Job Description

THE COMPANY

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent, and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic, and transportation. In 2023, Continental generated sales of €41.4 billion and currently employs around 200,000 people in 56 countries and markets.

ContiTech is one of the world’s leading industry specialists. The Continental group sector offers its customers connected, environment-friendly, safe, and convenient industry and service solutions using a range of materials for off-highway applications, on rails and roads, in the air, under and above the ground, in industrial environments, for the food sector and the furniture industry. With about 42,000 employees in more than 40 countries and sales of some 6.8 billion euros (2023), the global industrial partner is active with core branches in Asia, Europe and North and South America.

Are you ready to shape the future with us?

The role of Regional Category Buyer is responsible for the strategic sourcing and performing all PUR activities of a certain material/service field and its subcategories, with the objective of optimal supply and generating a maximum profit contribution in compliance with the company's policies and purchasing guidelines. This position reports functionally to the Head of Global Category and directly to the Regional Cluster Lead and is expected to steer the implementation of the respective Category Strategy.

Your tasks

▪ Act as interface and represent the interests of Continental and the Purchasing Community towards all internal and external stakeholders (e.g. Engineering, Plants, Suppliers)

▪ Understands the business and purchasing strategy to derive actions for own managed category

▪ Guide, support and train local and central stakeholders to execute with the right tools, methods and processes

▪ 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

▪ Give responses or feedbacks through the given tools in an acceptable period of time.

▪ Develop and sustain (supplier) strategy for respective integrated category in alignment with all relevant stakeholders and supervisors (e.g. Engineering, Regions, Plants) and in compliance with all relevant purchasing processes, guidelines and procedures

▪ Understand multiple data management systems and manage data analytics for the respective integrated category (identify spend profile and concentration, estimate / predict demand etc)

▪ Turns strategy into concrete actions and tangible goals as well as reporting relevant KPIs to track progress where applicable

▪ Ensures stakeholder satisfaction through transparent and early communication / involvement

▪ Drive the adoption of digital tools and procurement technologies (e.g., e-sourcing platforms, AI-driven analytics) to enhance efficiency, transparency, and decision-making.

▪ To ensure maintanance of purchasing (and correlated) policies at the locations, clear users questions and escalate topics to other purchasing associates if required.

▪ Identify and push initiation and tendering of regional Projects in cooperation with our internal Customers and the respective leaderships and/or cluster partners.

Supplier Management

▪ Analysis of the global supplier market and conduction of benchmark analysis to derive actions for the global supplier portfolio

▪ Implements and maintains sustainable supplier relationship and conducts Strategic Supplier Meetings to deploy the global integrated category strategy

▪ Responsible for steering the annual supplier evaluation and derives development programs where needed

▪ Performs annual and regular negotiations to constantly improve the cost situation for respective integrated category, actively drives improvement or Total Cost of Ownership programs with suppliers

▪ Monitor if supplier acts in line with Continentals Business Partner Code of Conduct (BPCoC), responsible value chain (RVC) rules and processes and takes actions accordingly

▪ Initiates the New Supplier Introduction Process

▪Collect Vendors documents and information for submission into VM platforms

▪Share information and escalation level for Vendor Master and Master Data maintenance.

▪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.

▪ Detect new suppliers and optimize number of existing suppliers.

P2P

▪Complete handling of the ordering process via CEOS and SAP, including any complaints handling as well as internal and external communication

▪ To work on RFQs, create and complile decision sheets, ensure BPCoC and NDA signatures, collect financial and commercial records, when applicable.

▪ 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 through negotiations;

▪ 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).

▪ 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 Operations Center team in reaching team's common targets.

▪ Ensure Compliance with Business Partner Code of Conduct, Continental Ethics and Values and all Corporate Guidelines;

Search for and point out automation opportunities and drive execution.

S2C

▪ Autonomous preparation, conduction and finalization of 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)

▪ Drives 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

▪ Ensure Compliance with Business Partner Code of Conduct, Continental Ethics and Values and all Corporate Guidelines

▪ To look and implement and guide the team through synergies creation across the region in alignment with global level counterparts.

▪ Drive negotiations considering best commercial and operational aspects and ensure compliance with valid rules

▪ Starting point for contracts/agreements settlements, in partnership with Legal, plant and other regional purchasing roles and plants manufacturing, engineering and R&D teams. To ensure these agreements are created, approved and signed and communicated those to regions and plants

Qualifications

• University or other equivalent Degree fluent English skills
• advanced Portuguese is strongly desired
• Minimum 3-5 years of relevant professional experience in Purchasing (or similar functions) in an international environment
• Advanced experience working in projects with an international scope / environment
• Experience in conducting negotiations with a multi regional responsibility
• Knowledge on purchasing processes (and/or relevant to the field) description and optimization International and intercultural competency as well as several years of work experience in an international environment required
• Working experience in negotiating and operating with different cultures and international teams (e.g. on purchasing issues)

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.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.

Ready to drive with Continental? Take the first step and fill in the online application.