Strategic Sourcing Manager

About the job

About VAT Group

At VAT, we change the world with vacuum solutions. As the world’s leading supplier of high-performance vacuum valves, we have been driving innovation for more than 60 years. With over 3,200 employees worldwide, we operate from our headquarters in Haag, Switzerland, with manufacturing sites in Switzerland, Malaysia and Romania, as well as sales and service hubs around the world. We are guided by our passions integrity, teamwork, customer centricity, and innovation – always working together as #oneVAT.

Joining us means becoming part of a passionate, international team where your voice is heard, your ideas matter, and your career growth is supported.

Strategic Sourcing Manager

Purpose of the role:

Acting as a business partner to key stakeholders in business (Business Units, Engineering, etc.) and Operations (Supply Chain Operations, Supplier Quality, Production, Materials Management, etc.). The Strategic Sourcing Manager shall sustain the Global Category Management Operating Model and provide the supply capability and capacity at best cost to support the company’s future business needs and protection of brand value.

Responsibilities:

• Management of own material categories (capacity, knowledge management, performance). Focus is on Elastomer, Rubber and Plastics
• Accountable for contributing to the global Direct Material & Supply Base Performance (QCD)
• Representing own direct material categories within the VAT organization
• Accountable for the category specific achievement of the objectives of cost optimization, supply base optimization, geographic sourcing footprint and Best Cost Country Sourcing
• Providing forward-looking guidance on trends, threats and opportunities in own categories (eg. raw materials etc.)
• Active contribution to the bottom-up alignment of the Direct Materials Category Team with the defined / set company objectives
• Interface to BU / Engineering for Strategic Sourcing activities along with the PDP process
• Act as a change agent regarding main stakeholders
• Perform the development of category sourcing strategies applying and complying with defined methods and tools
• Active supplier relationship management of the global supply base within its own category perimeter in alignment with the category teams in Switzerland, Malaysia and Romania

Qualifications:

• A further education in Procurement or equivalent; ideally a Master’s degree or similar
• Preferably 4-8 years of in-depth strategic sourcing experience with a solid working knowledge of global category management direct materials
• Preferably strong experience on the electronic sourcing market dealing with EMS suppliers as well as components
• Demonstrated work experience on category specific production techniques and processes
• Working experience within a global complex organization; an understanding of cross-functional & cross cultural change management is essential
• Strong contract negotiation skills, ideally with practice in global industrial manufacturing companies
• Experience with Power BI or similar data analytics tools preferable
• Solid people and change management skills, stakeholder engagement, cross-functional project leadership skills, strong analytical skills and ability to focus on the essential facts, able to get results through others, able to multi-task, ability to work under pressure
• Fluent in English and good level of German desirable

Our commitment to inclusion, fairness and equal opportunities

We believe in meaningful careers, continuous learning, and equal opportunities for everyone to drive our innovation and success. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace. If you have concerns, our compliance channel is available at our website. All reports are handled with strict confidentiality and in accordance with our Code of Conduct .