Category Buyer

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**:
Strategy:

- Provide input into worldwide category strategies for short, medium and long term needs.
- Ensure the relevant players have a good knowledge of Thales need and support the category strategy so that the business secures targeted projects and customer competitive advantage.
- Ensure that clear and measurable savings targets are identified and delivered by category and endorsed by business / project.
- Ensure category commitment and spend compliance tracking is well reported.

Procurement Competitiveness Capture:

- Monitor category markets on an on-going basis to identify and understand key players, newcomers, economic evolutions, market or regulation constraints, innovations and technology to support the development of the most up to date category strategies for 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.
- In conjunction with the Procurement Product, Bids and Project Buyers (PPM) and cross functional teams, the CB supports the preparation of Make / Buy decisions (lead by the PPM) to optimize business performance.

Governance, Leadership and Performance Management:

- Ensure THALES 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 the supplier contracts and framework agreements are negotiated when required in line with the category strategies.
- Ensure that global contracts / framework agreements are adopted and utilized.
- Ensure that specific legal compliance government or special customer requirements are taken into account during conception / implementation of category strategies.
- Ensure that Thales e-Acquisition and all THALES procurement tools are properly used according to governance procurement work packages at global level.
- Ensure that the risks, opportunities and Tier supply chain mapping is understood and managed in order to optimize business performance.
- 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 to conduct successfully these actions.

Operational Support:

- Ensure the Tactical Buyers receive all required information to raise the Purchase Orders.

**Requirements**:

- Preferably with experience on outsourcing of Test Systems, Hardware & Software Engineering Services.
- Recognized professional qualification (CIPS, EIPM, ISM, MAI...) are essential.
- Business, Procurement, Supply Chain or Engineering degrees are desirable, coupled with other professional qualifications (e.g.) in Project Management.
- 5+ year experiences in Procurement.
- Possesses experience of interactions with senior management and senior stakeholders, in complex project environment, in product policy, design / product development with cross-functional teams in a Procurement Bids and Project role, in sub-contract management and delivery of complex solutions, and experience & ability to define and to implement category strategy.
- Strong involvement in defining/ updating the strategy with the GCM
- Strong implementation of the strategy on an operational basis.
- Strong contractual knowledge especially of framework agreements, Liability & insurance.
- Ability to lead complex negotiation including import / export considerations
- Understanding of the market for the category under his control but also ability to understand the customer’s stakes, needs and program issues
- Mastering economic models for the category so that increased value can be added to Thales and the supply base.
- Proven ability to challenge and develop innovative supply chain / procurement analysis (CCO, should cost) that adds value to the business and end customers.
- Ability to manage complex sub-cont