Global Category Manager - Contract Manufacturers

Verisure is seeking for a Global Category Manager. The role will be part of a growing and talented Group Procurement Team and will report into responsible of Contract Manufacturing. This is a critical role that will contribute to establishing a global procurement function for direct categories, reinforcing current global organization supporting Verisure R&D activities and R&D centers located in Malmö and Madrid. The role is based in Malmö.

The Global Category Manager will be responsible for leading in some cases and supporting in others the sourcing strategy and execution of direct categories for contract manufacturers subject to global agreements or coordination. Currently this includes a key focus on current Contract Manufacturer footprint located in different locations globally. He/she will collaborate and influence business leaders and stakeholders at a global level (supporting teams across 16 countries and our HQ offices).

This will include creation of a Procurement Plan to maximize savings, defining the sourcing strategy for each category and subcategories assigned, leading tenders (from drafting of specifications to award and contract signature), influencing stakeholders to define and standardize their requirements, while ensuring compliance with Procurement processes and policy.
 

Responsibilities shall include:

Contract Manufacturers
* Responsible for the relationship management, performance measurement and improvement of Contract Manufacturers in different Geographies
* Develop and implement a contract manufacturing strategy in line with Verisure strategy.
* Negotiate and manage Contract Manufacturer costs: Manage manufacturing value added (MVA) cost for existing products and negotiate for new products, including NRE
* Spend analysis in Contract Manufacturing Category
* Lead executive-level quarterly business reviews (QBR) with relevant stakeholders
* Gather requirements and specifications of products and services required by R&D areas
* Partner with Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical), Product Management, PMO, Quality, teams to identify needs and develop improvement plans

Industrialization:
* Identifying, prioritizing and executing activities and improvements on Industrialization on Contract Manufacturers.

Test Fixtures:
* Identifying, prioritizing and executing activities and strategy on test fixtures on Contract Manufacturers.

Other activities related to Direct Procurement and Contract Manufacturers
* Creation of Procurement Plan, maximizing savings across countries. Supporting the elaboration of the Group Procurement Plan. 
* Lead tenders (RFPs) in multiple countries (Europe and LatAm), negotiation with internal stakeholders and suppliers, and supplier qualification and selection. 
* Drafting contracts and negotiating agreements with suppliers in coordination with Legal counsel and business departments. 
* Ensure process and policy compliance in direct categories.  
* Identify and anticipate issues in the execution of the projects, identify and implement solutions, escalate as required.
* Identify risks and follow risk mitigation actions & processes defined. 
* Analytical Reports as needed on all areas of responsibility.
* Be a communication channel between business and suppliers.
* Availability to travel.
 

Location

The role is based in Malmö, possible reallocation from different geographies.

Reports and organization structure

Direct reporting line into Procurement Manager.
 

Candidate profile

Experiences and Qualifications
* University Degree, preferably Graduate or Bachelor in Electronics, Engineering or Business Administration. 
* Postgraduate degree is valued if related to the role.
* Experience working 4 years plus at Contract Manufacturers or EMS Industry and knowledge of electronics is a must.
* Experience on Industrialization and Test Fixtures will be highly valued.
* Relevant experience sourcing direct products, as part of an international procurement team in a large organization.
* Project management skills: Experience managing complex projects.
* Experience in complex contracts and contract negotiations.
* Analytical skills with attention to detail.
* Advanced level on Microsoft Office. In particular Excel and PowerPoint.
* Experience with eProcurement tools (Jaggaer, Ariba, etc), and ERP systems (Oracle, SAP, etc).
* English. Able to lead business conversations and influence in both languages, fluently, with stakeholders at any level.
* Other languages would be desirable: Swedish, Spanish and French.
 

Competencies
* High level of negotiation skills.
* Organization and coordination skills.
* Capacity to analyse and prioritise complex tasks under pressure.
* Autonomy managing categories under his/her supervision. 
* Used to work on a very busy and dynamic environment. 
* Customer and people oriented.
* Excellent levels of spoken and written communication.
* Social skills to build and maintain internal and external relationships. 
* Common sense, flexibility and ability to adapt to new environments. 
* Teamwork.
* Results oriented. 
* Knowledge of commercial law. 
 

Strong fit with our Company DNA
* Passionate in Everything We Do: Our people have a sense of energy that is unmistakable, one that drives us to delight our customers and focus on creating impact quickly.
* Committed to Making a Difference: When we say we will do something; we deliver with excellence. We are accountable, focused and operate with discipline.
* Always Innovating: We believe that Innovation can be big or small; it’s a continuous state of mind that inspires us to think differently and always make things better. We are risk takers and we learn continuously.
* Winning as a Team: Our people know that by leveraging one another’s strengths, investing in and developing our team’s capability and by collaborating well, we will win.
* With Trust & Responsibility: Operating with integrity is core to our success. We are humble, honest and value deep mastery and expertise. We do the right thing, always.