Category Manager – Indirect Materials Facilities & Maintenance

Zeppelin Group; Steinhausen; Remote; CHF 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Zeppelin Group in Steinhausen (Switzerland) seeks a Category Manager for Indirect Materials & Services in Facilities & Maintenance. You will lead global sourcing strategies, supplier management, negotiations, and cost optimization across the Zeppelin Group.

Fluency in English and German, plus 5+ years in strategic procurement, are required. You will collaborate across functions, manage contracts, and drive value in a dynamic, international environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in strategic or project-specific procurement.
• Strong negotiation, analytical and cost/risk management skills.
• Cross-functional collaboration across global stakeholders.
• Familiarity with contract law and supplier management.

Responsibilities

• Establish supplier relationships to ensure competitive terms and stable supply chain.
• Develop and implement sustainable category strategies for quality and cost.
• Conduct market analyses to identify potential suppliers and technologies.
• Design forecasting systems for suppliers based on S&OP processes.
• Prepare RFPs, conduct bid comparisons, negotiate prices and terms.
• Draft and negotiate contracts with attorneys as needed.
• Set sourcing specifications and develop KPI-based risk management.
• Coordinate interfaces between procurement, data, operations, product, logistics, quality, and finance.

Skills

Negotiation skills

Analytical abilities

Cost management

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic procurement

English proficiency

German proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business/Engineering/Economics

Job description

Category Manager – Indirect Materials Facilities & MaintenanceTo provide you with an optimal user experience on all Zeppelin pages, we use cookies and similar technologies to process terminal information and personal data. These are used to improve the user experience, for analysis, including cross-device tracking. The aim is to improve our communication with you in order to provide you with the best possible online experience. Consent is voluntary and can be revoked at any time via the cookie settings. You can find further information in our privacy policy (https://www.zeppelin.com/content/dam/zeppelin/zeppelin-com/career/privacy-notice-for-applicants-en.pdf) and in the imprint (https://www.zeppelin.com/en/about.html).# | Careers## Category Manager – Indirect Materials Facilities & MaintenanceApply: Steinhausen (Zug): Full time: Posted Today: JR\\_19470**Category Manager – Indirect Materials Facilities & Maintenance****Location:** Steinhausen (Switzerland) **Reporting Line:** Head of Category Management Indirect Materials**Role Summary**As a Category Manager Indirect Materials & Services, you will be responsible for the global strategic management of the indirect spend categories “Facilities & Maintenance” across the Zeppelin Group. You will lead sourcing strategies, supplier management, contract negotiations, and cost optimization initiatives while collaborating closely with stakeholders and suppliers worldwide. The role ensures procurement activities support business requirements and long-term corporate objectives.**YOUR TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES*** Establishing, maintaining, and managing supplier relationships to ensure competitive terms and a stable supply chain* Developing and implementing sustainable category strategies to optimize the quality, cost structure, and availability of materials and services* Conducting comprehensive market analyses to identify potential suppliers and technologies* Redesigning and implementing strategic supplier management* Designing and implementing forecasting systems for suppliers based on S&OP processes* Preparing requests for proposals, conducting bid comparisons, and leading price and terms negotiations, including preparing corresponding framework agreements to leverage economies of scale* Drafting and negotiating contracts, confidently handling contract law and correspondence with attorneys* Establishing targeted sourcing specifications for materials and services and developing KPI-based risk management for the assigned category* Coordinating interfaces between Operational Procurement, Master Data & Operations Planning, Product Management, Engineering, Logistics, Quality Management, and Finance & Controlling**WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR*** A degree (Bachelor’s or Master’s) in Business, Engineering, Economics or equivalent qualification* 5+ years of experience in strategic or project-specific procurement* Strong negotiation skills, analytical abilities, and expertise in cost and risk management* A strong service-oriented mindset and an awareness of working as a strategic procurement professional in a highly cross-functional organization* Understanding technical requirements, project workflows, and agile working methods, as well as knowledge of contract law and negotiation skills* Resilience, initiative, and the ability to take on responsibility in a dynamic and global environment* Fluency in English and German, knowledge of further languages is a plus* Willingness to travel **Why Join Zeppelin Procurement?**We are creating a procurement organization that moves beyond transactional purchasing, becomes a strategic business partner delivering measurable competitive advantage and generates measurable value and impact to our business. If you want to shape the strategic direction for direct-materials category management and drive lasting value creation across an international organization, we would like to hear from you