Senior Manager, Global Category Management – Engineering, Construction and Civil

SD Guthrie International; Petaling Jaya; On-site; MYR 120,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

SD Guthrie International is seeking a senior procurement leader in Malaysia to drive global category strategies and end-to-end lifecycle governance for construction-related spend. You will oversee regional alignment, market forecasting, and supplier performance while maintaining PPV targets and cost-reduction initiatives.

The role requires 8–10 years of relevant experience, strong negotiation skills, and a track record in strategic sourcing within the construction sector.

Qualifications

• 8 to 10 years of progressive experience combining technical civil/construction execution with commercial or procurement responsibility.
• Expertise in procurement processes, category management, strategic sourcing, stakeholder management, excellent influencing and story telling skill.
• Strong ability to analyze market trends, price movements, and industry data to make informed procurement decisions.
• Skilled in managing procurement budgets, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and developing cost-effective strategies.
• Strong communication and presentation skills to articulate sustainability goals and initiatives.
• Excellent ability to negotiate with suppliers and communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Skilled in driving innovation / saving projects.
• Experience in construction industry is an added advantage.

Responsibilities

• Global Strategy Development: Lead formulation and implementation of the Global Category Strategy and TCO optimizations.
• Regional & Global Alignment: Formulate and execute procurement strategies that meet global and regional needs.
• Market Trend Management: Monitor macro-market trends to keep category strategies competitive.
• Category Strategy Execution & Management: Develop global category plans and governance over execution.
• Financial Accountability: Maintain P&L for the category budget and cost-reduction targets.
• Lifecycle Governance: Own procurement and contract management lifecycles across centers.
• Market Intelligence & Forecasting: Forecast price movements and secure supply continuity.
• Performance Metrics Optimization: Drive KPIs and operational excellence.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate across functions to build consensus on strategies.
• Spend Analysis & Leakage Mitigation: Review tail spends and fix value leaks.
• Joint Business Planning: Lead JBP with strategic suppliers and key stakeholders.
• Productivity & Efficiency Gains: Lead productivity roadmaps across spend portfolios.
• Executive Escalation: Escalation point for bottlenecks and vendor issues.
• Strategic Partnerships: Build relationships for value-generating initiatives.
• Supply Chain Risk Mitigation: Maintain risk registers and continuity plans.
• Sustainable Sourcing Frameworks: Embed ESG criteria for net-zero goals.
• Supplier Performance Governance: Monitor supplier scorecards and OTIF metrics.
• Mentor and guide buyers and teams to uplift capabilities.
• Execute ad hoc projects as assigned.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Stakeholder management

Market analysis

Cost reduction

Negotiation

Education

Degree in Civil Engineering / Construction Management / Quantity Surveying / SCM

Tools

SAP

Oracle

Ariba

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

MS Word

Job description

We value our people and encourage everyone to grow professionally.

Job Description:

• Global Strategy Development: Lead the formulation and implementation of the Global Category Strategy , establishing optimal sourcing frameworks to drive negotiated savings and continuous Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) optimizations while safeguarding product quality and service delivery.

• Regional & Global Alignment: Formulate and execute comprehensive procurement strategies that address macroeconomic global objectives while seamlessly integrating and fulfilling regional business requirements.

• Market Trend Management: Proactively monitor, evaluate, and integrate emerging macro-market trends to ensure category strategies remain progressive and competitive.

• Category Strategy Execution & Management: Drive the end-to-end development of global category plans and maintain governance over execution models for all center and center-led SKUs.

• Financial Accountability: Maintain full P&L accountability for the category budget, spearheading initiatives to meet or exceed corporate cost-reduction targets, Purchase Price Variance (PPV) metrics, and financial benchmarks.

• Lifecycle Governance: Own the end-to-end procurement and contract management lifecycles, oversee center-led portfolio items to be in compliance with the overarching global category strategies.

• Market Intelligence & Forecasting: Synthesize advanced market intelligence to accurately forecast price movements, mitigate volatility, and secure supply continuity for optimal strategic decision-making.

• Performance Metrics Optimization: Drive operational excellence to consistently deliver and exceed departmental Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate cross-functionally with core, extended, and matrixed teams to build consensus on category strategies and contract coverage plans.

• Spend Analysis & Leakage Mitigation: Review and analyze tail spends to eliminate value leakages and establish robust, repeatable sourcing frameworks for recurring purchases.

• Joint Business Planning (JBP): Lead high-level Joint Business Planning initiatives with strategic suppliers, integrating key stakeholders from relevant Business Units (BUs) to maximize mutual value.

• Productivity & Efficiency Gains: Spearhead annual productivity improvement roadmaps across all assigned spend portfolios.

• Executive Escalation: Serve as the definitive escalation point for local procurement teams to resolve critical supplier bottlenecks and complex vendor-engagement challenges.

• Strategic Partnerships: Cultivate and strengthen collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders to foster innovative, value-generating initiatives.

• Supply Chain Risk Mitigation: Design, maintain, and execute category-level risk registers and business continuity plans to mitigate macroeconomic disruptions, geopolitical shifts, and single-source dependencies.

• Sustainable Sourcing Frameworks: Embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG**)** criteria into supplier selection and product lifecycles to support corporate net-zero and ethical sourcing mandates.

• Supplier Performance Governance: Monitor standardized Supplier Scorecards, tracking operational metrics like On-Time In-Full (OTIF), quality defect rates, and service levels.

• Mentor, coach, and guide local or regional buyers , cross-functional project teams, and junior procurement personnel to uplift overall organizational capabilities.

• Execute ad hoc projects and additional duties as assigned by leadership to support evolving business needs

Requirements:

Education / Professional Qualification

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering , Construction Management , Quantity Surveying , or Supply Chain Management.
• Certified Construction Manager ( CCM ) or Certified Construction Project Manager ( CCPM ) is an added advantage.
• Proficiency with procurement software (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Ariba, etc.) and Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) for data analysis, reporting, and presentations.

Professional Experience

• 8 to 10 years of progressive experience combining technical civil/construction execution with commercial or procurement responsibility.
• Expertise in procurement processes, category management, strategic sourcing, stakeholder management, excellent influencing and story telling skill.
• Strong ability to analyze market trends, price movements, and industry data to make informed procurement decisions.
• Skilled in managing procurement budgets, identifying cost‑saving opportunities, and developing cost‑effective strategies.
• Strong communication and presentation skills to articulate sustainability goals and initiatives.
• Excellent ability to negotiate with suppliers and communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Skilled in driving innovation / saving projects.
• Experience in construction industry is an added advantage.