General Manager : Central Category Mgmt at Transnet

Position Purpose

• Provide leadership and direction across the function, driving effective category management and strategic sourcing for centrally managed categories, namely Indirect, Fuel, Infrastructure, Equipment and Maintenance Services. Formulate strategic objectives of the function, monitoring performance against stated objectives. Drive consistent approach towards all central category management and sourcing activity aligned to the governance framework of the business, ensuring that value for money is maximised and cost-savings are generated for Transnet.

Position Outputs

Strategic leadership of centrally managed categories (Indirect, Fuel, Infrastructure and Equipment and Maintenance Services):

• Accountable for the overarching implementation and execution of category management and strategic sourcing processes (incl. demand planning, supplier market assessment and supplier negotiations), managing associated risks / mitigating issues as required for the categories under management.
• Plan, articulate and create focus around the medium and long term strategic direction for the categories under management to enable effective demand planning, management and execution within Transnet;
• Implement, develop and lead centre-led category teams in the development and implementation of category strategies and plans to support strategic objectives.

Functional leadership of the central category management function:

• Lead category management teams in identifying opportunities to leverage economies of scale and develop proposals and recommendations for consideration and approval by the appropriate Transnet stakeholders
• Lead the category management teams in developing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the sourcing of goods and services to achieve efficiencies by eliminating waste from the supply chain;
• Evaluate and understand market conditions in order to guide the category management teams to develop competitive category management and sourcing strategies to control costs
• Lead category management teams in conducting comprehensive needs and business requirements analyses with stakeholders and end users across the business to ensure effective demand management
• Implement the relevant policies and procedures for cost effective and efficient category management and strategic sourcing
• Drive the transformation agenda by incorporating and implementing effective ESD strategies within the category management strategies, after consultation with the Head of Localisation and BBBEE and relevant stakeholders across the business;
• Lead the category management teams to develop, manage and deploy high value contracts to ensure the business meets its contractual obligations and derives the desired value;
• Lead the category management teams to conduct effective supplier negotiations to achieve the best quality, delivery, and price for products and services; and
• Sign-off category strategies for centrally managed categories.

Manage strategic initiatives:

• Lead and contribute to business initiatives that are designed to improve supply chain efficiency, maintain product quality standards, and reduce costs.

Manage functional area budget:

• Compile and manage functional area budget;
• Monitor progress against approved budget;
• Ensure financial procedures are followed, monitor cost expectations, participate in review of costs, identify and resolve discrepancies; and
• Approve and authorise expenditures aligned to approved budget, Transnet’s DoA framework and policy for processing

Compliance, Performance Monitoring and Reporting:

• Enforce standards and standardisation with regard to category management and sourcing processes as per the latest governance manuals and processes;
• Ensure that the legal, regulatory and policy requirements are complied with by the business and its suppliers, with input and support from the SCM Compliance and Legal teams at Transnet;
• Provide critical input into policy and process improvement initiatives;
• Track identified, captured and realised cost savings and regularly report on these; and
• Manage SLAs with end-users and track performance of the function, providing regular reporting on these, effectively communicating with end-users and managing their requirements / expectations and team performance where issues arise.

Stakeholder management:

• Communicate the vision and objectives of the function to relevant stakeholders across the business;
• Ensure the effective integration and coordination of related activities between Category Management and other key functions in the SCM value chain, namely, Contract Management, Supplier Relationship Management, SCM Compliance, Localisation and BBBEE and Systems and Data;
• Provide strategic decision-making guidance and support to the GCPO on critical aspects relating to Transnet’s SCM function;
• Provide regular feedback on progress and performance; and
• Highlight or escalate issues timeously to the relevant stakeholders.

Capability development:

• Drive capability development initiatives for central category management across Transnet;
• Agree performance measures, ongoing performance management and appraisal for direct reports;
• Agree skills development plans for direct reports;
• Implement succession planning in the function as part of talent management across Transnet;
• Lead capability development for category management across Transnet, by providing focused training initiatives on category strategies, processes and systems; and
• Drive the values and behaviours required to create a positive motivational culture in SCM across Transnet, with specific reference to Category Management.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Commerce, Law or any other relevant degree.
• 7-10 years of supply chain-related experience in large enterprise.
• 3-5 years management experience
• MCIPS certification and CIPS membership required
• MBA or related postgraduate qualification advantageous
• Proven track record of working within cross-functional teams to drive successful delivery
• PFMA, PPPFA, and public sector Procurement experience will be an added advantage