Procurement Category Management

Opella; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 240,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Opella is seeking a strategic and commercially driven Procurement Category Manager to lead the External Manufacturing procurement category across Southeast Asia, delivering cost savings and scalable supplier partnerships.

The role requires extensive regional category management experience in Consumer Health/Pharma/FMCG, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders across multiple markets.

Job description

We are seeking a strategic and commercially driven Procurement Category Manager to lead the External Manufacturing Procurement category across Southeast Asia.

Our Requirements

• Minimum 10 years of strategic procurement experience within Consumer Health, Pharma, FMCG, or related industries.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, Science, Supply Chain, or related discipline; MBA is an advantage.
• Proven regional procurement/category management experience across Southeast Asia, APAC, or multiple international markets.
• Strong expertise in External Manufacturing, CDMO/CMO management, or other direct procurement categories.
• Demonstrated success in strategic sourcing, supplier negotiations, and delivering measurable cost savings.
• Experience supporting innovation projects, new product launches, supplier scouting and development initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and negotiate across senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Familiarity with procurement systems such as SAP, Ariba, or equivalent platforms.
• Fluent in English; additional languages such as French, Bahasa Indonesia/Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, or Filipino are advantageous.
• Experience in sustainability initiatives, supplier governance, and agile supplier partnerships is a plus.

Key Objectives (First 6-12 Months)

• Build understanding of Opella's business, brands, and growth strategy.
• Support the high volume of innovation and product launch activities.
• Develop and optimize supplier strategies, identifying both existing and new suppliers to support business growth.
• Manage the complexity of multiple SEA markets, regulations, and stakeholder groups.

Must-Haves

• Strong procurement background with proven category management experience.
• Ability to operate independently with minimal supervision.
• Strategic procurement experience rather than operational/buyer-level work.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills, both internally and externally.
• Regional procurement exposure covering multiple countries (minimum 3+ markets preferred).

Stakeholder Environment

This role will partner extensively with:

• M&S (Manufacturing & Supply)
• Brand & Innovation (B&I)
• R&D teams
• Project Managers
• Development Centers
• External suppliers across Southeast Asia

Procurement Expectations

• Candidates should demonstrate a track record of delivering approximately 4% annual savings against managed spend.
• Savings performance should ideally offset inflation and improve margins.
• Experience managing complex regional supplier networks is highly valued.