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 the company 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 the company.
• 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