Category Manager (m/f/d)
Category Manager, Indirect Procurement (EMEA) - Life Sciences Industry
Location: Nordrheine-Westfalia, Germany | Hybrid (approx. 3 days on‑site)
As a procurement recruitment specialist working closely with a high‑growth organisation in the Life Sciences industry, I'm supporting them in appointing a Category Manager, Indirect Procurement - a newly created and strategically important role offering genuine impact, visibility, and longtime progression.
This is an exceptional opportunity to join a business recognised globally for innovation, regulatory excellence, and a mission‑driven approach that directly contributes to improving patient outcomes. If you're looking for a role where procurement is viewed as a strategic value creator - not just a cost function - this is one you'll want to explore.
Why This Role Stands Out
- You'll join a fast‑growing Life Sciences business with a multi‑billion‑dollar footprint and a highly diversified indirect spend portfolio.
- The organisation is scaling rapidly, which means procurement has a direct influence on operational agility, compliance, and innovation.
- This is a brand-new position, giving you the opportunity to shape category strategies from the ground up.
- You'll work closely with senior stakeholders across R&D, Operations, IT, Commercial, Facilities, and more.
- The company's culture strongly supports innovation, continuous improvement, and cross‑functional collaboration.
If you're passionate about strategic procurement and want to be part of a sector making a tangible difference to global health, this role offers huge potential.
Key Responsibilities
As the Category Manager for Indirect Procurement (EMEA), you will:
Strategic Sourcing
- Lead sourcing initiatives that deliver cost optimisation, value creation, and improved supplier performance.
- Manage RFx processes and complex negotiations across multiple indirect categories.
- Work closely with internal stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into actionable sub‑category strategies.
- Leverage market intelligence to anticipate risks, opportunities, and innovation trends.
- Support key business and product initiatives through effective sourcing of indirect services.
Supplier Partnership & Performance
- Develop strategic supplier relationships to drive performance, compliance, risk management, and innovation.
- Lead supplier reviews, monitor KPIs, and identify continuous improvement opportunities.
- Ensure supplier adherence to relevant regulatory, quality, and corporate standards.
Category Strategy Development
- Build robust category strategies informed by data, market analysis, and stakeholder needs.
- Strengthen the supply base by identifying alternative suppliers and optimising competitiveness.
- Apply your knowledge of the EMEA supplier landscape to accelerate sourcing effectiveness.
Contracting & Risk Management
- Lead contract creation, approvals, compliance, and lifecycle management.
- Collaborate closely with Legal to ensure agreements are aligned to wider business objectives and risk frameworks.
Cross‑functional Leadership
- Represent procurement in wider supply chain initiatives (digitalisation, capacity planning, network optimisation, resiliency programmes).
- Deliver procurement KPIs and escalate risks when needed.
- Help shape the long‑term vision of the procurement function.
Candidate Profile
I'm looking to connect with professionals who bring:
- Degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Operations, or related fields (MBA/MS desirable).
- 5+ years' progressive experience in indirect procurement within a regulated industry-Life Sciences, Medical Devices, Healthcare, or similar.
- Strong background across categories such as R&D, Professional Services, IT, Operations, Facilities, Sales & Marketing.
- Proven success in developing and executing category strategies that drive value and mitigate risk.
- Experience managing complex supplier relationships and high‑value contracts.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, including interactions with senior leaders.
- Familiarity with procurement systems (SAP, Coupa, Ariba) and strong Excel capability; Power BI/Tableau is a plus.
- Continuous improvement mindset-experience with Lean/Six Sigma advantageous.
- Fluency in English and preferably German.
- Ability to travel up to 30% as required.
FAQs
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