Category Manager - Europe

As part of this successful global manufacturing organisation, the European business now requires an experienced Category Manager to lead the development and implementation of its procurement strategy for several main component categories, throughout the European region.The successful candidate can be based anywhere within the UK or near to any of their main European business units, as there will be an element of flexible/ agile working with this role.The Role:Reporting to the Senior Category Manager for the region, as the Category Manager, you will be responsible for, but not limited to:developing, aligning and ensuring communication of the category strategy throughout the regionsdeveloping preferred supplier relationships, identifying synergies and promoting best practicepromoting business development with internal suppliers according to category strategycoaching and motivating regional strategic buyers monitoring savings and developing a roadmap to reduce the risk of supply through improved contract managementsupporting regional procurement, as needed, with category suppliers As a Category Manager, operating at a strategic level, you will be required to devise, implement and influence at all levels throughout the region.The Candidate:Ideally of graduate standard, from within an engineering, manufacturing or business related discipline, candidates for the Category Manager role will be required to demonstrate that they have:previous experience working within a procurement role/ organisationfurther experience of working within a category management roleprevious involvement of working on a pan-European / international business basisthe ability to swiftly interpret complex international organisations and build an internal networkexcellent communication skills, a flexible approach and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environmentstrong analytical and problem solving skills Candidates for the Category Manager role should also be:results driven individual with a strong commitment to successa hands-on type individual, who demonstrates initiative and has a positive, professional attitudeable to work effectively both within a team but also under their own initiativehighly proficient in MS Office applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint the presence and ability to communicate, motivate and influence at the highest level Candidates for the Category Manager role should note that there will be travel within the European region with this role and that European language skills would also be a benefit, but are not essential.