Category manager ‘chemicals’

Principal

Company is a very successful chemical multinational, world market leader in a niche market, employing some 2.000 personnel and making a turnover of appr. € 900 mio. The company is largely private equity owned. The headquarter is based in the Tilburg area.

The company mainly produces for its niche market, partly in the form of toll manufacturing, yet also trades products for resale. As a result of its strong position in the niche, based upon long lasting performance, the company has noticed that it can sell other chemicals to its customers as well.

The culture of the company can be characterized as entrepreneurial and commercial, speed/fast decision taking, low on procedures, little hazzle and targets yet hard working and proud employees, plus a lean organization.

 

Procurement

The procurement director started beginning of 2019, is based in the Tilburg area and leads a team of 28 persons, who are mainly based in Spain and to a lesser degree in Italy and the Netherlands.

Momentarily procurement is focused on making strong deals and is quite good at it. As he recently started, the procurement director has the desire to professionalize the procurement function, based on a thorough plan and has come to notice that he will need patience along the route.

 

Tasks

You will report into the procurement director and be based at the headquarter. You may come to procure raw materials for production or PFR products (Products For Resale). Your spend will be appr. € 50 mio.

Your stakeholders are R&D, production, site management, planning, senior management of the business lines and key supplier managers.

The procurement director needs a colleague who is eager to professionalize the role of procurement, based on a well discussed plan, who has the awareness that resistance is part of the game and who has a good vision on the path towards the objectives.

Of course you will firstly need to create a global sourcing strategy for your category together with your stakeholders, and once you have obtained their buy-in, arrange for- and establish the roll out:

• Understand key cost drivers, market trends and best practices across key categories of spend to support assessment of cost and value
• Plan along the key-aspects ‘cost, quality, logistics, service, innovation’ in collaboration with stakeholders, ensuring quantifiable and/or cashable efficiencies are identified, prioritized, delivered and reported
• Ensure all purchased goods required are appropriately negotiated and contracts bring competitive advantage
• Organize good supplier relationship management of key suppliers
• (Regional) raw material markets expertise, monitoring and forecasting
• Manage supply risk, and support the resolution of escalated supply issues
• Represent the category in regional cross-functional forums and programs (e.g. S&OP, complexity reduction).

 

You will travel internationally up to 50% of your time.

 

Your profile

• A relevant Bachelor or Master’s Degree
• At least 5 years in procurement (experience in R&D, Ops or SC management also valued), preferably with some chemical background
• Excellent negotiating, contracting and supplier management skills
• Proven success in driving supplier cost, quality and delivery performance improvement programs
• Team player with excellent communication skills (in English)
• Self starting, analytic, action- and result oriented
• Entrepreneurial and daring to challenge.

 

Offer

• Starting salary up to € 85K annually, depending on experience and background.
• 27 holidays
• Bonus scheme depending on company performance, between 10 and 20% of gross annual salary
• Group pension plan: ‘middelloon’ arrangement and 7% own contribution above € 40K gross annual salary

Interested?

Please send your CV and motivation letter earliest 15th of July to cv@xentys.nl.

Additional information can be obtained from Maarten Smits van Oyen, tel. +31.6.22422161 (mobile) or +31.70.240 0414 (landline).