Category Manager

Location: Melbourne, United States of America

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**Position Summary**

The Regional Category Manager for IS /IT Support Services will represent the Procurement Organization for the Americas Region and shall be responsible for the effective creation and implementation of all the category’s strategic direction and management of the category within the scope of their responsibility (IS/IT categories across the business areas). This role will be responsible for developing sourcing strategies, managing supplier relationships, as well as identifying and mitigating supply chain risk.

As Regional Category Manager, and in full alignment with the Segment Director, the individual in this role will be responsible for managing their category, bringing procurement acumen, support and influence strategies that drive product and service innovation.

They are responsible for providing the best procurement solutions (quality, price and timing), meeting customer needs and aligning with the relevant Procurement Strategies as lead by the Global Family Managers, ensuring full compliance with all Thales policies and procedures.

**Essential Functions / Key Areas of Responsibility**
- Act as the point of contact (POC) for internal and external stakeholders (e.g. Bids and Proposals, Department Heads, Suppliers, Audits, etc.) and determine the priorities for the Category within the region
- Help the Director to organize the category in such a way as to ensure a calibrated workload as well as a link to Stakeholders in order to ensure that their needs, requirements and priorities are addressed
- Ensure that Category, Procurement and Stakeholder Team members adhere to the Thales Group Purchasing policies
- Ensure the Category adheres to the cost and competitiveness of the good and services purchased through the Purchasing Executive Summary (PES)
- Establish a method and monitor the execution of Category activities.
- Help to define and monitor the schedule and deliverables associated with acquisitions
- Ensure compliance of all Stakeholders and Procurement Team Members with the “Manage Acquisition” process as per Chorus 2.0, and the use established acquisition tools in place within the organization ( e-Acquisition, ERP, ) for all activities
- This role is a functional Category Manager position

**Chorus Role(s)**

Category Manager (CM)

**Minimum Requirements: Skills, Experience, Education, Technical/Specialized Knowledge, Certifications, Language**
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, procurement or comparable field of study with 8+ years of relevant work experience in procurement or Master’s degree in procurement or business administration with 6+ years of relevant work experience in procurement
- Understanding of Make/Buy, Should Cost Analysis approaches and inputs as well as supplier risk assessment and mitigation planning
- Ability to make commitments and deliver on what was promised
- Ability to train, engage and influence in line with the regional and global procurement Segment A objectives
- Ability to be an effective, strategic decision maker and not only see, but grasp the implications of the bigger picture
- Ability to guide and provide leadership to cross functional teams
- Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving and strategic thinking skills
- Needs strong communication skills, both written and verbal
- Must have a strong executive presence
- Must have proven negotiation skills

**Preferred Qualifications**

Master’s degree in procurement or business administration with 6+ years of relevant work experience in procurement

**Physical Demands**

Typical Office Environment - so special physical requirements

**Special Position Requirements**

þ **Schedule**:Core Business Hours are Monday-Friday. The expectation is that you are working a full eight hour day, adjusting your scheduled hours of work to accommodate your workload, as well as hours of work to accommodate meetings with partners throughout North America, but also to facilitate effective and timely meetings and communication with the Global partners overseas.

þ **Physical Environment**:This role has been designated as a Hybrid position, with the current expectation that, when you are not traveling, that you will physically work from your assigned Thales office at least two days each week