[Hiring] Senior Procurement Category Management Specialist @Nestle Operational Services Worldwide SA

Role Description

As the Senior Procurement Category Management Specialist, you will manage relationships across direct spend categories, serving as a key liaison between procurement, category management (both in-market and above-market), and business stakeholders. You will play a critical role in optimizing sourcing strategies, including supplier selection, pricing, contracting, and ongoing supplier performance management.

You will leverage global and local sourcing strategies, adapting them to meet evolving business needs. As a trusted partner, you will contribute to the development and execution of category strategies, identify value creation opportunities, and lead cross-functional initiatives that drive business impact.

This role also focuses on proactively identifying and resolving supply risks, operational gaps, and scope-of-work challenges across business, supplier, and factory environments, ensuring continuity and effective execution.

You will actively engage in cross-functional innovation and ideation efforts, communicating improvement opportunities, market trends, sourcing constraints, and risk mitigation strategies tied to key projects.

Additionally, you will serve as the primary point of contact (POC) for Oscar projects and support KPI tracking and reporting for monthly MORs, helping to strengthen overall procurement performance and strategic outcomes.

Important Note: This position is remote.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide the focus support of manufacturing.
• Act as Single Point of Contact for factory escalations and drive sustainable resolutions.
• Own OSCAR projects to drive savings, ensure supply and compliance objectives.
• Monitor business goals and help periodically reassess the targets.
• Ensure information flow between the factory teams & Procurement to effectively deliver against business/function strategies.
• Seek proactive feedback regarding and enable focus on high value returns.
• Understand business requirements and challenges; including priorities, must win battles and key value drivers.
• Transmit this understanding to the category management teams at NIM and Nestrade at the appropriate level so the category sourcing strategies and priorities are defined accordingly.
• Lead Monthly Category Reviews as required.
• Represent the Above Market and At Market Procurement Team in Ideas and stakeholders/business requirements as assigned.
• Confirm Business objectives, challenges, projects, requirements and expectations are shared with the Category Management Team to help shape strategic planning.
• Provide Support to Stakeholders, including but not limited to Supply Chain, CTAG, Quality and Finance.
• Act as the Single Point of Contact for assigned Categories.
• Provide insight into Nestle Pricing and Opportunities to increase overall profitability.
• Assist in developing strategy for critical items for assigned facilities as required.
• Identify local ensure supply risks and develop sustainable mitigation strategies.
• Play an active role in our sourcing strategies and Business Continuity Planning through the participation of key meetings, by ensuring right stakeholder engagement and through interactions with local suppliers, category managers where needed.
• Identify and ensure implementation of projects to decrease risk of out of stock inventory.
• Represent projects through the PMP.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• CPM certification is a plus.
• 5+ years of experience in procurement, category management, purchasing, or materials management.
• 3+ years of supply chain and/or manufacturing experience preferred.
• Experience with SAP, Ariba, and I-Nexus preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Skills & Competencies

• Detail-oriented self-starter with the ability to work independently.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize data and present insights clearly.
• Capable of researching and interpreting market, industry, and supplier information.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and manage complex vendor relationships.
• Demonstrated process improvement mindset with the ability to build and enhance workflows.
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to develop and expand professional networks.

Benefits

• Performance-based incentives.
• Competitive total rewards package, which includes a 401k with company match.
• Healthcare coverage.
• A broad range of other benefits.