Group Category Manager

The role leads Category Management within Nexans’ Purchasing Organization, focusing on strategic sourcing of plastic raw materials and related categories across the business groups.

Responsibilities

• Strengthen the purchasing function performance aiming for better alignment with business needs.
• Support the Business Groups organization in managing their Purchasing activities.
• Define the Category Purchasing Company roadmap to meet business needs and E3 objectives, covering security of supply, TCO competitiveness, cash, innovation and CSR.
• Define the Category objectives and manage its activities in accordance with business needs and Group Purchasing objectives – align targets and arbitrate priorities with BGs when needed.
• Monitor purchasing standards and indicators adapted to the Category (standard contractual models, performance dashboard, …).
• Supervise the purchasing risk analysis and mitigation plan implementation within the Category scope.
• Manage a network of Regional Category Managers to ensure full alignment with the global strategy.
• Analyze market trends (products, suppliers, customers) and global cost drivers.
• Establish market benchmarks – customers, competitors, suppliers.
• Ensure product cost structure analysis is built as part of the Category Plan.
• Secure a proper Supplier Panel for the Category covering all BGs.
• Coordinate Supplier Relationship Management to leverage cross‑BG synergies and common needs.
• Support and/or manage supplier relationships at the appropriate level.
• Promote supplier engagement and deployment of framework or long‑term agreements for the Category.
• Drive and/or support Supplier negotiations as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience: minimum 10 years leadership experience in Purchasing within industrial environments, including experience in plastic raw material purchasing category management.
• Education: Engineering Master degree or equivalent; MBA a plus.
• Languages: Fluent in English; one to two other languages is a plus.
• Leadership skills:
  • Very strong drive; ability to mobilize transversal and cross‑functional teams.
  • Transformation skills: developing internal stakeholders’ ways of working and enabling cross‑business teams and other stakeholders to work most efficiently together.
  • Cross‑functional, multi‑site and multicultural (global) leadership.
• Communication skills: effective communication across all levels.
• Mastering the purchasing value chain, and specifically:
  • Category management and direct purchasing best practices knowledge and experience (all levers) in an industrial environment.
  • Experience with plastic and steel related raw material categories.
  • Contract management.
  • Supplier management and negotiation skills in complex and VUCA environments.
  • Strategic mindset: ability to define, influence or validate global Category strategies.
• Ability to take decisions based on available facts:
  • Make prompt, clear decisions that may involve tough choices or considered risks.
  • Takes responsibility for actions, projects and people.
  • Initiates, acts with confidence and works under own direction.
  • Continuously initiates and generates cost and cash optimization activity.
• Delivering results and meeting customer expectations:
  • Total Cost objective‑minded and value‑driven.
• Entrepreneurial and performing thinking:
  • Keeps up to date with supplier information and market trends.
  • Identifies business opportunities for the organization.
• Analytical mindset.
• Internal customer driven; ability to challenge the status‑quo.