European Procurement Category Manager
Descrizione dell'offerta
European Procurement Category Manager
Job description
NipponGases is one of the leading companies in the industrial and medical gases business in Europe. Serving over 150,000 customers and 350,000 patients across 13 countries, we offer a comprehensive range of gas-based solutions tailored to sectors including healthcare, food, electronics, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, among others.
We are seeking a European Procurement Category Manager for our European procurement team. The person will be responsible for planning and leading all strategic aspects of the categories under their responsibility on a regional level and developing proposals for strategic business decisions.
The role provides high-value procurement solutions aligned with category strategies; supports third-party vendor selection, vendor development, technology management, and performance measurement activities to support projects and realize year-on-year productivity improvements, cost savings, and process improvements in close collaboration with stakeholders.
Main Responsibilities:
- Planning, organizing, and managing projects considering priorities, resources, budgets, issues, and constraints to achieve desired results; defining clear project scope and objectives; utilizing software and tools to plan, track, and report status.
- Mapping and analyzing the value chain and deriving potential scenarios. Understanding and applying total cost of ownership and cost modeling.
- Participating in and/or leading financial discussions. Applying financial knowledge to participate actively, e.g., in budgeting, sourcing strategies, and structuring deals with ecosystem partners.
- Supporting compliance and risk management: monitoring end-to-end compliance (budget, payment, vendor PO, contract invoice, buying channel, etc.) and implementing corrective actions. Applying risk management processes including risk identification, evaluation, and mitigation planning.
- Collaborating with stakeholders to identify the most cost-effective ways to deliver business objectives.
- Developing strategies, approaches, and methods to execute the Source-to-Contract process: preparing and conducting fact-based negotiations and employing a broad portfolio of negotiation strategies to support business and procurement objectives.
- Proactively exploring new ways of working, involving innovative scientific and technical solutions by onboarding suitable suppliers.
- Building long-term, sustainable, and effective relationships, understanding stakeholder landscapes, and demonstrating political astuteness across business structures. Implementing category or commodity strategies to optimize efficiency.
- Identifying innovative procurement solutions that provide savings and process efficiencies.
- Facilitating procurement change initiatives within categories to improve performance.
- Developing best procurement practices to lead and manage procurement teams.
- Supporting acquisition strategies through due diligence and integration activities for spend categories.
Job requirements
Academic background:
- Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or related field.
- MBA or other master’s degree preferred.
Experience:
- Minimum 5 years of experience in procurement or related industries.
- Extensive experience managing KPIs, dashboards, and reports (including tools).
- Experience working in a global, multicultural organization.
Languages:
Fluent written and spoken English.
Competencies:
- Strong planning, project management, and organizational skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Strong problem-solving, negotiation, and influencing skills.
- Analytical and strategic thinking abilities.
Location:
Based in Milan with willingness to travel within Europe.