Category Buyer

Department: Procurement
Reports To: Category Category Lead / Head of Procurement

Job Summary:
The Category Buyer plays a Key role in the strategic sourcing and supplier management process within the pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical sector. This position is responsible for category supplier selection, performance monitoring, market intelligence, and spend analysis to ensure optimal value delivery, compliance, ESG & sustainability, and risk mitigation across the supply chain

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead category supplier selection processes, ensuring alignment with category strategies, ESG objectives, and business needs, while maintaining strong stakeholder satisfaction.
- Conduct spend and market analysis to identify cost-saving opportunities, anticipate risks, and support strategic decision-making together with your business partners.
- Monitor and enhance supplier performance across quality, service, and cost dimensions, integrating ESG & sustainability and regulatory compliance criteria (GMP, GXP)
- Collaborate closely with local and category procurement teams, acting as a business partner to ensure consistent and effective strategy execution.
- Support contract negotiations and risk management by building a Supplier Relationship Management program, providing supplier intelligence and data-driven insights that contribute to overall business satisfaction (SLAs, KPI...)
- Category focus amongst others will be Indirect Spend such as facility management services and utilities (Energies, waters) but not limited to.

Qualifications:

- Master’s degree in supply chain management, Business, Life Sciences, or a related field.
- 5+ years of experience in procurement and category management, preferably in pharma/Biotechnology.
- Strong expertise in supplier management, contract negotiation, and compliance in regulated environments, familiarity with ESG and sustainability.
- Proficient in procurement platforms (e.g., Coupa) and ERP systems (e.g., SAP, IFS).
- Strong skills in analytics, keen on AI-driven procurement solutions and excellent communicator towards stakeholder satisfaction

Preferred Skills:

- Experience with category procurement frameworks and cross-functional collaboration, can do and problem-solving approach.
- Knowledge of GMP/GxP compliance requirements.
- Certification in procurement (e.g., CIPS, ISM) is a plus.
- Multilingual capabilities are advantageous. Fluent in English is a must.
- Extensive knowledge of Indirect procurement is a plus