Procurement Manager – Professional Services & Marketing

WHO WE ARE Helsing is a defence AI company. Our mission is to protect our democracies. We aim to achieve technological leadership, so that open societies can continue to make sovereign decisions and control their ethical standards. As democracies, we believe we have a special responsibility to be thoughtful about the development and deployment of powerful technologies like AI. We take this responsibility seriously.  We are an ambitious and committed team of engineers, AI specialists and customer-facing programme managers. We are looking for mission-driven people to join our European teams – and apply their skills to solve the most complex and impactful problems. We embrace an open and transparent culture that welcomes healthy debates on the use of technology in defence, its benefits, and its ethical implications.  THE ROLE You will build Helsing’s first sourcing playbook for Professional Services, External Workforce, and Marketing from scratch, sparring directly with our People, Legal, and Marketing leads – putting it into practice and continuously raising the bar. You’ll be the first person to bring radical visibility across our global hubs – centralizing how we engage external talent, negotiate rate cards and SOWs, and master workforce compliance. At Helsing, procurement is a catalyst, not red tape. Working alongside some of the sharpest minds in tech and defence, your mission is to build lasting commercial leverage that empowers the entire team to move fast, think big, and deliver extraordinary impact together. THE DAY-TO-DAY - Define & Execute Category Strategies: Take end-to-end commercial ownership across Professional Services, Legal, Events, Marketing, and Contingent Workforce - Drive High-Stakes Negotiations: Independently lead and close high-six-figure to seven-figure contract negotiations (consulting MSAs, executive search terms, exhibition frame agreements) - Build Commercial Frameworks: Implement rate-card architectures, clean MSA/SOW structures, capped contingency fee tiers (no-cure-no-pay), and clear performance KPIs - Manage Risk & Compliance: Ensure flawless adherence to German labor regulations (AÜG), including maximum leasing periods, Equal Pay, and strict delineation between Werkverträgen (SOWs) and temp labor / freelancing - Turn Raw Data into Action: Take raw creditor/AP data exports and independently model spend cubes and category baselines from scratch - Partner at Eye-Level: Challenge and collaborate with senior stakeholders across Marketing, People/Talent, Legal, and Finance, building long-term trust while protecting commercial interests YOU SHOULD APPLY IF YOU - Have 3+ years of experience in strategic procurement or sourcing with a focus on Professional Services, HR, Marketing/Agencies, or Contingent Workforce - Have a proven track record of high-stakes negotiations in the high six- to seven-figure range (e.g., consulting MSAs, executive search terms, or exhibition contracts) - Possess strong expertise in commercial deal structuring, including rate card architectures, MSA/SOW frameworks, and capped no-cure-no-pay fee models - Bring a solid practical understanding of the German labor leasing framework (AÜG), including maximum assignment durations, Equal Pay, and the strict demarcation between Werkverträgen and labor leasing - Are comfortable with hands-on data modeling and can build clean spend cubes directly from raw AP/creditor exports in Excel - Bring strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to push back on Marketing, HR, and Legal on commercial terms while fostering long-term trusted partnerships - Thrive in greenfield environments, with proven delivery in fast-moving setups without established procurement playbooks or dedicated operational support - Are business fluent in both German and English - Are willing and eligible to undergo national security vetting (German Ü2/Ü3 or equivalent) Note: We operate in an industry where women, as well as other minority groups, are systematically under-represented. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all the listed qualifications; ability and impact cannot be summarised in a few bullet points. NICE TO HAVE - Experience designing, implementing, or operating VMS/MSP frameworks for contingent workforce management - A background in strategic sourcing within Defence, Aerospace, or another highly regulated sector - Hands-on experience in legal sourcing, panel setups, and fee structures for external counsel - Familiarity with SAP S/4HANA and modern intake-to-procure / P2P systems (such as ZIP, Omnea, Lio, or Pivot) - Prior experience driving software rationalization and consolidation across HR-Tech or MarTech license portfolios JOIN HELSING AND WORK WITH WORLD-LEADING EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDS  - Helsing’s work is important. You’ll be directly contributing to the protection of democratic countries while balancing both ethical and geopolitical concerns - The work is unique. We operate in a domain that has highly unusual technical requirements and constraints, and where robustness, safety, and ethical considerations are vital. You will face unique Engineering and AI challenges that make a meaningful impact in the world - Our work frequently takes us right up to the state of the art in technical innovation, be it reinforcement learning, distributed systems, generative AI, or deployment infrastructure. The defence industry is entering the most exciting phase of the technological development curve. Advances in our field of world are not incremental: Helsing is part of, and often leading, historic leaps forward - In our domain, success is a matter of order-of-magnitude improvements and novel capabilities. This means we take bets, aim high, and focus on big opportunities. Despite being a relatively young company, Helsing has already been selected for multiple significant government contracts - We actively encourage healthy, proactive, and diverse debate internally about what we do and how we choose to do it. Teams and individual engineers are trusted (and encouraged) to practise responsible autonomy and critical thinking, and to focus on outcomes, not conformity. At Helsing you will have a say in how we (and you!) work, the opportunity to engage on what does and doesn’t work, and to take ownership of aspects of our culture that you care deeply about WHAT WE OFFER - Competitive salary and VSOP options - Relocation support: up to €2,500 and 4 weeks temporary accommodation - Learning: €500/£450 yearly allowance - Health & wellness: gym membership and mental health support (Nilo.health) - Social: regularly company events and monthly social allowances - Enhanced parental leave: 22 weeks fully paid for primary caregivers & 6 weeks for secondary caregivers. - Family support: 5 days of paid family emergency leave, 100% remote work option during pregnancy and phased return to work These are the core benefits across all locations, there may be additional benefits in certain locations. Helsing is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or gender identity. Please do not submit personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning your health, or data concerning your sexual orientation.