Procurement Category Specialist

Job Title: Procurement Category Specialist
Location: Montreal, QC
Duration: 12 Months Contract
Hybrid: 3 Days Onsite, 2 Days Remote

Job Description:

• Key role in a diverse and global procurement organization
• Previous experience with multi-national companies required

About the Role

• We are seeking a Regional Category Specialist – Services, Africa for a one-year assignment for our Atlantic procurement organization based in Montreal, QC.
• The Category Specialist will primarily support business units in Africa (South Africa, Madagascar) and will be responsible for developing, executing and managing category strategies, managing contracts, and establishing a robust supplier relationship management system.
• This role offers a great opportunity for a procurement professional to lead international sourcing projects, contributing to the delivery of commercially favorable contracts and optimal value for and its partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive regional category management strategy and commercial agreements to minimize total cost of ownership and maximize value.
• Integrate safety into contract and procurement processes to meet and exceed safety standards.
• Act as a strategic partner for sites in Africa, ensuring service quality and performance of assigned strategic suppliers. Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders, suppliers, and external partners to drive the success of procurement strategies.
• Leverage synergies with Global and North American teams and Business Units.
• Consolidate internal data collection and generate a rigorous fact base based on external dynamics and market analysis to inform category strategy and sourcing programs. Develop and maintain customized supplier databases.
• Lead key or complex sourcing projects, build and validate negotiation plans and lead negotiations.
• Manage contracts and implement a strong supplier relationship management structure to enhance partnerships and value creation.
• Contribute to process optimization, identifying and implementing process improvements to enhance procurement operations and cost efficiencies.
• Ensure all projects comply with Procurement and Group Policies, Standards, and Guidelines and are aligned with procurement and operational requirements.
• Foster open and transparent relationships, developing high levels of trust and working effectively in a matrix environment.

Requirements

To be considered for this role, you will have:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business or Engineering.
• At least 6 years of proven experience in category management in procurement and supply chain. Experience in Africa is an asset.
• Experience with multi-national companies.
• Open-mindedness and transparency in interpersonal relations, cultural sensitivity.
• Strong commercial acumen with proven category and contract management capabilities.
• An understanding of supply chain management processes and principles.
• Focus on HSE in the categories assigned.
• Strong project management, problem-solving, and customer/supplier relationship management skills.
• Ability to achieve outcomes through partnership, collaboration, coordination of diverse stakeholder interests and positive influence.
• Effective time management skills to balance multiple and competing priorities.
• Familiarity with procurement software such as Ariba, SAP, and Power BI.
• Strong analytical capability, collect and compile data, use of spreadsheets, pivot tables, modelling and scenario analysis.
• Ability to formulate and present analyses and business cases to support complex category and sub-category strategies.
• Ease in managing stakeholders across complex networks and different cultures.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with internal and external stakeholders.
• Self-motivation and the ability to work unsupervised.
• Flexibility in working hours to accommodate different time zones, with regular early morning calls starting at 5am.
• Availability for occasional international travel.
• Fluent in French and English, both written and spoken. Client is a global company and the duties of this position require daily collaboration with colleagues, teams or partners based outside Quebec.