Global Category Manager: Indirect Materials & Services

Zeppelin International AG; Steinhausen; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Zeppelin International AG is seeking a Category Manager Indirect Materials & Services to lead global strategic management of the indirect spend category “Professional Services (incl. Human Resources)” across the Zeppelin Group.

You will drive sourcing strategies, supplier management, contract negotiations, and cost optimization initiatives with stakeholders worldwide. The role requires a Bachelor's or Master's in a relevant field, 5+ years in procurement, and strong English and German language

Qualifications

• 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

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

Skills

Negotiation skills

Analytical abilities

Cost and risk management

Strategic procurement

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Business/Engineering/Economics degree

Job description

Zeppelin International AG is seeking a Category Manager Indirect Materials & Services to lead global strategic management of the indirect spend category “Professional Services (incl. Human Resources)” across the Zeppelin Group.

You will drive sourcing strategies, supplier management, contract negotiations, and cost optimization initiatives with stakeholders worldwide. The role requires a Bachelor's or Master's in a relevant field, 5+ years in procurement, and strong English and German language