Group Category Manager

Job Description

Group Category Manager

Posting Start Date: 7/2/26

Category: Purchasing

Location: France, Nexans France - Puteaux (Lightwell)

Employment Type: Full Time

Experience Level: Experienced - over 5 years

ID: 80334

A Purchasing Organization Is Set-up With The Ambition To

• strengthen the purchasing function performance aiming to a better alignment with the business needs
• support the Business Groups organization on the management of their Purchasing activities

Areas Of Responsibilities

Category Management

• Define the Category Purchasing Company roadmap to meet business needs and E3 objectives, especially in term of security of supply, TCO competitiveness, cash, innovation and CSR
• Define the Category objective and manage its activities in accordance with business needs and Group Purchasing objectives - Align targets and arbitrate priorities with BGs whenever needed
• Monitor purchasing standards and indicators adapted to its Category (standard contractual models, performance dashboard, ...)
• Supervise the purchasing risk analysis and mitigation plans implementation in the scope of his/her Category
• Manage a network of Regional Category Managers to ensure full alignment with the global strategy

Market Intelligence

• Analyzes market trends (products, suppliers and customers) and cost drivers globally
• Establishes market benchmarks (customers, competitors, suppliers)
• Ensure product cost structure analysis is built as part of the Category Plan

Supplier Management

• Secures a proper Supplier Panel is defined for the Category covering all BGs
• Coordinate Supplier Relationship Management in order to leverage cross-BG synergies and common needs
• Supports and/or manages supplier relationships at proper level
• Promotes Suppliers engagement and deployment of framework or/and long-term agreements for the Category
• Drives or/and supports Supplier negotiations as needed

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Experience: minimum 10 years leadership experience in Purchasing within Industrial environments, including some experience in Plastic Raw Material Purchasing category management
• Education: Engineering Master degree or equivalent, MBA a plus
• Fluent in English, one to two other languages a plus
• Leadership skills:
  • Very strong drive, ability to mobilize transversal and cross-functional teams
  • Transformation skills, developing internal stakeholders ways of working as well as make cross-business teams and other internal stakeholders work most efficiently together
  • Cross-functional, multi-sites and multicultural (global) leadership
• Communication skills
• Mastering the purchasing value chain, and specifically:
  • Category management, Direct Purchasing best practices knowledge & experience (all levers) in industrial environment.
  • Experience with plastic and steel related raw materials categories
  • Contract management
  • Supplier management and negotiation skills in complex and VUCA environments
  • Strategic mindset, ability to define, influence or / and validate global Category strategies
• Ability to take decision based on available facts:
  • Makes prompt, clear decisions which may involve tough choices or considered risks
  • Take responsibility for actions, projects and people
  • Takes initiatives, 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 & value driven
• Entrepreneurial and performing thinking:
  • Keeps up to date with supplier information and market trends
  • Identifies business opportunities for the organization
• Analytic mindset
• Internal Customer driven, with ability to challenge status-quo