Lead Category Manager

Where will you be working

Chane Terminals is active in the storage and handling of liquid bulk products at terminals located in various European ports. As an organisation, we are increasingly developing into one international company where we make better use of our knowledge, scale and collective strength.

Procurement plays an important role in this development. By combining demand across terminals, taking a more strategic approach to suppliers and making better use of market intelligence, we can capture commercial opportunities, manage risks and further strengthen our services.

As Lead Category Manager, you report to the Procurement Manager. You work closely with Category Managers and maintain strong relationships with colleagues across our terminals and various central functions. You ensure that Procurement is involved early in future needs and increasingly operates as a commercial business partner.

Representative activities

In this role, you combine professional leadership with direct responsibility for your own categories. You coordinate the team, set priorities together with the Procurement Manager and remain actively involved in strategic sourcing, negotiations, contracts and supplier management.

You provide direction to the Category Management team.
You help Category Managers develop from tactical buyers into proactive commercial partners for the organisation. By;

• Coordinating priorities and activities within the Category Management team
• Allocating categories and activities in consultation with the Procurement Manager
• Coaching and developing Category Managers based on your professional expertise
• Supporting complex commercial matters and acting as the first point of contact for escalations
• Encouraging a way of working in which Procurement is involved early in the needs of the terminals

You build strong category strategies
For your own categories, you are responsible for developing and executing commercial procurement strategies that support Chane's business strategy. You bring together internal needs, spend, market developments and supplier risks and translate these into clear decisions. This includes:

• Developing and implementing category strategies and procurement plans
• Analysing spend and requirements across Chane
• Monitoring market developments, regulations and risks within the supply chain
• Using benchmarking and market intelligence to identify commercial opportunities
• Translating your analyses into concrete sourcing decisions and proposals for the terminals
• Monitoring category performance and reporting on results

You create commercial value
You are personally involved in key sourcing processes and negotiations. You look beyond price alone and balance cost, risk, quality, performance and continuity.

• Lead tenders and other strategic sourcing processes
• Conduct complex commercial and contractual negotiations
• Combine demand from different terminals to make better use of Chane's scale
• Develop framework agreements that can be used across multiple locations
• Proactively approach terminals with proposals based on your category analyses
• Focus on total cost of ownership and sustainable commercial value

You build strong supplier relationships
Within your categories, you are responsible for key suppliers and strategic contracts. This means you:

• Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships
• Take responsibility for contract management throughout the full contract lifecycle
• Monitor and discuss supplier performance
• Organise and lead supplier reviews
• Resolve complex supplier issues and escalations
• Ensure reliable and usable contract information is maintained in Navision

You connect Procurement with the organisation
A strong category strategy only works when it reflects what the organisation needs. That is why you work closely with stakeholders across the terminals and central functions.

You understand their operational needs, involve them in commercial decisions and build support for new agreements, contracts and suppliers.

You know how to bring different interests together and clearly demonstrate which commercial choices create the greatest value for Chane as a whole.

What do you bring to the table

We are looking for an experienced procurement professional with strong knowledge of category management and experience working in a complex, multi location organisation.

• Around 10 to 15 years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing or category management
• Experience developing and executing commercial category strategies
• Experience providing professional guidance and coordinating professionals, including teams working across different locations
• A strong track record in commercial negotiations, contract management and spend analysis
• Knowledge of modern category management principles and the process from business need to contract
• Experience with stakeholder management in a matrix organisation and with operational stakeholders
• Strong analytical skills that enable you to translate internal needs, spend and external market intelligence into commercial decisions
• A master's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering or a comparable field
• Excellent command of English and at least one of the local languages used at our terminals, such as Dutch, French, Spanish or Portuguese

A professional procurement qualification or certification, for example through CIPS, NEVI or the Inkoopacademie, is a strong advantage. Experience with Lean Six Sigma or additional training in analytics is also welcome.

What do we offer

You will take on a role with significant influence on the further development of Procurement within Chane.

You can expect:

• A key role in the further professionalisation of category management
• The opportunity to help shape a new way of working within Chane
• A combination of professional leadership and your own commercial responsibility
• An international working environment where you collaborate with different terminals and disciplines
• Plenty of room for initiative, ownership and personal development
• An excellent employment package
• Development opportunities within Chane and through our own Chane Academy

We sparked your interest?

Would you like to use your experience to take category management at Chane to the next level while staying close to commercial practice? We would be pleased to meet you.