Global Category Manager - Financial Services

The Global Category Manager – Financial Services is responsible for developing and executing procurement strategies with 3rd party suppliers in support of Fresenius Medical Care’s One Procurement strategy. Responsible for category management, strategic sourcing, supplier negotiations, contracting, and ongoing supplier management for assigned category. Coordinates with Procurement Partner(s) and key stakeholders to ensure alignment of procurement strategies.

Main duties:

• Drive, develop, and implement multi-year category and subcategory plans for the Financial Services category, including demand aggregation, definition of buying channels, strategic relationship management, special projects and supplier risk management;
• Maintains knowledge of current trends, supplier capabilities, innovation, and changes within the technology and Finance landscape;
• Identify, develop and lead/support opportunities to optimize spend, reduce costs, mitigate supply risks, improve services, bring innovation and assure supply;
• Leads or supports cross functional supplier selection activities and management of formal strategic sourcing and RFx processes;
• Performs proposal analysis, including price analyses, “Should Cost” modelling, benchmarking and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO);
• Develops negotiation strategy, including targets for costs and key commercial/business terms;
• Working in conjunction with Legal and Finance stakeholders, drafts and negotiates key legal and commercial terms;
• Evaluates financial stability of suppliers and manages supplier risks as needed;
• Actively manages key supplier relationships in collaboration with the VMO, including resolution of issues and disputes;
• Build relationships and work closely with the Procurement Business Partner(s), other Category Managers, and cross-functional teams to share and implement procurement strategies;
• May include cross-regional people management responsibilities, including hiring, developing, and terminating employees;
• Leads and participates in supplier business reviews;

• Champions the use of eSourcing, Spend Visibility, and R2P tools within category; leverages and utilizes eAuctions, where appropriate;
• Acts as an ambassador of Procurement and a champion in the function for all Procurement policies, processes and tools to ensure compliance;
• Demonstrates the highest ethical standards and ensures Fresenius procedures are adopted and followed;
• Drives the category management process to develop strategies that include diversity, sustainability, risk assessment, currency, and overall continuity, in alignment with business KPIs;
• Knowledge of GPO’s, medical distribution approaches and clinical consumable acquisition best practices; and
• Where applicable, able to partner with clinical stakeholders (e.g. nursing/physicians) on best value solutions

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in either Technical or Business field,
• MBA and/or CPSM/CPM desired but not required

Experience and qualifications:

• 7+ years of procurement, contract negotiation and management experience;
• 1-3 years of experience with the latest procurement and contract management solutions;
• Strong leadership and effective business partnering capabilities – influence without authority;
• Requires ability to deal with ambiguity and the corresponding capacity to make decisions or recommendations based on potentially incomplete information;
• Experience with hands on analysis and data interpretation; proficiency in Microsoft Office Suites required;
• Strong negotiation, communication, and presentation skills;
• Robust knowledge of the strategic sourcing and category management process;
• International experience a plus – working experience in different countries/regions/languages
• Project management expertise with the ability to carry projects from planning through implementation;
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of contract terms and conditions, including DPA, GDPR, ESG and others;
• Able to tailor communication and context across diverse geographic backgrounds and cultural settings;
• Able to negotiate the best possible terms with strategic suppliers that have a far-reaching impact on our business; and
• Demonstration of flexible working in a multi-national, multi-cultural environment
• English (written and spoken) - Fluent
• Other languages advantageous

Other specialized knowledge required:

• Purchasing;
• Strategic Sourcing;
• Category Management;
• Bidding processes;
• Understanding of concepts of Finance;
• Negotiation;
• Knowledge of business market trends and innovation;
• Comprehensive knowledge of Procurement policies and procedures; and
• Experience in procuring goods and services with the ability to understand the total cost of ownership to generate efficiencies, service improvements and cost savings.