Purchasing Manager – Indirect Category

Upscale; Malaysia; On-site; MYR 240,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Upscale in Malaysia is seeking a purpose-driven procurement leader to shape our indirect procurement function. You will lead a growing team at the Batu Kawan site, collaborate with cross-functional groups, and align with a global team of around 1,000 colleagues across Asia, Europe and the US.

You will define category strategies, lead supplier negotiations, manage risks, and drive continuous improvement across sourcing activities to ensure cost efficiency and reliable supply for a diverse

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, Supply Chain, or related disciplines.
• 10-12 years of procurement or strategic sourcing experience with at least 5 years in leadership in international manufacturing.
• Strong negotiation and contract management skills.
• Analytical mindset with data interpretation capabilities.
• Good interpersonal communication with influencing skills; ability to learn across diverse fields.
• Proficiency in SAP and Coupa is preferred.
• Fluent in English; Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin proficiency is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Greenfield Setup: collaborate with multiple functions for large-scale sourcing and procurement of building infrastructure and services.
• Identify supply bottlenecks impacting project timelines and monitor contractor performance.
• Support Capex budgeting and track spend transparency.
• Establish long-term contracts for MRO, facility services, and utilities.
• Category Strategy & Planning: define and implement non-production and service procurement strategies.
• Collaborate with Global Indirect Purchasing on global initiatives.
• Conduct market and supplier analysis on cost drivers, risks, and innovations.
• Identify savings opportunities and value improvement initiatives.
• Strategic Sourcing: lead supplier selections, conduct negotiations, manage framework agreements, drive TCO optimization.
• Supplier Management: establish and maintain strategic supplier networks and monitor performance.
• Lead business reviews and Continuous Improvement Projects.
• Team and Performance Management: lead, train, and supervise indirect purchasing team; balance workload; mentor skills.
• Risk & Compliance Management: identify risks, ensure governance and audit readiness.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: guide requirements and align sourcing with stakeholders.

Skills

Negotiation

Contract management

Analytical mindset

Interpersonal communication

Stakeholder management

SAP

Coupa

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration / Engineering / Mechanical / Electrical / Supply Chain

Tools

SAP

Coupa

Job description

Who we are looking for

We are looking for purpose-driven builders: hands-on professionals with entrepreneurial spirit who enjoy setting up structures, improving processes and taking ownership in a fast-moving environment.

As pioneers of our Malaysia site, you will help to shape not only your function, but also how we work together locally — while being connected to a global team of around 1,000 employees from ~60 nationalities across Asia, Europe and the US.

We offer competitive benefits, outstanding technical expertise, development opportunities and training.

Responsibilities

Greenfield Setup

• Collaborate with Facility, Operations, Engineering, IT, Administration, Finance for large-scale sourcing and procurement of building infrastructure and service.
• Identify supply bottlenecks impacting project timeline and monitor contractor performance against milestones.
• Support Capex budgeting and tracking, ensure transparency of project spend.
• Establish long-term contracts for MRO, facility services, indirect consumables and utilities.

Category Strategy & Planning

• Define, develop and implement all non-production and service procurement category strategies in alignment with Global Indirect Procurement to support ramping up planning and maintain sustained operations.
• Collaborate with Global Indirect Purchasing on global initiatives for non-production and service procurement
• Conduct market and supplier analysis with respect to cost drivers, risks, innovations, capacity.
• Identify savings opportunities and value improvement initiatives

Strategic Sourcing

• Lead supplier selection processes from RFQs/RFPs and contract award.
• Conduct commercial and contractual negotiations
• Manage framework agreements with regional/international suppliers
• Continuously drive total cost of ownership (TCO) optimization

Supplier Management

• Establish and maintain strategic supplier network and relationships
• Monitor supplier performance with respect to cost, quality, delivery, service.
• Lead business reviews to identify improvement potential and to conduct Continuous Improvement Projects (CIP).

Team and Performance Management

• Directly lead, train and supervise the daily operation of the indirect purchasing team.
• Allocate responsibilities and ensure workload balance
• Coach and mentor team members to strengthen negotiation, analytical, and strategic skills

Risk & Compliance Management

• Identify and mitigate supply risks and bottlenecks.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, governance standards and sourcing procedures
• Monitor contractual obligations, supplier compliance, team integrity.
• Ensure accurate and complete documentation for audit readiness.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Manage budget owner's demands and guide requirements to achieve best supply solution.
• Align sourcing decisions with relevant stakeholders.

Qualifications and Skills Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, Supply Chain, or related disciplines.
• 10-12 years of procurement or strategic sourcing experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role in small to mid-sized teams in international manufacturing companies.
• Strong negotiation and contract management skills
• Analytical mindset with strong data interpretation capabilities
• Good interpersonal communication with influencing skills; ability to quickly learn diverse fields and work with various internal groups.
• Proficiency in SAP and Coupa is preferred.
• Fluent in English; Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin proficiency is a plus.

Working Conditions & Environment

• Majority of the work is at Batu Kawan site.
• Visits to supplier locations will be requested as needed.
• Occasional travel, to Headquarters in Germany or other regional sites.