Category Buyer

Category Buyer

Requirements

• A Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration or a related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• A minimum of seven (7) years in Procurement or related functions. Preferred experience with an increasingly higher level of authority and accountability.
• Certifications in project management & purchasing are preferred (i.e. PMP, CPP).
• Knowledge of Business Case Analysis & Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Approach.
• Procurement process and advanced negotiation skill.
• Project Management – Excellent skills to motivate multi-functional teams in situations of often conflicting objectives (Internal Customer, Supplier, Budget) to perform in-country RFx and procurement projects.
• Knowledge of North American supplier base and cost structure.
• Awareness on applicable Laws (labor, IP, international trade).
• Preferable knowledge of additional functions including: finance, negotiation and communication skills.
• Proven leadership capabilities and team working skills that can be applied in a complex matrix organization.
• Analytical capacities to synthesize large quantities of complex data to generate meaningful insights.
• Capable of living up to the Airbus Integrity Principles, consistently demonstrating ethical leadership behaviors.
• Proactive nature and strong self-initiative in an unstructured environment.
• Ability to identify and solve complex problems and manage conflict.

Responsibilities

• General Procurement focal point for Management and Operations for the any internal customers within the region (i.e. Mobile Final Assembly Line, Corporate office, etc.) for assigned scope.
• Support Internal Customer (IC) organizations (or teams) and General Procurement in creating and formulating the sourcing strategy by providing data about local suppliers.
• Work closely with the global General Procurement commodities and drive local multi-functional teams (MFTs) to maximize visibility on procurement planning.
• Establish and ensure regular two-way communication with key functional and local customers; manage the integration with assigned General Procurement commodities in North America and worldwide.
• ‘Local for Global’ – Identification of key/niche areas where the company can plan offshoring and manage the complete outsourcing cycle in alignment with commodity strategy. Act as primary procurement contact for these suppliers in alignment with the assigned commodity.
• Supplier Relationship Management – Responsible for building relations with suppliers of assigned commodities, and identifying new vendors.
• Lead Commodity Multi Divisional Teams (MDT) in RFP/RFI Process for assigned commodities. Values of projects will vary, but generally around $1,000,000 per event. Some RFP/RFI values may be well over $1,000,000 in certain cases.
• Develop procurement plans and identify opportunities within assigned commodities which support savings program targets at Airbus Americas. Escalate blockages to Key Account Manager or Regional Director, as needed.
• Manage the relationship with internal business partners, across multiple Airbus divisions, to achieve target levels of customer satisfaction.
• Responsible for all Operational and Regional Sourcing activities with focus on an assigned commodity.
• Perform ‘Local for Local’ procurement activities in alignment with the global commodities’ strategy, based on GP terms and regulations.
• Support ‘Global for Local’ procurement activities to provide local insight and support to global and other regional buyers leading sourcing projects.
• Responsible for creation, negotiation and management of contract terms and conditions and communicated with all stakeholders.
• Provide leadership and coaching to less experienced team members.
• Provide support & input to General Procurement Directors/Key Account Manager to set realistic and achievable goals for the team based on commodity strategy, suggested operational improvements.
• Drive compliance to Airbus General Procurement and related processes through robust communication with internal customers.
• Resolve general procurement process blockages and recommend solutions to operational and contractual problems.
• Monitor and, when needed, initiate actions to facilitate timely payment to the supplier minimizing disruption of Airbus processes.
• Report savings to the Shared Services organization in a timely way through the standard mechanisms.
• Drive non-flying procurement contributions to projects affecting assigned teams / organizations / commodities. Ensure strong liaison with all GP in the Americas, GP in Europe and relevant business partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications in project management & purchasing are preferred (i.e. PMP, CPP).
• Expert experience in procurement tools (i.e. SAP, Ariba, Coupa, Oracle, etc) is preferred.