Director, Direct Procurement and Procurement Excellence (m/f/d)

• Director, Direct Procurement & Procurement Excellence
• About the Opportunity
• Our client is a leading organisation within the

Life Sciences sector , developing innovative healthcare technologies that support critical patient outcomes around the world.

Operating within a highly regulated and fast-evolving environment, the business is committed to advancing medical innovation, strengthening global supply chains, and delivering excellence across its procurement and operations functions.

As part of continued investment in its global procurement organisation, the company is seeking a

Director of Category Management & Procurement Excellence to lead a strategically important function overseeing direct materials procurement, category management, procurement excellence, and supplier strategy.

The Role

Based in Germany, this leadership position sits within a global procurement team and carries responsibility for a significant direct materials spend portfolio across categories including precision materials, outsourced manufacturing, and electronics.

You will lead category management and procurement excellence activities on a global scale, ensuring the organisation delivers supply security, cost optimisation, risk mitigation, innovation, and long-term supplier partnerships.

In addition to strategic category ownership, you will drive procurement transformation initiatives, enhance organisational capability, and develop a best-in-class procurement function capable of supporting future business growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Category Management
• Develop and execute global sourcing and category strategies across critical direct material spend categories.
• Build and maintain a robust supplier network capable of supporting quality, innovation, continuity of supply, and long-term business growth.
• Lead strategic supplier relationship management initiatives to maximise value creation and supplier performance.
• Drive total cost of ownership improvements through procurement excellence and cross-functional collaboration.
• Strengthen risk management, contracting strategies, and supplier capacity planning across key categories.
• Procurement Excellence & Transformation
• Define and execute the procurement excellence roadmap.
• Standardise and improve procurement processes, governance, reporting, and analytics capabilities.
• Lead the adoption of new tools, methodologies, and best practices that improve organisational effectiveness.
• Collaborate with global stakeholders to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence across procurement activities.
• Leadership & Team Development
• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing international procurement team.
• Build category management capabilities across the organisation through coaching, mentoring, and talent development initiatives.
• Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and performance excellence.
• Drive succession planning and capability building to support long-term organisational growth.
• Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Engagement
• Partner with senior leaders across supply chain, operations, quality, engineering, R&D, finance, and commercial functions.
• Influence strategic business decisions through data-driven procurement insights and market intelligence.
• Support key corporate initiatives including business continuity planning, network optimisation, and long-range business planning.
• Represent procurement at senior leadership forums and cross-functional governance meetings.

About You

We are looking for a commercially driven procurement leader with deep experience managing complex global supply chains within highly regulated industries.

You will bring

• 15+ years of procurement and/or supply chain experience, including significant strategic sourcing and category management responsibility.
• Strong leadership experience managing large, international procurement teams.
• Proven success developing and executing global category strategies for direct materials.
• Extensive experience in supplier relationship management, risk management, procurement transformation, and cost optimisation.
• Strong understanding of category management, contract management, supply chain integration, procurement governance, and performance management.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and lead complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Outstanding communication, stakeholder engagement, and people development capabilities.
• Fluent English and German language skills.
• A degree-level qualification, with an MBA or advanced degree considered advantageous.

What's on Offer?

• A highly visible global leadership position within a growing Life Sciences organisation.
• Ownership of strategically critical procurement categories that directly impact business performance and patient outcomes.
• The opportunity to lead procurement transformation and shape the future direction of a global procurement function.
• Significant exposure to executive stakeholders and enterprise-wide strategic initiatives.
• A collaborative and innovative environment that values leadership, continuous improvement, and professional growth.
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