Category Manager – Indirect Materials Facilities & Maintenance

Zeppelin Rental GmbH; Zug; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Zeppelin Rental GmbH seeks a Category Manager Indirect Materials & Services to lead global strategies for Facilities & Maintenance. You will drive supplier management, negotiate contracts, and optimize costs while collaborating across functions worldwide.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in strategic procurement, strong negotiation skills, and fluency in English and German. This role requires a proactive, cross‑functional mindset in a dynamic, international setting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Engineering, Economics or equivalent.
• 5+ years of experience in strategic or project procurement.
• Strong negotiation, analytical, cost and risk management skills.
• Fluency in English and German; additional languages are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Establish and manage supplier relationships to ensure competitive terms and a stable supply chain.
• Develop and implement sustainable category strategies for Facilities & Maintenance.
• Conduct market analyses to identify suppliers and technologies.
• Redesign supplier management with KPI-based risk controls.
• Draft and negotiate contracts, including framework agreements for economies of scale.
• Lead RFPs, bid comparisons, and price/term negotiations.

Skills

Negotiation

Analytical thinking

Cost and risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Agile working methods

Contract law knowledge

Education

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

Job description

Category Manager – Indirect Materials Facilities & MaintenanceLocation: Steinhausen (Switzerland)Reporting Line: Head of Category Management Indirect MaterialsRole SummaryAs 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 & RESPONSIBILITIESEstablishing, maintaining, and managing supplier relationships to ensure competitive terms and a stable supply chainDeveloping and implementing sustainable category strategies to optimize the quality, cost structure, and availability of materials and servicesConducting comprehensive market analyses to identify potential suppliers and technologiesRedesigning and implementing strategic supplier managementDesigning and implementing forecasting systems for suppliers based on S&OP processesPreparing requests for proposals, conducting bid comparisons, and leading price and terms negotiations, including preparing corresponding framework agreements to leverage economies of scaleDrafting and negotiating contracts, confidently handling contract law and correspondence with attorneysEstablishing targeted sourcing specifications for materials and services and developing KPI-based risk management for the assigned categoryCoordinating interfaces between Operational Procurement, Master Data & Operations Planning, Product Management, Engineering, Logistics, Quality Management, and Finance & ControllingWHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORA degree (Bachelor’s or Master’s) in Business, Engineering, Economics or equivalent qualification5+ years of experience in strategic or project-specific procurementStrong negotiation skills, analytical abilities, and expertise in cost and risk managementA strong service-oriented mindset and an awareness of working as a strategic procurement professional in a highly cross-functional organizationUnderstanding technical requirements, project workflows, and agile working methods, as well as knowledge of contract law and negotiation skillsResilience, initiative, and the ability to take on responsibility in a dynamic and global environmentFluency in English and German, knowledge of further languages is a plusWillingness to travelWhy 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