Job Summary

•  The Senior Category Lead is a strategic role responsible for overseeing and managing specific category of spend for goods and services within the organization. They play a critical role in driving category strategies, optimizing supplier relationships, and achieving cost savings while ensuring quality, innovation, and sustainability.
• Reporting to the Contracts & Procurement Lead, the role holders will be expected to ensure the successful implementation of centralized category procurement initiatives across the various Company Group entities.
• The role shall work closely with Unit procurement teams and end users to define and execute effective category strategies that will support both the short- and long-term business objectives.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies and category plans to meet RG objectives
• Manage the end-to-end sourcing, tendering, evaluations and contracting activities for assigned categories
• Design and implement category procurement transformation plans
• Forecasting and planning for requirements within assigned categories
• Work with end users to define scopes of requirements
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand their requirements, address their needs, and ensure effective communication and engagement throughout the category management process.
• Championing and actively driving cost reductions and avoidance opportunities
• Optimizing inventory in order to minimize working capital as well as holding costs
• Negotiating contracts terms for best commercial outcomes for RG
• Drafting contracts, with support of legal department, and issuance of amendments and change orders
• Supplier performance management for suppliers withing their respective areas
• Monitor category performance metrics, KPIs, and financial targets to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and drive continuous performance optimization.
• Prepare regular reports, presentations, and dashboards to communicate category performance and insights to key stakeholders and senior management.
• Identify and mitigate risks related to supplier performance, supply chain disruptions, regulatory compliance, and other factors impacting the category.
• Ensure compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies governing procurement, sourcing, and supplier management activities.
• Data extraction and analysis in order to make recommendations for strategic sourcing and decision making
• Build organizational capacity through training and development to end users and procurement staff
• Establishing and maintaining stakeholder relationships internally with key user departments and management and externally with suppliers and contractors

Minimum, Qualifications and Skills

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management or Business-related field
• Technical / Engineering background and or experience is an added advantage
• 8+ years practical experience in Procurement and Supply Chain with 5 years in strategic sourcing and category procurement
• CIPS or similar qualifications is an added advantage
• Project Management skills and experience is an added advantage
• Analytical certifications will be an added advantage
• Strong background and understanding of strategic sourcing and category procurement in FMCG sectors
• Previous experience in managing different categories of spend; both technical and non-technical, direct and indirect
• Understanding of contract terms and experience in drafting contracts
• Procurement negotiations
• Contracts management pre and post award
• Good data analytics with strategic thinking
• Strong people, persuasion and influencing skills at all levels
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Sound ethics and integrity
• Results driven, self-starter, takes initiative and able to work independently to drive activities to completion
• Proficient in MS Office
• Experience in SAP ERP module