Local Category Specialists - Woking

Company overview
Asahi Europe & International is a premium scale brewery group headquartered in Prague with operations spanning Czech, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, UK and with exports to over 90 countries. With over 128 years of history, our portfolio includes premium local and international brands including Pilsner Urquell, Tyskie, Dreher, Kozel, Peroni, Grolsch and Japan’s most well-known beer Asahi Super Dry. With 15 world class breweries and around 10,000 people, we leverage our scale, our heritage, our brands as well as the capability and passion of our people to accelerate growth and the development of the category both locally and abroad.

Functional overview
AEI Procurement is aspiring to be a partner of choice for internal clients as well as for external suppliers; trusted for being an inspirational business advocate, connecting people and driving a sustainable procurement value, while aiming to achieve operational and transactional excellence to ensure business continuity.
Excellence in Procurement is achieved through establishing strong partnership for strategic internal and external cooperation, acting innovatively and in an agile manner responding to disruptions and challenges influencing the business. Independently whether Procurement people are based in Prague, Bucharest, Warsaw or any other location, there is a one direction approach used to maximize value delivery in consistent way.
Cost and Net Working Capital efficiency are equally important as a proactive risk management is. The aspiration for continuity, sustainability and circular economy is reflected in all of Procurements activities. Moreover, Procurement employees are not only experts in their categories, but also ambassadors for corporate social responsibility. Following the company`s principles, Procurement thinks globally and acts locally.

Main purpose of the job
Manage and develop team consisting of Local Category Specialists. Act as expert for the own category in the local market and voice local business needs with group category teams. Implement the category strategy locally with the objective to drive a sustainable procurement value, and actively manage risks and stakeholders. Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the relevant market mechanics and trends.

Accountabilities and deliverables
Support the group category manager in defining and implementing category strategy for efficient sourcing aligned to business needs / priorities. Negotiate contracts and support LCS as needed in negotiation and contract implementation.
Define, implement and keep strategies for locally managed categories up-to-date aligned to business needs / priorities while striving for operational and transactional excellence and driving Procurement`s CSR and sustainability agenda.
Perform analysis using internal as well as external data to understand impact of market trends, competitors and suppliers on internal business requirements and vice versa.
Proactively involve with / manage stakeholders to understand their business and requirements to provide meaningful and relevant support.
Promote one team spirit between countries and categories to enable best practices, synergies and leverage.
Deliver against procurement KPIs, monitor and track results, initiate actions in case of deviations focusing on value creation and operational efficiency.
Manage supplier relationship, support classification and categorization of suppliers including supplier evaluation, accreditation and performance / quality controls.
Ensure in cooperation with relevant functions (Legal, Tax etc) that contracts with suppliers are in place.
Manage category/supplier related risks such as price volatility, supplier stability and volume assurance.
Acting as a change agent, drive discussions with business and lead continuous improvement projects aiming to deliver further Total Cost of Ownership and Integrated Spend Management opportunities.

We are committed to nurturing a workplace where we celebrate and respect difference, and support everyone to be true to who they are! At Asahi Europe and International we believe you can SHINE AS YOU ARE – no matter your age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We want to support you to be courageous in your individuality and to know that whoever you are and whatever your circumstances, you can belong with us without having to conform.