Ocean Freight Procurement Strategist

DS Smith; Kraków; On-site; PLN 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

DS Smith Krakow is seeking a Category Manager, Logistics (Ocean Freight) for a 6‑month assignment to develop and execute category strategies, lead procurement activities, and optimize the ocean freight spend across Packaging, Paper and Recycling divisions.

You will build strong supplier partnerships, manage risk, and drive ESG and value creation through strategic sourcing, with English fluency and cross‑regional collaboration as core requirements.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge and experience of procurement roles in Logistics, ideally Ocean Freight.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent by experience.
• Experience in developing and implementing 1-3 year category strategies.
• Experience in complex procurement sourcing and contracting negotiations.
• Experience in optimising logistics spend through levers.
• Ability to define multi-year category strategies and lead change in a matrix environment.
• CIPS or EU equivalent desirable; fluent in English; another European language is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies for Ocean Freight with a 1-3 year horizon.
• Lead procurement activities, building supplier partnerships across Packaging, Paper and Recycling.
• Drive cost, working capital, and sustainability improvements in logistics spend.
• Coordinate with Legal and Commercial teams to draft and manage contracts.
• Manage supplier performance and governance; run tendering and negotiations end-to-end.

Skills

Ocean Freight procurement

Category strategy development

Sourcing & contracting

Cost optimisation

Multi-year strategy design

Procurement leadership

ESG / sustainability awareness

English fluency

European language advantage

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Porter’s Five Forces

Kraljic matrix

Contract management systems

Job description

DS Smith Krakow is seeking a Category Manager, Logistics (Ocean Freight) for a 6‑month assignment to develop and execute category strategies, lead procurement activities, and optimize the ocean freight spend across Packaging, Paper and Recycling divisions.

You will build strong supplier partnerships, manage risk, and drive ESG and value creation through strategic sourcing, with English fluency and cross‑regional collaboration as core requirements.