Schneider Electric is seeking a Procurement Category Director to join the North America Procurement Organization. Responsible to build and lead our Regional Category Managers over Fabricated Components and Raw Materials. This organization defines, promotes, and ensures the deployment of the regional commodity strategies across five business units and 42 factories.

What will you do?

This role will lead the team in the Strategy and the Sourcing of Ferrous metals, stamping and fabrication for North America, with a strong focus on Sheet metal category. This leadership role is also responsible to collaborate globally with their peers on process, tools, best practices, and market analytics.

• Lead a team to conduct needs and market analysis for different Schneider entities in North America, segmenting category needs and identifying market trends
• Propose a list of strategic suppliers for geographic zones based on needs segmentation, and assess and mitigate supplier risks (quality, financial, supply, etc)
• Contribute to developing and deploying regional cost and scoring models, and dynamically optimize the supplier base.
• Accountable and ensure the development and implementation of the Sheet metal category strategies (1, 3, 5-year strategy) to serve business objectives & company target in terms of sustainable, quality, resilient, innovation, digitization, cost effectiveness, transformations

• Directly manage strategic suppliers, participate in key negotiations, and coach other purchasers in their negotiations and strategies
• Support the implementation of productivity on QVE (Quality Value Engineering) and CoS (Change of Supplier) and identify new savings opportunities with the cross functional team
• Schedule business reviews with strategic suppliers and involve the respective supplier leaders, with the director participating in key strategic supplier business reviews.
• Deploy and follow up on supplier development and improvement action plans
• Negotiate supplier framework agreements with the strategic suppliers under management
• Propose and align stakeholders on the changes to the Supplier Orientation Chart based on Category Strategy
• Lead sourcing and supplier qualification process for new supplier linked to the category

• Track the monthly Performance for the suppliers delivering to the region (Quality, Service, Productivity)
• Handle most critical escalation with Strategic suppliers

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Mechanical/ Industrial/Electronics Engineering, Supply Chain Management or related, required. Master's degree, a plus
• Ability to speak and write in English fluently
• Minimum 10 years of Procurement, Purchasing, or Supply Chain experience, including managing category management teams.
• Required experience managing mechanical & raw material spend categories with knowledge of the Sheet metal market
• Prior work experience in electrical, industrial or automotive companies is desirable
• Strong negotiation skills with key suppliers and Schneider executives, ability to work in multicultural and cross-functional settings, and project management experience.
• Proficiency in successful procurement supplier negotiations, legal contracts, and risk management, with a results-oriented, proactive, and strategic approach to work.
• Leadership skills, strong communication, ability to work well independently and in a team, work under pressure, think strategically, solve problems, and deliver on time.