Category Manager: Corporate Services at The South African Breweries (SAB)

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Responsible to support the development of Category Strategies within Corporate Services Category, which falls under the control of the Regional Procurement office (RPO) in line with Procurement Excellence Program requirements.
• Responsible for the successful execution of Category Strategies across all 11 markets in Africa Zone in line with Procurement Excellence Program requirements.
• Provide Regional support for Categories managed centrally by the Global Procurement Office (GPO).
• Recommend & embed ways of working for Procurement interface with all stakeholders across the business.
• Provide commercial advice and work jointly with internal stakeholders to implement best practice and management of Procurement principles across Africa Zone.
• Manage stakeholder relationships across different functions in the organization to drive value through centrally negotiated agreements.
• Manage Supplier relationships and resolve disputes in collaboration with functional counterparts.

Strategic Category Sourcing:

• Ownership of Simple Packages for the RPO through data analytics related to the Categories and plan for execution.
• Definition and execution of Category Strategies; This includes mitigation of risks within the Category and creating value through identified opportunities.
• Analyse spend and user specific requirements for all sub-packages within the Category.
• Conduct market research to assess Zone dynamics related to the Category and use research outcomes for future planning and value generation in line with company strategy.
• Develop, in conjunction with GPO/Zone counterparts, Category Strategies for each sub-package, as guiding documents for value generation within the Category.
• Manage supplier relationships and internal & external collaborations across the Corporate Services scope.
• Negotiation with suppliers which results in compliant contract agreements beneficial to the business.

Support Sourcing Strategy Execution:

• Ensure readiness across both Zone and country for strategy execution.
• Resolve and escalate supplier performance issues where necessary.
• Support Collaborative Optimization activities where applicable.
• Handle second level escalations with suppliers/internal stakeholders to resolve performance issues.
• Collaborate with supplier and internal stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of Category Manager sourcing outputs / agreements.
• Ensure suppliers are correctly enabled through the PSS.
• Ensure contractual terms & conditions are effectively “operationalised” within business.
• Support collection and analysis of Zone ZBB, WAPT, eAuction analytics and driving Champions initiatives across all sub-packages within scope.
• Accountable for monthly reporting as per the KPIs within the Corporate Services packages.
• Drive collaboration between RPO, PSS, GPO, FP&A, and other parties involved in daily Category activities.
• Track sourcing events and projects to ensure delivery of targets and support business operations.
• Enhance and develop ways of working with Country, RPO, and GPO counterparts.

Continuous Improvement:

• Execute regional and country big bet initiatives in line with the Champions methodology.
• Execute regional value engineering projects across the Category.
• Define and executive innovation and sustainability strategies within sub-packages in scope.
• Drive supplier development initiatives with supporting functions within the company.

Supply Chain & Risk Management:

• Optimize the Supply Chain to drive value for the business by being responsive to business and customer needs – e.g., budget spend control, best practice implementation, benchmarking and use of KPIs to drive monthly business performance visibility.
• Identify and manage risks in the Supply Chain within scope.
• Ensure appropriate mitigation plans are in place and that risks are communicated appropriately within business through appropriate channels (i.e., R&O and T&M monthly routines).

Finance:

• Drive and deliver effective budgets as agreed with key stakeholders.
• Track and report on initiatives monthly.
• Monitor and report on monthly spend and Latest Estimate (LE) forecast.

Minimum Requirements:

• University Degree
• Minimum 2 years’ management experience
• Basic knowledge of finance and accounting allowing the ability to run/read analysis P&L and balance sheet
• Communicating effectively by conveying information and ideas in a clear, meaningful, and timely manner, providing information to ensure understanding across different levels in the company
• Pan African / Regional or Global Category management experience
• Sound knowledge and understanding of Procurement strategic sourcing methodologies
• Good knowledge, understanding and use of Microsoft Office tools
• Sound knowledge of Procurement systems such as Ariba
• Knowledge of SAP is an advantage