Category Team Lead

We're inventing the future, right here, right now, at Thales. We design the critical security solutions of tomorrow by combining the curiosity to explore, the intelligence to question and the vision to create. Together we solve complicated problems by combining our experience in the market with our leading research and development capabilities.

At Thales Australia, we research, develop, and supply technology and services in the aerospace, transportation, defence and security space. Our work impacts the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We are one of the leading innovative engineering and technology companies in Australia doing things that most companies would never be exposed to.

**Our Opportunity**

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Category Manager Team Leader to join our business in a senior position.

Reporting directly to the Director of Purchasing, this key role will be responsible for providing support for a number of procurement categories.

The Category Team Leader is in charge of one or several procurement categories and works in close relation with the relevant Global Category Managers, with the VP/Director of Procurement for Global Segment and with the VP/Director of Regional Procurement.

**The key responsibilities in this role include**:

- Ensuring the relevant team-members and stakeholders have a very good knowledge of Thales stakes and support category strategies so that the business secures maximum projects and customer competitive advantage.
- Ensure that very clear savings targets are identified and delivered by both categories and supplier that can be tracked by business / project.
- Ensure categories commitment and spend compliance tracking is well reported
- Monitor the market for the category(ies) including key players, newcomers, economic evolutions, market or regulation constraints, innovations and technology in order to support the development of the most up to date category strategy(ies)
- In conjunction with the Procurement Product, Bids and Project Managers (PPM) and cross functional teams, the Category Team Leader supports the preparation of Make / Buy (led by the PPM) decisions in order to optimise business performance
- Ensure appropriate governance is applied using KPI's and root cause corrective actions
- Development and training of direct team
- Ensure that the supplier contracts and framework agreements are negotiated when required in line with category strategies.
- Ensure that global contracts / framework agreements are adopted.
- Ensure that specific legal compliance is achieved and all supplier support specific government requirements so that global strategies be tailored to support compliance / legal issues.
- Based on the performance management of the supply base, identify the suppliers who require focused development actions and ensure that the Supplier Development Team have the required support / leverage in order for these actions to be successful.

**Culture & Benefits at Thales**

We have a fantastic and support culture here at Thales and can offer you a variety of interesting and challenging work. We support our employees to develop professionally and succeed. We are a growing global organisation so hiring from within is our first priority, ensuring all our employees are given every opportunity to develop and build their career. We offer a variety of initiatives that support your wellbeing such as flexible work practices, salary sacrifice, novated leasing and purchased leave. Thales is committed to providing an inclusive workplace where the very best talent in Australia chooses to work, we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

Wellbeing matters at Thales, and where possible we encourage flexible working.