Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

Position

This role is responsible for understanding stakeholder requirements, developing total cost of ownership (TCO) models, negotiating price and terms, and propose supplier selections that deliver competitive terms. You will define and execute category strategies to maximize contribution to business results, including measurable cost savings, risk mitigation, and supply chain resilience.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Sourcing & Category Management - Guide procurement approach to support business requirements, challenging target costs, promoting standardization, ensuring supply chain flexibility, and driving innovation.
• Develop and implement category strategies, including spend analysis, supplier segmentation, and quarterly business reviews.
• Identify new sources of supply to support cost reduction, mitigate single-source risk, and address supplier performance gaps.
• Continuously optimize the category through spend reduction, value enhancement, and risk mitigation.
• Supplier & Stakeholder Management - Maintain positive, professional relationships with all key suppliers and internal stakeholders across China, East Asia, and globally.
• Collaborate with regional procurement teams and internal stakeholders (R&D, Quality, Operations) to develop technical specifications and lead technical evaluation/clarification meetings.
• Act as a trusted advisor to internal stakeholders, influencing sourcing decisions based on TCO, quality, and innovation.
• Negotiation & Contracting - Lead complex negotiations including pricing, payment terms, delivery, and long-term agreements (LTAs).
• Ensure contracts are compliant with local laws, regulations, and internal policies (e.g., Code of Conduct, integrity standards).
• Manage claims and contractual disputes in collaboration with legal and business teams.
• Performance & Compliance - Contribute to EBITDA, cost avoidance, and working capital improvement goals through effective supply management.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of local regulations, customs, and trade compliance requirements.
• Define and track KPIs (cost savings, supplier delivery, quality, innovation pipeline) and report progress to management.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or Refractory materials related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in strategic procurement, including category management, legal contracting, and claim management.
• Strong analytical skills: ability to independently perform cost breakdowns, rationalize cost components, and build TCO models.
• Digital literacy: experience with procurement systems (e.g., SAP Ariba or equivalent) and proficiency in data analytics tools (Excel, Power BI, or similar).
• Proven interpersonal and leadership skills: ability to influence cross-functional teams and navigate a multicultural, matrix environment.
• Excellent negotiation and conflict resolution skills: comfortable reaching agreement in ambiguous or difficult situations.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.