Category Manager Indirect (f/m)

Woodward L'Orange; Polska; Hybrid; PLN 179,000 - 279,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private health insurance

Life & accidental insurance

Multisport package

Meal vouchers

Company performance bonus

Work-life balance

PPK: company contributions

Hybrid work model

Educational support

Job summary

Woodward L'Orange is seeking a senior category manager to lead market analysis, develop long-term category strategies, and manage a team of indirect sourcing managers across multiple sites.

You will oversee ASL, supplier categorization, budgeting, forecasting, and financial performance while collaborating with stakeholders to drive profitability.

Qualifications

• Demonstrates business acumen and understands relationships across functions and market context.
• Uses spend analytics and market research to guide category strategy and supplier choices.
• Effectively communicates and influences across audiences to drive decisions.
• Generates data‑backed insights to inform processes and strategy.
• Shows project management or leadership experience in cross‑functional environments.
• Manages stakeholders and aligns expectations with strategy and goals.
• Thinks strategically and plans for long‑term category performance.
• Communicates clearly and convincingly, tying ideas to business value.
• Shows intellectual curiosity and challenges assumptions with new ideas.
• Orients work to deliver value with defined standards and measures.

Responsibilities

• Market Analysis and Research: Conduct market research and analyze trends to identify opportunities and threats within the category.
• Category Strategy Development: Develop and implement strategies to optimize the performance and profitability of assigned product categories for the long term. Anticipate needs of the business to posture supply base for the future.
• Project generation, scope definition and maturation: Manage project pipeline to identify and mature projects that support category strategy, product margin, and product lifecycle.
• Approved Supplier List (ASL) Management: Manage approved supplier list. Align suppliers into strategic categories based on alignment with stakeholders. Assign suppliers into sub categories based on the category of product they provide. Ensure completeness and consistency appropriate to multi-site suppliers.
• Financial Management: Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial performance for assigned categories, ensuring profitability and cost efficiency through effective financial planning.
• Manage team of Indirect Sourcing Managers.

Skills

Business Acumen

Intelligence Gathering

Executive Presence

Insight Generation

Project Management

Stakeholder Management

Strategic Thinking

Communication & Influence

Intellectual Curiosity

Value Orientation

Polish & English proficiency

Contract & Agreement familiarity

Job description

What You Will Do:

• Market Analysis and Research: Conduct market research and analyze trends to identify opportunities and threats within the category.
• Category Strategy Development: Develop and implement strategies to optimize the performance and profitability of assigned product categories for the long term. Anticipate needs of the business to posture supply base for the future.
• Project generation, scope definition and maturation: Manage project pipeline to identify and mature projects that support category strategy, product margin, and product lifecycle.
• Approved Supplier List (ASL) Management: Manage approved supplier list. Align suppliers into strategic categories based on alignment with stakeholders. Assign suppliers into sub categories based on the category of product they provide. Ensure completeness and consistency appropriate to multi-site suppliers.
• Financial Management: Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial performance for assigned categories, ensuring profitability and cost efficiency through effective financial planning.
• Manage team of Indirect Sourcing Managers.

What You Will Need:

• Business Acumen: Understands the complex relationships between all functions of the business and wider economic context.
• Intelligence Gathering: Uses spend analytics and market research to make decisions and guide the category. Collaborates with suppliers on any strategy.
• Executive Presence: Able to influence others using communication and leadership skills. Demonstrates leadership capabilities when working with others.
• Insight Generation: Forms valuable insights backed in data, knowledge, experience, or research. Brings insights to others to guide processes.
• Project Management and/or Leadership experience
• Stakeholder Management skills
• Strategic Thinking
• Communication and Influence: Shares information effectively, is able to affect decisions across different audiences using specialized approaches. Sells own ideas by tying them into the values, needs, aspirations and goals of others.
• Intellectual Curiosity: Crafts innovative solutions. Constructively pushes against long-held assumptions in the function.
• Value Orientation: Manages projects and goals with little assistance. Establishes performance standards and measurements for work. Delivers on value proposition.
• Polish & English proficiency
• Familiarity with contract and agreement development

What You Will Gain:

• Salary range from 16,000 to 25,000 PLN gross – depending on experience.
• Advancement opportunities in an international team.
• A total rewards package that includes private health insurance, life & accidental insurance.
• Multisport package.
• Meal vouchers.
• Company performance bonus program.
• Work-life balance, semi-flexible working time.
• PPK: Company contribution to your PPK account up to 4% of compensation depending on seniority.
• Hybrid work model.
• Educational support.