Caterpillar Looking for Category Buyer II – Global IT Professional Services at Chennai, Tamil Nadu Full Time

Career Area:
Purchasing & Procurement

Job Description:
Job Responsibilities and Duties:
To serve as the primary contact between Caterpillar and the supply base for global initiatives, including filling the functional seat for commercial discussions/negotiations with suppliers, being the recognized expert for his or her assigned portion of the global IT services category and supporting the development and execution of global IT services category strategies. Other key aspects of the role are as follows:

Supplier Lead: to help to manage the global supplier relationship including but not limited to supplier relationship management., supplier performance management., cost management., risk management., and category network management. This role is responsible and accountable for directing the development, and/or communication and implementation of worldwide IT services sourcing strategy. Responsible for development, management and execution of the global IT services category strategy managing policies, agreements, source catalogues, and special procurement programs.

Leadership: provide leadership for strategic IT services sourcing, business continuity, supplier risk management – capacity & financial, logistics, contract management, supplier commercial negotiations, cost/spend management, supplier on boarding/off boarding, lead/response time optimization and resource management decisions. Lead continuous improvement initiatives activities within Purchasing. Demonstrate leadership in recognizing the potential for cost reductions, and quality improvement, as well as responsibility for soundness of business proposals and risk assessment. Mentor and develop other Buyers and Purchasing Analysts (where assigned). Promote the highest level of professionalism and business ethics.

Accountability and Management : Be able to handle a substantial flow of projects with challenging/expedited deadlines. Actively facilitate and manage procurement from start to finish with a hands-on approach. Be able to propel, steer and guide contracts through completion drawing upon excellent people skills, working efficiently with internal BU Stakeholders, Service Owners, Subject Matter Experts, Legal, Tax as well as others as appropriate to resolve negotiation issues in a timely manner to complete a deal through to execution. A strong relationship of mutual trust and accountability must be developed and maintained with internal BU’s.

Legal: Draft, negotiate, and execute contractual documents including master consulting agreements, master purchasing agreements, master services agreements, and master cloud service agreements, statements of work, service level agreements, and other procurement related legal documents.

Strategy: lead IT services strategic sourcing and supply base strategy development and subsequent execution for the IT services Category portfolio.

Supplier Development: Collaborate with suppliers and Business Units & Vendor Management Office to ensure continuous improvement with key suppliers. Build and foster mutually beneficial supplier relationships at all organizational levels.

Skills and Experience:
Candidates will have gained the following skills and experience through previous roles:

Bachelor’s Degree (preferably in Business, Finance, Purchasing/Supply Chain, Law or IT) or equivalent ( CIPS Level 6 / NVQ Level 4 ) or progressive experience in sourcing/purchasing for Indirect, Direct or IT Categories.

Basic understanding of business and IT strategy/planning and overall understanding of IT solutions, capabilities and project lifecycle.

Expert communicator: proficient in building collaborative and trusted partnerships to work across a internal matrix organization and external Supplier network.

Well-developed interpersonal skills, acting with integrity in tough and emotive situations; able to mediate and reach consensus within a group environment.

Candidates may have gained the following skills and experience through previous roles:

Demonstrated understanding of category deliverables, savings commitments, milestones and obligations, and establish a project plan to meet them.

Support development of category strategies based on rigorous analysis of spend data, supply market dynamics, category intelligence, and business requirements.

Analytical, problem solving, and project leadership expertise.

Maintain knowledge of current IT trends, vendor capabilities and changes within the technology landscape for traditional and emerging solutions.

Manage and optimizing supplier performance including contract compliance, continuous improvement, innovations, and reduction in total cost of ownership (TCO).

Professional certification in purchasing management or supply chain management

Established negotiator; able to interpret, analyse, and negotiate contractual cost elements.

Proactive and motivated to thrive in an autonomous working environment

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO).

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