Lead spend intelligence and sourcing analytics, manage budgeting processes, generate insights, collaborate with finance, and leverage AI for analytics.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Senior Manager of Spend Intelligence & Sourcing Analytics transforms fragmented spend and space data into clear, actionable insight for Sourcing and Real Estate. This leader defines the data structures and logic behind budgets, forecasts, and crisp variance storytelling that drives executive decisions. They anticipate patterns, surface risks and opportunities, and experiment with AI enabled analytics to scale insight and reduce manual work. As a trusted partner to Finance, Accounting, and business leaders, they elevate data literacy, shape smarter tradeoffs, and lead a high performing analytics team.
RESPONSIBILITIES
This is a full-time hybrid (3 days a week on-site) position and can be located in Northbrook, Chicago, or any US UL office.
Decision Logic & Data Strategy
Budgeting, Forecasting & Variance Storytelling
Insight Generation & Question Framing
AI-Enabled Analytics & Scaled Insight
Partnerships with Finance, Accounting & the Business
QUALIFICATIONS
The Senior Manager of Spend Intelligence & Sourcing Analytics transforms fragmented spend and space data into clear, actionable insight for Sourcing and Real Estate. This leader defines the data structures and logic behind budgets, forecasts, and crisp variance storytelling that drives executive decisions. They anticipate patterns, surface risks and opportunities, and experiment with AI enabled analytics to scale insight and reduce manual work. As a trusted partner to Finance, Accounting, and business leaders, they elevate data literacy, shape smarter tradeoffs, and lead a high performing analytics team.
RESPONSIBILITIES
This is a full-time hybrid (3 days a week on-site) position and can be located in Northbrook, Chicago, or any US UL office.
Decision Logic & Data Strategy
- Define the critical data fields, taxonomies, categories, and structures that reveal insights (suppliers, categories, POs, contracts, cost centers, space links).
- Determine system-of-record vs. system-of-insight placement and close data gaps with Finance, Accounting, and IT.
- Design how spend and space data should be organized so leaders can quickly see what matters, without noise.
Budgeting, Forecasting & Variance Storytelling
- Lead the annual budgeting process for Sourcing and Real Estate, creating budgets grounded in real drivers and transparent assumptions.
- Own in-year forecast updates and ensure leaders clearly understand impacts, risks, and options.
- Deliver crisp, executive-ready variance narratives with root causes, actions, and accountability - not just numbers.
Insight Generation & Question Framing
- Ask the right questions, determine which analyses matter, and translate insights into operational actions or cost reductions.
- Identify patterns, drivers, anomalies, and opportunities before others see them.
- Reject "giant tables with no story" - instead structure, categorize, and distill data into clear takeaways.
AI-Enabled Analytics & Scaled Insight
- Deploy AI/ML use cases such as classification, anomaly detection, forecasting support, and pattern recognition to amplify team capacity.
- Build lightweight, high-value AI tools that surface signals automatically and reduce manual work.
Partnerships with Finance, Accounting & the Business
- Co-create spend visibility solutions with key partners; align on definitions, guardrails, and business rules.
- Collaborate with leaders in Sourcing, Real Estate, Facilities, and Finance to shape decisions and elevate data literacy.
- Provide proactive guidance on spend tradeoffs, risks, mitigations, and strategic options.
- Manages the performance of direct reports by developing accountabilities, establishing performance objectives, providing career counseling, feedback and guidance and ensuring that all policies are understood and adhered to.
- Read and follow the Underwriters Laboratories Code of Conduct, and follow all physical and digital security practices
- Performs other duties as directed.
QUALIFICATIONS
- University Degree (Equivalent to Bachelor's degree) in finance or a related disciplines plus generally 6-10 years in spend/procurement analytics, FP&A with operational exposure, consulting, or similar fields - ideally with practical experience in entrepreneurship, sourcing, real estate, or finance.
- Strong command of budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, accruals, and the story behind the numbers.
- Deep understanding of procurement, contract, GL, and/or real estate data structures and how to categorize them.
- Demonstrated use of AI or advanced analytics to scale insights and reduce manual effort.
- Comfortable partnering with BI teams to shape dashboards - without personally building them.
- Excellent communicator with experience influencing senior stakeholders and leading analysts.
What you'll experience working for ULS
UL Solutions has been pioneering change since 1894 and we're still leading the way. From day one, we've blazed a trail protecting the planet and everyone on it. Our teams have influenced billions of products, plus services, software offerings and more. We break things, burn things and blow things up. All in the name of safety science.
That's where you come in - because none of it could happen without you. It takes passion to protect people, problem-solving to safeguard personal data and conviction to make the world a more sustainable place. It takes bold ideas and brilliant minds to build a better world for future generations across the globe.
This is more than a job. It's a calling. A passion to use our expertise and play our part in creating a more secure, sustainable world today - and tomorrow. As a member of our safety science community, you'll use your ideas, your energy and your ambition to innovate, challenge and ultimately, help create a safer world.
Everyone here is unique. But we're also a global community, working together to help create a safer world. Join UL Solutions and you can connect with the brightest minds in the business, all bringing their distinct perspectives and diverse backgrounds together to deliver real change.
Empowering our customers to keep the world safe means thinking ahead. It means investing in training and empowering our people to learn and innovate. At UL Solutions, we help build a better future - one where everyone benefits.
Join UL Solutions to be at the center of safety. To learn more about us and the work we do, visit UL.com
Total Rewards: We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. The estimated salary range for this position is $133,000 to $178,000 and is based on multiple factors, including job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, as well as other factors. This position is eligible for annual bonus compensation with a target payout of 20% of the base salary. This position also provides health benefits such as medical, dental and vision; wellness benefits such as mental and financial health; and retirement savings (401K) commensurate with the standard rewards offered in each individual location or country. We also provide full-time employees with paid time off including vacation (15 days), holiday including floating holidays (12 days) and sick time off (72 hours).
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Top Skills
AI
Analytics Software
Budgeting Tools
Ml
UL Solutions Colorado, USA Office
CO, United States
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