Global Category Director

Job description

The Global Supply Management team is responsible for managing and developing the International Purchasing agreements for the Group. With close collaboration with Sodexo’s Food Platform the team will define and implement growth strategies with international suppliers and expand our global footprint and increase our purchasing leverage whilst identifying best practices within Supply Management and driving efficiencies across the Group.

The mission of the newly created role of Global Category Director is to provide leadership in assigned global food categories, to lead, develop and execute procurement strategies that are designed to increase Sodexo’s profitability by optimizing the value of global contracts.

• Lead global sourcing projects, applying Sodexo’s strategic sourcing process, including all key steps such as data collection & analysis, strategy development, business case presentations, supplier negotiation, award recommendations, contract execution, transitioning of the business, and ongoing management.
• Improve Sodexo’s profitability by optimizing the value of global contracts with international suppliers.
• Establish and maintain professional relationships with the international supplier network.
• Become an expert in food categories, maintaining strategic category plans and manage impact of trends and market shifts on Sodexo.
• Develop and maintain strong team work and cooperation with Supply Management colleagues from countries and regions.
• Ensure that contract terms & conditions are being met or exceeded.
• Drive compliance gains. Implement corrective actions as required.
• Plan and execute business reviews and strategy development meetings with suppliers and counterparts to ensure key issues, processes, and opportunities are understood and incorporated into the overall category strategy.
• Leverage innovation, sustainability and growth from global partners
• Work with Finance; to complete the calendar year reconciliation process and ensure cash flow from invoices.Ensure accurate calculation of sourcing savings & company budgetary impact. Accountable for achieving category savings and cash flow targets
• At the beginning of each budget year, build a comprehensive strategic plan to achieve Sodexo’s annual target savings
• Develop internal communication for all new agreements and initiatives.
• Drive proactive, out of the box approaches to sourcing assigned categories. Promotes best practices and benchmark performance.

• Ability to manage in a matrix environment
• Strategic planning skills and analytical skills
• Excellent Negotiation skills
• Facilitation and influencing skills
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills
• Strong project management and implementation skills
• International experience/exposure is a plus
• Excellent communication skills
• Education equivalent to a Bachelors degree + relevant working experience
• Flexibility with regards to International Travel

Sodexo UK & Ireland employs around 36,000 people and delivers On-site Service Solutions to clients at over 2,300 locations including offices, hospitals, schools, defence sites, prisons, sporting events and visitor attractions.

With an annual turnover of over £1bn, Sodexo delivers a diverse range of services from catering, cleaning, reception to security, laboratory and grounds maintenance services, enabling clients to focus on their core business.

Please note a DBS check maybe required