Category Manager - Piping

Are you experienced in piping procurement and can you manage key vendors and develop category strategies in the energy sector?

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We are looking for a Category Manager - Piping to develop and implement strategies for sourcing and managing key piping vendors to ensure project efficiency, cost savings, and long-term vendor relationships.

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Tasks & responsibilities:

• Develop and implement category strategy to enhance competitiveness and support business development.
• Collaborate with technical stakeholders to leverage technical expertise and market knowledge.
• Assess and evaluate key vendors' capabilities, manufacturing processes, and execution models.
• Manage strategically important vendors and source key equipment efficiently on a global scale.
• Ensure projects and operations benefit from procurement strategies through proper implementation.
• Build and maintain long-term relationships with strategic vendors for continuous performance improvement.
• Define future technological requirements for the category in collaboration with Group Engineering and Group Technology.
• Conduct market analysis to align strategy with future project requirements.
• Lead preparation and finalisation of deliverables such as Approved Vendor List, Framework Agreements, and Spend Analysis.
• Set category performance objectives and translate them into vendor management and strategic sourcing goals.
• Lead vendor qualification activities for strategic vendors in the category.
• Support Project Procurement Strategy (PPS) definition and implementation.
• Assist in vendor negotiations for key packages and services.
• Capture and share best practices and lessons learned for continuous improvement.
• Draft Quality Control Plans (QCP) for category-related equipment.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and focal point for key stakeholders on category-related issues.
• Monitor and report Supply Chain (SC) Key Performance Indicators for the category.
• Act as the single point of contact for vendor communication.
• Enhance vendor relationships to achieve greater value and monitor their load level, capacity, and investment plans.
• Identify and manage risks and opportunities related to vendors.
• Support Project & Operations teams in resolving vendor relationship issues.

• 15 years of experience in piping procurement roles within EPCI companies or as a Sales Engineer/Project Manager at vendors.
• Expertise in Piping.
• Strong commercial and negotiation skills.
• Thorough understanding of O&G Technical Standards for critical steel grades.
• Extensive knowledge of European and Chinese Markets.
• Experience in construction sites or manufacturing plants (preferred)