Category Manager – Indirect Category

Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (Part of The HEINEKEN Company); Singapore; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (Part of The HEINEKEN Company) is seeking a Category Manager to shape indirect procurement strategies across Malaysia and Singapore. You will lead end-to-end sourcing, negotiate contracts, and drive value through cost savings, supplier innovation, and continuous improvement across regional categories.

You will partner with stakeholders to define requirements, manage risk, and ensure governance.

Qualifications

• Degree in SCM, Business Admin, Finance or Economics.
• CIPS/ISM or equivalent qualification is an advantage.
• 5–8 years of procurement, sourcing or category management experience.
• Experience leading sourcing projects, supplier negotiations and contract management.
• Experience managing indirect procurement categories in FMCG, manufacturing or multinational environments.
• Experience working across multiple business functions and stakeholders.
• Category Management and Strategic Sourcing.
• Contract Management and Supplier Relationship Management.
• Negotiation and Commercial Management.
• Procurement Analytics and Spend Management.
• Financial and Business Acumen.
• Procurement Governance and Compliance.
• Risk Management and Business Continuity Planning.
• Knowledge of ERP and procurement systems.
• Strong project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Demonstrates leadership through ownership, collaboration and driving results through others.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies for Indirect category across Malaysia and Singapore.
• Identify and deliver procurement value through cost savings, cost avoidance, cash flow improvement, supplier innovation and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Drive category harmonization, specification alignment and supplier consolidation opportunities across the cluster.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing activities including market assessments, tenders, supplier negotiations and contract execution.
• Ensure sourcing activities comply with Heineken Procurement policies, governance standards and applicable regulations.
• Manage strategic contracts and supplier performance to ensure delivery, quality, service and commercial commitments are achieved.
• Maintain accurate procurement and contract information within procurement systems and tools.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers and service providers.
• Conduct supplier performance reviews and implement improvement plans where required.
• Identify and drive supplier-led innovation, sustainability and productivity initiatives.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to understand business requirements and provide procurement expertise and commercial guidance.
• Challenge demand and specifications to ensure optimal value, service and risk outcomes.
• Support business planning, budgeting and project activities requiring procurement involvement.
• Monitor supply market developments, supplier risks and business continuity risks affecting assigned categories.
• Support payment term optimization and working capital improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with internal controls, procurement policies, audit requirements and regulatory obligations.
• Support procurement governance, policy deployment and capability building initiatives across Malaysia and Singapore.
• Support procurement transformation and integration initiatives across Malaysia and Singapore.
• Drive continuous improvement of procurement processes, systems and ways of working.
• Participate in special projects and other procurement-related assignments as required.

Skills

Negotiation

Commercial management

Procurement analytics

Spend management

Project management

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Excel

PowerPoint

Education

Degree in SCM / Business / Finance / Economics

CIPS/ISM or equivalent

Tools

ERP systems

Procurement systems

PowerPoint

Job description

At HEINEKEN, we ignite the moments that bring us together, create bonds that are unforgettable, and brew the joy of true togetherness to make the world a better place. Our dream is to shape the future of beer and beyond to win with consumers, and we are entering an incredible next era of innovation and expansion in the beer industry.

As we reimage the future of beer with HEINEKEN’s EverGreen balanced growth strategy, we would love to have you as part of our team to bring the joy of true togetherness to our people and consumers.

An exciting opportunity has come up for a Category Manager.

The Category Manager – Indirect Categories is responsible for developing and executing category strategies, driving sourcing excellence, supplier performance and value creation across Malaysia and Singapore. The role partners with business stakeholders to deliver sustainable savings, cash flow improvement, risk management and operational excellence while supporting procurement transformation, category harmonization and the execution of regional and global procurement strategies.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Category Strategy & Value Creation

• Develop and execute category strategies for Indirect category across Malaysia and Singapore.
• Identify and deliver procurement value through cost savings, cost avoidance, cash flow improvement, supplier innovation and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Drive category harmonization, specification alignment and supplier consolidation opportunities across the cluster.
• Support regional and global procurement initiatives and category strategies.

Strategic Sourcing & Contract Management

• Lead end-to-end sourcing activities including market assessments, tenders, supplier negotiations and contract execution.
• Ensure sourcing activities comply with Heineken Procurement policies, governance standards and applicable regulations.
• Manage strategic contracts and supplier performance to ensure delivery, quality, service and commercial commitments are achieved.
• Maintain accurate procurement and contract information within procurement systems and tools.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers and service providers.
• Conduct supplier performance reviews and implement improvement plans where required.
• Identify and drive supplier-led innovation, sustainability and productivity initiatives.

Business Partnering

• Partner with internal stakeholders to understand business requirements and provide procurement expertise and commercial guidance.
• Challenge demand and specifications to ensure optimal value, service and risk outcomes.
• Support business planning, budgeting and project activities requiring procurement involvement.

Risk, Compliance & Governance

• Monitor supply market developments, supplier risks and business continuity risks affecting assigned categories.
• Support payment term optimization and working capital improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with internal controls, procurement policies, audit requirements and regulatory obligations.
• Support procurement governance, policy deployment and capability building initiatives across Malaysia and Singapore.

Procurement Transformation

• Support procurement transformation and integration initiatives across Malaysia and Singapore.
• Drive continuous improvement of procurement processes, systems and ways of working.
• Participate in special projects and other procurement-related assignments as required.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or related disciplines.

Professional procurement qualifications (CIPS, ISM or equivalent) will be an advantage.

• Minimum 5–8 years of procurement, sourcing or category management experience.
• Experience leading sourcing projects, supplier negotiations and contract management.
• Experience managing indirect procurement categories in FMCG, manufacturing or multinational environments preferred.
• Experience working across multiple business functions and stakeholders.
• Category Management and Strategic Sourcing.
• Contract Management and Supplier Relationship Management.
• Negotiation and Commercial Management.
• Procurement Analytics and Spend Management.
• Financial and Business Acumen.
• Procurement Governance and Compliance.
• Risk Management and Business Continuity Planning.
• Knowledge of ERP and procurement systems.
• Strong project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Demonstrates leadership through ownership, collaboration and driving results through others.