay, finance operations, or global business services organizations.
• 5+ years managing global delivery centers and large operational teams (50+ employees).
• Experience leading Procure-to-Order or Procurement Service Delivery operations, including one or more of the following capabilities:
  • Vendor Master Data
  • Procurement Help Desk
  • Purchase Order Support
  • Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) administration and support
  • Procurement Compliance
• Experience with SAP, Ariba, ServiceNow, Icertis, or similar enterprise platforms.
• Proven success improving operational performance, standardization, controls, and stakeholder experience.
• Experience leading geographically dispersed teams in a global environment.

Skills and Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to align fragmented operational teams into a scalable, globally consistent service delivery model.

• Strong operational leadership and execution focus
• Ability to manage high-volume global service delivery environments
• Strategic thinker with strong execution capabilities
• Data-driven decision-making and analytical mindset
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Proven ability to lead through organizational and process change
• Strong governance, risk management, and problem-solving capabilities

Technical Skills

• ERP expertise (SAP, Oracle, Workday)
• eProcurement platforms (Ariba)
• Advanced analytics (Power BI, Tableau, Excel)
• Familiarity with automation tools

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking with operational execution
• Stakeholder engagement across functions
• Change leadership and communication skills
• People leadership: coaching, succession planning
• Digital mindset, governance, and continuous improvement

ATTENTION: Current Alcon Employee/Contingent Worker

If you are currently an active employee/contingent worker at Alcon, please click the appropriate link below to apply on the Internal Career site.

Find Jobs for Employees

Find Jobs for Contingent Worker

Alcon is an Equal Opportunity Employer and takes pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, or any other reason.