Strategic Buyer, Direct Spend

_Ideal Standard is a leading manufacturer of bathroom products in Europe and MENA, providing a broad range of branded products for residential and non-residential end-markets in more than 20 countries. We manufacture products for all of the major product categories in the bathroom products market with an annual turnover of around 725 Mio and we believe our comprehensive offering differentiates us from our competitors. We enjoy leading market positions in many of the largest bathroom products markets in Europe and MENA. We sell our products under a series of well-known international and national brands including Ideal Standard, Porcher, Armitage Shanks, and Vidima. We operate a number of manufacturing plants across Europe and in Egypt, and we employ almost 8,500 people across our business. For over 100 years, our mission has been one of Innovation and Design to make life better for our customers._

**We have an excellent career opportunity for a Strategic Buyer to join our European Sourcing Team**

In this role, you will work on various missions such as strategy development and deployment, supplier management across the business in order to drive value creation and minimize total cost of ownership.

The role involves establishing and building strong relationships with internal stakeholders located in Europe and key direct spend suppliers to achieve goals and develop best practices.

We are looking for
- 3+ years' experience as a (Strategic/Technical) Buyer in Direct Spend Procurement teams
- Experience in a technical product organization, a multi-country manufacturing business
- Master's degree studies in a relevant area (.e.g. Business, Engineering, International Procurement and similar)
- Business fluent in English. Any other language would be an asset.
- Good knowledge of sourcing and procurement techniques, processes and tools.
- Experience in working with cross functional teams internationally. Available to travel internationally.
- Excellent computer skills, experience/familiar with ERP programs.
- Excellent analytical skills.
- Good communication skills.
- An excellent team player.
- Drive for results.
- A self-starter, sense of ownership & urgency.

In this HQ-level role, you will be
- Supporting the creation and implementation of direct spend sourcing strategies that adapt and respond to changes in both external market and internal demand.
- Performing supply market analysis and monitors supply markets. Benchmarking industry and evaluating new opportunities to be included in the sourcing strategies and direct spend supplier selection process.
- Analyzing usage, cost, performance data.
- Performing as the sourcing expert for the specified direct spend products.
- Supporting strategic supplier evaluation process and selection.
- Contributing to negotiations and supports contractual agreements.
- Developing relationships with stakeholders at all levels and ensuring internal customer satisfaction.
- Supporting and monitoring saving projects for the specified products.
- Tracking saving projects and supplier performance.
- Identifying opportunities to implement best-in-class approaches to reduce TCO.
- Contributing to the development of Procurement performance.
- Creating regular reports in the specified spend area.

**Job Types**: Full-time, Permanent

Work Location: Hybrid remote in 54516 Wittlich