Procurement Category Manager
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Procurement Category Manager to join our Procurement team as the head of indirect spend.
Job description
In this role, you will be responsible for strategic sourcing projects and negotiations that align with our business objectives, ensuring efficient sourcing of high-tech products and services. This role requires excellent procurement and interpersonal skills, with the ability to shift between spending categories and projects while maintaining strong relationships with our strategic suppliers and internal stakeholders and ensuring deliverables are met. As Procurement Category Manager, you will have the opportunity to support the building of a strong, future-proof global procurement organization.
What you will do
- Category management — develop, communicate, and create buy-in for your global and regional category strategies. The categories will encompass a broad spectrum of indirect spend (IT hardware and software, consultancy, utilities, HR, facility services, etc.) and Capex to support various industries, including aerospace, healthcare, medtech, research, and academia
- Stakeholder management — partner with different departments such as IT, Legal, HR, Finance, and Production to understand current and future business needs
- Strategic sourcing — execute and manage the category strategies, considering the procurement policies/process flows and business objectives
- Build strong supplier relations to ensure standards for quality, delivery, and performance, and manage a network of reliable, value-adding suppliers via KPIs
- Negotiate the best purchasing price, integrating the total cost of ownership, service requirements, compliance, and quality specifications
- Set up and perform data analysis on your categories to analyze cost drivers, understand category markets, and identify best practices
- Recognize potential cost optimizations, taking into account TCO, standardization opportunities, and risk management
- Contract governance — negotiate and implement contracts and service level agreements, driving commercial and operational objectives
- Report to the Global Procurement Director
- Coach the Category Buyer for indirect materials
Your profile
- Master’s degree with a proven track record in procurement at a global level
- You like working on strategic and tactical levels and are experienced in category management, supplier relationship, and contract management
- You enjoy working on a broad variety of indirect spend categories and projects
- You are an ambassador for the procurement organization generating overall cost awareness and supplier engagement, and you help educate business partners in procurement processes and procedures
- You are well aware of the mechanisms of supply chain management and the role of procurement in the E2E supply chain process
- Procurement process development and implementation skills. You take initiative if you come across room for standardization in procurement processes on a local/regional/global level
- Solid experience in procurement negotiation, project management, sourcing, and cost analysis processes
- Analytical and financial capabilities to analyze and interpret data and identify insights
- Strategic negotiation skills and experience with cost-driving elements
- Experienced in stakeholder management across multiple business units and global regions
- Strong communication skills
- Flexible and hands-on mentality
- Fluent in spoken and written English
What we offer
Healthy life-work balance
When creating a better and healthier world, a good place to start is with yourself. That's why we encourage our employees to prioritize their overall well-being, fostering physical fitness, mental resilience, and social connections through a range of workshops, sports activities, and other events and initiatives that contribute to a balanced and fulfilling work-life harmony.
Hybrid working & flexibility
At Materialise, we value the power of in-person connections and the advantages of remote work, allowing our employees the flexibility to enjoy the best of both worlds. You can work remotely up to 60% of the time and work flexible hours, depending on your particular role.
Personal growth and career advancement
At Materialise, we’re committed to nurturing the professional development of our employees. We invest in our passionate people and empower them to explore and grow by offering diverse career paths that capitalize on their talents. Plus, we offer courses, external coaching programs, and in-house mentoring so that our employees can fulfill their potential.
Team building
We cultivate a positive work culture so our employees have an enjoyable professional environment. Collaboration is key, so we organize activities that unite our employees, such as after-work events and team lunches. We want all our staff to feel connected in an environment that promotes strong bonds based on trust, respect, empathy, and friendship.
Innovation is key
Innovation is not just a buzzword at Materialise; it's at the core of what we do. As pioneers in our industry, we create cutting-edge solutions, fostering an environment that supports and rewards ingenuity and leadership. We’re dedicated to shaping the future of 3D printing, recognizing and celebrating the creative spirit within all our global innovators.
Healthy life-work balance
When creating a better and healthier world, a good place to start is with yourself. That's why we encourage our employees to prioritize their overall well-being, fostering physical fitness, mental resilience, and social connections through a range of workshops, sports activities, and other events and initiatives that contribute to a balanced and fulfilling work-life harmony.
Hybrid working & flexibility
At Materialise, we value the power of in-person connections and the advantages of remote work, allowing our employees the flexibility to enjoy the best of both worlds. You can work remotely up to 60% of the time and work flexible hours, depending on your particular role.
Personal growth and career advancement
At Materialise, we’re committed to nurturing the professional development of our employees. We invest in our passionate people and empower them to explore and grow by offering diverse career paths that capitalize on their talents. Plus, we offer courses, external coaching programs, and in-house mentoring so that our employees can fulfill their potential.
Team building
We cultivate a positive work culture so our employees have an enjoyable professional environment. Collaboration is key, so we organize activities that unite our employees, such as after-work events and team lunches. We want all our staff to feel connected in an environment that promotes strong bonds based on trust, respect, empathy, and friendship.
Innovation is key
Innovation is not just a buzzword at Materialise; it's at the core of what we do. As pioneers in our industry, we create cutting-edge solutions, fostering an environment that supports and rewards ingenuity and leadership. We’re dedicated to shaping the future of 3D printing, recognizing and celebrating the creative spirit within all our global innovators.
Location and type of contract
- Leuven, Belgium
- Purchasing and supply Chain
- Full-time
- Hybrid
- Mid-senior level
- CV in English
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Working at Materialise
Materialise is a dynamic, international high-tech company, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Belgium, with over 2,300 employees worldwide. Materialise’s mission is to innovate for a better and healthier world through its software and hardware infrastructure and in-depth knowledge of additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing). Our customers are in diverse industries, such as automotive, aerospace, medical, research, and academia.
As a growing company, Materialise is always looking for enthusiastic professionals who want to work in an environment full of revolutionary technology and surrounded by people passionate about their work.