Global Category Manager (21944)

Who we are

We are the patent office for Europe. We are proud to deliver high-quality patents and efficient services that foster innovation, competitiveness and economic growth.

Our vision

We will empower and motivate our staff to set worldwide standards in intellectual property. Our Office will be effective and transparent, respond to the needs of our users and be agile in managing the changing demands and conditions of a dynamic global patent system. Our work will contribute to a safer, smarter and more sustainable world.

Our values

All our relationships within our Office and with partners around the world will prosper through trust, fairness, mutual respect, adaptability, collaboration and a commitment to excellence.

Global Category Manager (21944)

The EPO’s Procurement and Vendor Management principal directorate plays an instrumental role in the day-to-day functioning of the organisation, influencing long-term financial sustainability by ensuring value-for-money spending on services and products. Effective procurement operations are critical to ensure compliance with relevant policies and regulatory requirements in view of the EPO’s prominent role as a leading European public service institution.

In Procurement and Vendor Management, we partner with our internal and external stakeholders effectively via business-focused teams around critical market categories: information and communication technology, facility management / real estate, professional services.

In addition to supporting the strategic direction of the EPO, we also play a key role in a major transformation programme known as Finance 360 that aims to strengthen our role as a business partner for the entire organisation by optimising existing processes, technology and organisational matters. In that context, we are responsible for delivering a range of projects in the area of source-to-pay to support the overall goal of increasing effectiveness, efficiency and transparency.

You will help to deepen the category management approach in the procurement team and transform the way we do business. Your profound market knowledge and background will add to our team’s critical skills. Your sound contract management skills and procurement process knowledge will help us to provide the EPO with better value in the acquisition of assigned goods and services.

Join us now!

With us you will:

• work together with the business unit(s) to develop and implement a procurement plan aligned with the category management strategy for the assigned global category and subordinate categories
• help the business unit(s) to define their functional requirements
• advise, execute and follow up complex procurement dossiers focused on assigned categories, in addition to providing support in other categories as needed
• negotiate the most advantageous commercial agreements for the EPO
• develop cost models to identify improvement opportunities with associated risk analysis
• assess and evaluate suppliers by implementing performance reviews to ensure contract compliance and deploy a professional approach to supplier relationship management
• manage interaction with internal stakeholders in a timely and proactive manner
• deliver high quality reports and documents on award decisions and compliance requirements
• manage KPIs, monitor the efficiency of the procurement service levels and promote the use of standard e-procurement tools and processes
• act as a change agent for the Procurement and Vendor Management roadmap and represent Procurement in meetings with EPO bodies
• ensure and actively promote cross‑team communication with purchasing and vendor management procurement teams
• provide coaching and subject‑matter expertise support to colleagues under the assigned global category
• support Procurement in process optimisation

Apply if you have:

• several years’ experience as a global category manager / lead buyer or similar
  knowledge of the assigned area of category management and the ability to use this knowledge in day-to-day business to optimise the performance of the category
• an understanding of supplier performance management
• an understanding of the business requirements in the category/categories assigned
• knowledge of compliance regulations
• an understanding of processes and documents linked to tender procedures, the ability to execute (public) tender procedures, draft and check functional requirements
• the ability to perform bid analysis in a structured manner
• a sound understanding of the different contract types and respective legal consequences relevant for procurement
• an understanding of risk management and its relevance for procurement and the ability to manage and mitigate procurement-related risks
• an understanding of the processing of sourcing requests in alignment with the EPO’s Financial Regulations and the ability to execute them
• the ability to perform commercial offer evaluation in a structured manner
• expertise in the use of MS Office applications (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) in day-to-day business
• experience in P2P and proficiency in using the Ivalua tool (would be a distinct asset)
• the ability to use the ERP system(s) in place

Our minimum requirements for this post

• Diploma of completed studies at master’s level or – in exceptional cases – equivalent professional experience
• Generally, an excellent knowledge (at least C1) of one official language (English, French and German) and ability to understand the other two; alternatively, excellent knowledge (at least C1) of at least one official language (in such cases, the willingness to learn the missing language(s) and to reach level B2 within a set time frame would be required)
• Citizenship of one of the member states of the European Patent Organisation

Process

Candidates are kindly asked to upload an updated CV and outline their motivation in the designated application field (character limit 4000). If so wished, the motivation letter can also be uploaded as a Word or pdf attachment under “Application document” in SuccessFactors. In this case, please indicate in the designated field “Please refer to attached motivation letter”.

The successful candidate will be selected on the basis of qualifications, competencies, professional experience and language knowledge, supplemented as appropriate by interviews, tests and/or a personality questionnaire.

A reserve list may be constituted, should more candidates than required at this time be considered suitable following the selection procedure. Such reserve lists are valid for 18 months and reserve list candidates may be contacted, should a vacancy with substantially the same profile arise during that period.

More information on how we recruit can be found on our EPO jobs and careers site.

Key information

Job group: 4

Grade: G7 to G10 (net (basic) monthly salary* for this vacancy: EUR 5 901 to 9 620, depending on experience and location)

Duration of appointment: Five years, with the possibility of extension

Career path: Technical

Location: Office-wide

Application deadline: 1 September 2024

Interviews planned for: 11 – 27 September 2024

* after deduction of EPO-internal tax and before deduction of staff contributions to the social security and pension schemes.

We welcome all applications for vacant positions. We consider each on its professional merits – regardless of your nationality, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, parental responsibilities, age, religion or belief.

Diversity & Inclusivity:

We believe that diversity is fundamental to our success. Our inclusive work environment respects, values and celebrates our individual differences. We want you to be yourself at work.Join us on this exciting journey to a more digital, collaborative and sustainable organisation.