Category Manager

Location: Singapore, Singapore

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.

Thales established its presence in Singapore in 1973 to support the expansion of aerospace-related activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout the last four decades, the company grew from strength to strength and is today involved in the primary businesses of Aerospace (including Air Traffic Management), Defence & Security, Ground Transportation and Digital Identity & Security. Thales today employs over 2,100 people in Singapore across all its business areas.

**Responsibilities**:

- The Category Buyer (CB) supports one or several procurement categories.
- The CB works in close relation with the relevant Global Category Managers (GCM), the Categories Team leader (CTL), the Category Manager (CM) and the Tactical Buyer (TB).
- All actions have to be in line with the strategy defined by the Global Category Manager and the CM. The CB's prime role is the management of the RFI or/and RFP's until PVet 4 stage (up to PVet 5 based on some Regions) in order to provide the competitiveness to the business.

Operational Support:

- Ensure the BA's receive all required information to raise the Procurement Orders.

Procurement Competitiveness Capture:

- Monitor the markets for defined categories including key players, newcomers, economic evolutions, market or regulation constraints, innovations and technology in order to support the development of the most up to date category strategies to the businesses.
- Based on the above provide insights as to how products / projects could be more competitive via the adoption of different suppliers / methodologies / technology etc.

Governance, Leadership and Performance Management:

- Ensure appropriate governance is applied using KPI's and root cause corrective actions

Supplier / Acquisition Management:

- Performance management of the supply base in line with the standards set out by the Global Category Manager.
- Ensure that supplier competitions follow the governance process and are balanced and fair in order to improve business and customer performance.
- Ensure that global contracts / framework agreements are adopted and utilised.
- Ensure that Thales e-Acquisition and all THALES procurement tools are fully used.
- Based on the performance management of the supply base identify the suppliers who require focused development actions and ensure that the Supplier Development Team have the required support / leverage in order for these actions to be successful.

**Requirements**:

- Ability to implement operational supply chain strategy
- Contractual knowledge especially of framework agreements, Liability & insurance.
- Ability to lead negotiation including import / export considerations
- Understanding of the market for the categories under his/her control but also ability to understand the customer’s needs and program issues
- Good knowledge of a best practice acquisition Process.
- Capability to work within cross functional and international multi organisational teams (teamwork)
- Open minded (listen, share ideas etc.) and able to bring added value and new ideas
- Ability to take initiatives with a good capacity of analysis and of synthesis
- Ability to prioritise tasks
- Ability to represent Thales and to demonstrate Thales values
- Good written and verbal communication skills