Category Buyer

About your future job

Imagine your job being a career opportunity where you can develop yourself and grow into a position where you can make the difference. A position where you lead cross-functional teams working closely together with our partners and suppliers to source the best solutions for our customers all over the world. Solutions that help our customers to defend themselves and enable them to fulfill their missions.

Pleasure in your job is essential to us. As Category Buyer (CB) you are part of a motivated and driven Thales Netherlands Procurement team and equally motivated and driven Global Category team.

You will be working on a dedicated Procurement Category portfolio within the segment ‘Systems & Equipment’. You will negotiate and procure complete subsystems as part of the overall defense solution, for example a jammer system for a naval ship, but also supply chain items that will be built into our radar and other systems. In the development of your professional skills you will be coached by an experienced team member and you will also be supported by the local and global Procurement team in learning about the extensive Thales Procurement tools, processes and sourcing strategies.

You will pro-actively contribute to the establishment of our category strategies in line with the business needs of our Thales Netherlands organization. We expect you to ensure competitiveness, quality and timely delivery for your scope. You will contribute to – or even lead - the full procurement process from requisition until end of contract, whereby you are supported by a multi-disciplinary team with subject matter experts from Engineering, Legal, Finance.

You build close relations with your suppliers in order to make supplier knowledge and competitiveness available to the benefit of Thales products and services. We trust your ability to negotiate and bridge gaps to satisfy the needs of your stakeholders and suppliers. We expect you to develop a strong procurement representation within our internal organization and deliver results from your supplier negotiations which match the key business interests of Thales. Your coach will help further in refining your skills and expertise.

Your responsibilities and tasks include:

• Contributing to the long-term procurement strategy for your category:
• Contributing to the category strategy, that meets the regional and global business objectives;
• Actively sourcing, assessing and qualifying potential suppliers;
• Understanding the demand for the type of activities across Thales;
• Contribute to collating and optimizing the demand;
• Support setting up contractual agreements;
• Analyzing and support reporting on Spend Management;
• With the support of your coach and Global Category Manager, keeping abreast of industry/ family best practices.
• Contributing to (or even take the lead in) the tendering process for bids and projects:
• Contribute to execution of the sourcing strategy through a disciplined RFI/RFP tendering process;
• Contribute to managing the RFP process, which includes creation of RFP package, release to market, review supplier responses, provide recommendations;
• Support to identifying and managing risks and opportunities with your team;
• Contribute to identifying and achieving cost reductions and improvements in cooperation with the suppliers and stakeholders
• Contribute to challenging and influencing the design and/ or specification to generate additional business benefits including savings;
• Support to defining the negotiation strategy and the contract negotiation;
• Prepare (senior) management meetings and present to obtain approvals / decisions;
• Support the project execution teams in handling contractual escalations.

Why you'd be a good match

We are in search for an enthusiastic and motivated colleague who is/has:

• completed higher education
• affinity with Procurement
• an interest to work in a high-tech business
• eager to learn and develop
• pro-active
• able to build good relationships with external and internal stakeholders
• good communication skills
• good level of English, German and French are a plus

LR08 ​55-60

What's in it for you

• A challenging job in a great team within our high-tech, innovative work environment. Includes the freedom for initiative and good ideas.
• Room for personal and professional growth within our organization, for example in regards to technical, commercial or international skills.
• Valuable international collaboration with coworkers from 68 different countries around the globe.
• A comfortable work space in a modern environment, with a focus on flexibility and the right work life balance.
• You can usually work where and whenever you want. Within Thales, we aim for a 60/40 balance, where you work from home at least two days a week, when your role allows this.
• A good salary, fitting travel allowance, and the ability to personalize your employment conditions: for instance, you can trade PTO for internet costs, our bicycle plan, company fitness and relocation costs.
• 40 days off per year (PTO). Yes, really.