Senior Buyer

The role of Senior Buyer is responsible for the strategic sourcing of a certain material/service field and its subcategories. 
This position is reporting functionally to the Head of Global Category and directly to the Regional Cluster Manager and steers the implementation of the respective Category Strategy. 
The global approach creates an added value for all Business Areas in terms of commercial, logistical and even technical enhancements, i.e. sustainable total cost reduction, support quality initiatives for internal customers, prolongation of payment terms, warranty and liability optimization, ensuring the worldwide availability of materials and services, data transparency and process improvements as well as strengthening of relationship to strategic Business Partners (internally and externally).

Stakeholder Partnership:

▪ Act as interface and represent the interests of Continental and the Purchasing Community towards all internal and external stakeholders (e.g. Engineering, Plants, Suppliers);
▪ Understands the business and purchasing strategy to derive actions for own managed category;
▪ Guide, support and train local and central stakeholders to execute with the right tools, methods and processes.

Category Management:

▪ Develop and sustain (supplier) strategy for respective integrated category in alignment with all relevant stakeholders and supervisors (e.g. Engineering, Regions, Plants) and in compliance with all relevant purchasing processes, guidelines and procedures;
▪ Understand multiple data management systems and manage data analytics for the respective integrated category (identify spend profile and concentration, estimate / predict demand etc);
▪ Turns strategy into concrete actions and tangible goals as well as defining, monitoring and reporting relevant KPIs to track progress where applicable;
▪ Ensures stakeholder satisfaction through transparent and early communication / involvement;
▪ Drive the adoption of digital tools and procurement technologies (e.g., e-sourcing platforms, AI-driven analytics) to enhance efficiency, transparency, and decision-making.

Supplier Management:

▪ Analysis of the global supplier market and conduction of benchmark analysis to derive actions for the global supplier portfolio ;
▪ Implements and maintains sustainable supplier relationship and conducts Strategic Supplier Meetings to deploy the global integrated category strategy;
▪ Responsible for steering the annual supplier evaluation and derives development programs where needed;
▪ Performs annual and regular negotiations to constantly improve the cost situation for respective integrated category, actively drives improvement or Total Cost of Ownership programs with suppliers;
▪ Monitor if supplier acts in line with Continentals Business Partner Code of Conduct (BPCoC), responsible value chain (RVC) rules and processes and takes actions accordingly;
▪ Initiates the New Supplier Introduction Process.

Purchase to pay:

▪ Approval and negotiations of shopping carts and Purchase Requisitions; 
▪ Creates and sends Purchase Orders to the suppliers (Purchase to Pay process);
▪ Realization of saving opportunities by bundling operational demands, substitution of suppliers, negotiations of payment-/delivery terms and warranty extensions ;
▪ Clearance of invoice deviations in case of price difference;
▪ Management of the RfQ-Process for demands/shopping carts, offer evaluation, creation of offer comparison, including the awarding of suppliers;
▪ Identification and support on the creation of electronic catalogs to reduce manual processing requirements, while promoting the usage of existing ones;
▪ Different reporting of the repetitive bought items in scope of increase automation.;
▪ Steering and Monitoring the automated replenishment process for coded materials;
▪ Support for specialists in clarifying differences in the region within the catalogs used;
▪ Ensure necessary transparency and documentation of supplier decisions according to compliance guidelines (e.g. Sourcing Decision Sheet);
▪ Detect new suppliers and optimize number of existing suppliers;
▪ Sustainable reduction of purchasing prices in consideration of functional and quality aspects;
▪ Escalation Management/Problem Solving by executing approaches with the aim to secure local objectives;
▪ Offer support for market surveys;
▪ Implement measures and support the Category and Sourcing team in reaching team's common targets;
▪ Ensure Compliance with Business Partner Code of Conduct, Continental Ethics and Values and all Corporate Guidelines;

Source to Contract:

▪ Autonomous preparation, conduction and finalization of international negotiations for own integrated category including supplier decisions compliant with the relevant internal policies (incl. audit-compliant documentation) with the target to achieve the defined goals and a special focus on highest value creation (e.g. with support of Terms & Conditions (TCO) analysis);
▪ Drives make or buy scenarios, optimizes bundling effects and initiates Value-Engineering projects;
▪ Conduct complaint and claim negotiations with special strategic interest which can’t be performed independently by the local units;
▪ Effective management of contract lifecycle for both existing and new contract agreements - compliant with the relevant internal policies (incl. audit-compliant documentation) -  in order to ensure performance, financial and operational success; 
▪ Ensure Compliance with Business Partner Code of Conduct, Continental Ethics and Values and all Corporate Guidelines.

Project Management:

▪ Lead or participate in projects with relevance for owned category or within the purchasing organization.

Sustainability:

▪ Integrate sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) criteria into sourcing decisions, supplier selection, and performance evaluation.

• University Degree or other equivalent degree;
• Advanced English skills;
• Professional experience in Purchasing (or similar functions) in an international environment
• Advanced experience working in projects with an international scope / environment;
• Experience in conducting negotiations with a multi regional responsibility;
• Knowledge on purchasing processes (and/or relevant to the field) description and optimization 
• International and intercultural competency as well as several years of work experience in an international environment required;
• Working experience in negotiating and operating with different cultures and international teams (e.g. on purchasing issues);
• Spanish will be considered an differential.

Benefícios:

• Plano de saúde Unimed;
• Plano odontológico;
• Seguro de vida;
• Gympass;
• Vale alimentação;
• Refeição no local;
• Convênio farmácia;
• Transporte Fretado;
• Day off no aniversário;
• Desconto para Sócio Torcedor do Operário;
• Descontos em escolas para dependentes;
• Descontos em faculdades e escolas de idioma.

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