Category Manager – IT Procurement

Sandoz International GmbH; India; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid work environment

Opportunities for personal growth and development

Job summary

A leading global pharmaceutical company is seeking a Procurement Specialist in India to support IT category strategies and manage procurement projects. This role requires approximately 8–10 years of relevant business experience, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Responsibilities include executing sourcing activities, supporting supplier management, and ensuring compliance across procurement processes. Candidates should have solid project coordination skills and familiarity with procurement tools, particularly the Ariba suite. Join a dynamic team with a collaborative culture focused on making a significant impact in the healthcare sector.

Qualifications

• Experience in category management or sourcing related to IT or technology categories.
• Solid project coordination skills and ability to work in cross-functional teams.
• Good knowledge of procurement processes and compliance metrics.

Responsibilities

• Support execution of IT category strategies and operational roadmaps.
• Coordinate and manage procurement projects, tracking progress and elevating issues.
• Execute tactical and operational sourcing activities, participating in negotiations.

Skills

Project coordination skills

Stakeholder management

Negotiation techniques

Data analysis

Ability to work in cross-functional teams

Education

8–10 years of relevant business experience in Pharmaceutical or Healthcare industry

5 years in Procurement or related areas

Tools

Ariba suite

Job description

Support category strategic goals from overall Procurement strategy / Ecosystem management

• Support execution of IT category strategies and operational roadmaps at global level.
• Coordinate and manage procurement projects (scope, priorities, resources, budget) using appropriate tools and reporting; track project progress and elevate issues as needed.
• Support value chain analysis and apply total cost of ownership principles to identify opportunities for optimization.
• Contribute to financial discussions and budgeting processes, support deal structuring and contract negotiations under guidance.
• Support compliance and risk management across the procurement process (budget, PO, contracts, invoices, buying channels); monitor compliance metrics and flag issues; contribute to risk identification and mitigation activities.
• Extract, cleanse and consolidate spend and market data to generate insights for category analysis and decision‑making. Maintain and update procurement applications and content for the category.
• Support implementation of Procurement tools and processes. Conduct data analysis and reporting for spend demand and supply markets to support category management activities.

Demand management

• Work with stakeholders to understand business requirements and align them with category strategies.
• Support identification of cost‑effective solutions to meet business objectives.

Sourcing and supplier relationship management

• Execute tactical and operational sourcing activities; support the Source‑to‑Contract process including RFx preparation, supplier evaluation and contract setup.
• Participate in negotiations for standard and moderately complex requirements; apply negotiation techniques to achieve favorable outcomes.
• Support supplier onboarding, performance monitoring and relationship management activities.

Manage relationships with stakeholders

• Build effective working relationships with business stakeholders; respond to inquiries and provide procurement guidance.
• Support specification reviews and identify opportunities for standardization and optimization.
• Communicate clearly with stakeholders and suppliers to ensure alignment and timely delivery.

Impact on the organization (where appropriate)

10–40 million USD globally/regionally in spend/financial impact. Support for management of external IT services. Contribution to right‑sized spending and savings generation.

Qualifications

Approx. 8–10 years of relevant business experience, preferably within the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry. At least 5 years in Procurement or related areas, with exposure to category management, sourcing or supplier management, ideally with some focus on IT or technology categories. Solid project coordination skills and ability to work in cross‑functional teams in a global environment. Good knowledge of Ariba suite or similar products is highly desirable.

Why Sandoz?

Generic and Biosimilar medicines are the backbone of the global medicines industry. Sandoz, a leader in this sector, touched the lives of almost 500 million patients last year and while we are proud of this achievement, we have an ambition to do more!

With investments in new development capabilities, state‑of‑the‑art production sites, new acquisitions, and partnerships, we have the opportunity to shape the future of Sandoz and help more patients gain access to low‑cost, high‑quality medicines, sustainably.

Our momentum and entrepreneurial spirit is powered by an open, collaborative culture driven by our talented and ambitious colleagues, who, in return for applying their skills experience an agile and collegiate environment with impactful, flexible‑hybrid careers, where diversity is welcomed and where personal growth is encouraged!