Contract Manager Metals

Are you ready to make an impact in high-tech procurement?

At Lely, we develop innovative, high-tech solutions that make the lives of dairy farmers more enjoyable, sustainable, and efficient. As Contract Manager Metals, you play a vital role in enabling supplier innovation and ensuring that our suppliers deliver metal components on time, within budget, and at the highest quality standards—critical for our business continuity.

Whether you're a junior eager to grow, a medior with proven experience, or a senior seeking a fresh challenge, Lely offers a dynamic and forward-thinking environment where you’ll tackle procurement challenges at all levels. This is your opportunity to grow, contribute, and make a real impact.

In this role, you are, within a category team, end-to-end responsible for primary managing suppliers and managing and renewing supplier contracts within your category and supplier scope. You work closely with colleagues from Product Development, Proposition Management, Operations, and other teams within the Integrated Supply Chain, as well as external partners. You involve procurement early in product changes and collaborate with suppliers on joint innovations.

You build trust-based relationships, monitor supplier performance, and drive continuous improvement. You also execute sourcing and contracting projects aligned with category strategy and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Foster long-term relationships with suppliers and monitor their performance on quality, logistics, technology, cost, and compliance.
• Assess and mitigate supply risks at both supplier and item level to ensure continuity and reliability.
• Draft, manage, and improve contracts and framework agreements, ensuring compliance and maximizing value.
• Negotiate price, quality, and delivery terms, including contract renewals and (semi-)annual price agreements.
• Lead sourcing and contracting projects, and select suppliers for technical projects from an existing pool.
• Contribute to value engineering, cost reduction initiatives, continuous development projects, and procurement-related improvement efforts.

You thrive in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment where no two days are the same. You take initiative, think critically, and have a commercial mindset. Building strong relationships comes naturally to you, and you’re always looking for ways to improve.

You bring:

• A completed Bachelor’s degree in Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or a technical field;
• At least 3 years of experience in strategic and/or tactical procurement, preferably in high-tech or manufacturing environments;
• Experience with manufacturing and/or series production processes is a plus;
• Strong negotiation and contract management skills;
• Knowledge of ERP systems and analytical tools;
• Excellent communication skills in English, both spoken and written;
• A valid driver’s license for supplier visits;
• Willingness to travel internationally (approx. 10–20%).

Do you want to help shape the future of farming and contribute to Lely’s IMPACT30 strategy? Then this is your opportunity!

Working at Lely means contributing to sustainable progress within one of the most innovative organizations in the Netherlands. You contribute to making the agricultural sector future-proof - and we make sure that you get all the space, resources and support you need to do so.

• An international working environment with opportunities for own initiative and entrepreneurship.
• Excellent working conditions, including up to 8 weeks of vacation per year and a good pension scheme.
• A salary within the scale of € 4,089 - € 5,841 gross per month, in which we like to see opportunities for growth from your starting salary towards the future
• Good growth opportunities: you are in control of your development and can choose from various training courses through our Lely Academy - from personal development to job-specific training.
• Our modern Lely Campus offers daily access to extensive sports facilities: an indoor gym, outdoor padel courts, an outdoor basketball and volleyball court, table tennis and table soccer. You can join Hyrox workouts or sign up for personal training - and challenge your colleagues during an active break.
• Enjoy fresh coffee and tea from our own barista, with milk straight from our farm, as well as a healthy and affordable company restaurant.
• A healthy work-life balance thanks to our hybrid work policy: you work at least three days a week on Campus, with flexible working hours and plenty of room to spend extra time on site (between 06:00 and 20:00).
• A free shuttle bus will take you to and from the metro in Maassluis, so your workday starts and ends smoothly.
• Successes need to be celebrated: from anniversaries to Christmas parties - at Lely we know how to do it!

Lely, founded in 1948, is committed to creating a sustainable, profitable, and enjoyable future in agriculture. Driven by the challenges farmers face and the needs of cows, we develop high-quality robots and data systems that enhance animal welfare, flexibility, and productivity on dairy farms. Our mission is to support sustainable food production.

For over 30 years, we have been a global leader in the sales and service of automated systems for successive generations of dairy farmers. Every day, we inspire our colleagues to provide customers with innovative solutions and to be a reliable partner for long-term advice and support. With our state-of-the-art Lely Campus in Maassluis and a global network of dedicated Lely Centers offering tailored sales and service, Lely operates in more than fifty countries.