Job Description

ContiTech is one of the world’s leading specialists in its sector. This Continental Group division provides customers with connected, more sustainable, safer, and more convenient solutions for services and industry, using a wide range of materials for off‑road applications, rail and road transport, aviation, above‑ and below‑ground environments, industrial settings, and the food and furniture sectors.

With around 42,000 employees in more than 40 countries and sales of €6.8 billion in 2023, this global industrial partner maintains a strong presence with major operations in Asia, Europe, and North and South America.

The Role of Operations Center Buyer in the Americas is responsible for performing all purchasing activities within certain material/service fields with the objective of optimal supply and speed and generating a maximum profit contribution in compliance with the company's policies and purchasing guidelines. This position is reporting functionally to the Head of Operations Center and directly to the Regional Cluster Lead. The role is carrying out all purchasing activities with a basic to medium degree of difficulty and complexity, in the area of goods/services for which the job holder is responsible for.

The regional category approach creates a mutual added Value for all internal Customers in terms of commercial, logistical and processual Enhancements by providing Expertise and Best Practices around the needs of the internal Customers as well as strengthening the relationship to strategic Business Partners (internally and externally).

Your tasks

Purchase2Pay

• Supporting all purchasing activities and Category Buyers at all CT IAM and SSL plants, Services locations and Distribution Centers.
• Approval and negotiations of shopping carts and Purchase Requisitions
• Creates and sends Purchase Orders to the suppliers
• Realization of saving opportunities by bundling operational demands, substitution of suppliers, negotiations of payment-/delivery terms and warranty extensions
• Clearance of invoice deviations in case of price difference;
• Management of the RfQ-Process for demands/shopping carts, offer evaluation, creation of offer comparison, including the awarding of suppliers;
• Identification and support on the creation of electronic catalogs to reduce manual processing requirements, while promoting the usage of existing ones;
• Different reporting of the repetitive bought items in scope of increase automation;
• Steering and Monitoring the automated replenishment process for coded materials;
• Support for specialists in clarifying differences in the region within the catalogs used;
• Ensure necessary transparency and documentation of supplier decisions according to compliance guidelines (e.g. Sourcing Decision Sheet).
• Detect new suppliers and optimize number of existing suppliers.
• Sustainable reduction of purchasing prices in consideration of functional and quality aspects;
• Escalation Management/Problem Solving by executing approaches with the aim to secure local objectives;
• Offer support for market surveys.
• Implement measures and support the Category and Sourcing team in reaching team's common targets.
• Ensure Compliance with Business Partner Code of Conduct, Continental Ethics and Values and all Corporate Guidelines;
• Ensure, that agreements are created, approved and signed and communicate to the plants inside the region

Source2Contract

• Autonomous preparation, conduction and finalization of local or international negotiations for own integrated category including supplier decisions compliant with the relevant internal policies (incl. audit-compliant documentation) with the target to achieve the defined goals and a special focus on highest value creation (e.g. with support of Terms & Conditions (TCO) analysis)
• Support make or buy scenarios, optimizes bundling effects and initiates Value-Engineering projects
• Conduct complaint and claim negotiations with special strategic interest which can’t be performed independently by the local units
• Effective management of contract lifecycle for both existing and new contract agreements - compliant with the relevant internal policies (incl. audit-compliant documentation) - in order to ensure performance, financial and operational success

Stakeholder partnership

• Consults internal customers for information regarding provision of goods/services, purchasing constraints and process optimization in his/her area of responsibility.
• Plans and organizes regular meetings with internal key customers.
• Clarifies technical and commercial requirements together with the requester and the supplier
• Develop, sustain and improve relationships with internal customers.
• Seek understanding and clarity about stakeholders and plants' overall situation.
• Give responses or feedbacks through the given tools in an acceptable period of time.
• Ensure the whole team is aligned and addressing any business issues in a timely manner.

Supplier and Project Management, Sustainability

• Supplier selection, supplier evaluation and reduction to optimize the existing supplier pannel.
• Supplier creation, maintenance and blocking and all related activities, using the given platforms
• Support Execution of Market Intelligence studies and ensure the ideal balance of Competition and Pooling through supplier reduction to achieve a maximum cost reduction contribution and best possible synergy effects.
• Lead or participate in projects with relevance for owned category, within the purchasing organization or cross functional projects
• Integrate sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) criteria into sourcing decisions, supplier selection, and performance evaluation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor´s degree completed.
• Advanced level of english ( Interviews will be in english )
• At least 1+ year of experience in MRO procurement, sourcing, or purchasing roles
• Highly desired to have strong knowledge of supply chain operations and procurement processes.
• High communication skills demonstrated to negotiate with suppliers and manage vendor relationships
• Previous experience in procurement systems and ERP software (SAP experience will be a strong plus)
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel and data analysis
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional, collaborative environment
• Attention to detail and commitment to accuracy in all procurement activities
• Preferred experience in supplier management or contract negotiation
• Able to manage time effectively, prioritizing tasks and achieve set targets

Additional Information

At Continental we are committed to building an inclusive and discrimination-free ecosystem in Mexico, these principles are rooted in our corporate philosophy and culture. Therefore, it is totally forbidden to request a pregnancy or HIV test as part of our selection processes.

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