Regional Category Manager, Americas

One of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of confectionery and chewing gum is looking to add a Regional Category Manager Americas - Indirect Materials to their team!

The Regional Category Manager for the Americas-Indirect Materials is entrusted with leading category management activities for all indirect materials within the region, aiming to maximize total cost of ownership savings and enhance procurement value for the Perfetti Van Melle Group. This role spearheads regional indirect category management and supports global initiatives, including supply market studies, supplier scanning, negotiations, stakeholder management, information sharing, reporting, and budgeting. Additionally, the role is pivotal in supporting SAP Ariba implementation projects, acting as the lead for procurement processes and implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Vendor Relationship Management: Cultivate and expand the company's relationships with all vendors, emphasizing strategic vendors in alignment with Group procurement's vision.
• Supplier Performance Management: Optimize supplier performance to maximize value from strategic suppliers for selected categories.
• Supplier Review Leadership: Conduct supplier review meetings with senior supplier stakeholders to drive regional supplier performance and address performance issues.
• Performance Metrics Utilization: Use supplier KPI scorecards and performance reports to guide the supplier review process.
• Sustainability and Innovation: Integrate the sustainability and innovation capabilities of strategic suppliers into the company, supporting the Group's development in these areas.
• Local Procurement Support: Assist local procurement with claim handling, supplier agreements, and troubleshooting.
• Budget and Forecast Leadership: Lead the Budget/LE/Price Forecast processes in the region, ensuring quality and timeline control.
• Data Collection and Verification: Gather data from each OC and verify local buyers' inputs with GPS team support.
• GPS Category Indices Delivery: Deliver GPS category indices for global portfolios with regional input based on market and supplier analysis.
• Unit Rate Inputs Management: Manage unit rate inputs for global and regional execution categories, coordinating with GCM for global categories.
• Stakeholder Presentation: Present overall results to stakeholders.
• Functional Budget Support: Assist functional budget owners in setting up annual budgets.

Qualifications

• Educational Background: Bachelor's degree in a relevant field, preferably with a procurement specialization. Supply chain/procurement certification is a plus.
• Experience: At least 8 years of professional experience in strategic procurement.
• SAP Ariba Expertise: Proven experience with SAP Ariba implementation for procurement, both process and user side.
• Procurement Process Knowledge: Extensive knowledge of procurement processes, including Order to Cash, Purchase to Pay, Catalogue Buying Systems, and Supplier Marketplaces.
• Category Expertise: In-depth knowledge of relevant indirect procurement categories (facilities, ICT, MRO, travel, logistics) and the supplier base.
• Sustainable Sourcing: Experience in sustainable sourcing is advantageous.
• Networking Ability: Ability to quickly build a professional network in new markets.
• Project Management and Negotiation: Strong project management and negotiation skills.
• Analytical Skills: Proficiency in Excel, data analysis, and report generation.
• Contract and Risk Management: Experience in contract and risk management.
• Strategic Business Case Development: Strong skills in developing strategic business cases and managing stakeholder presentations at the senior management level.
• Source to Pay Understanding: Comprehensive understanding of the Source to Pay process.
• Language Skills: Bilingual proficiency, with Spanish fluency being a plus.