Categories Manager, North America

Categories Manager

Reports to: Chief Strategic Planning Officer

Role Summary

Leads the Strategic Sourcing function across UNACEM North America, providing strategic direction over the Raw Materials & Fuels, Goods, and Services categories. Defines category and sourcing strategies, leads negotiations with key suppliers, and manages the supplier base to reduce total cost and ensure reliable supply. Serves as a business partner to operations, finance, and logistics, aligning procurement decisions with the organization’s cost, quality, and continuity objectives.

Purpose

Provide strategic leadership over the organization’s procurement function by defining category strategies, strengthening supplier relationships, and optimizing total cost of ownership, ensuring competitive, reliable, and compliant sourcing that supports the business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Strategic Sourcing function across UNACEM North America, defining category and sourcing strategies for the Raw Materials & Fuels, Goods, and Services categories in alignment with the Group’s priorities.

• Lead negotiations with key and strategic suppliers to secure competitive pricing, sound commercial terms, and appropriate risk protection.

• Identify and capture value within existing contracts by reviewing current agreements, renegotiating where opportunities exist, and eliminating duplication and unnecessary cost.

• Define a strategic Negotiation Plan & annual savings targets and ensure that delivered savings are validated and reflected in budgets and financial results.

• Develop a competitive and reliable supplier base, directing supplier selection, performance management, and the development of strategic supplier relationships.

• Ensure continuity of supply for critical materials and fuels by managing supply risk, qualifying alternative sources, and monitoring commodity price exposure.

• Drive total cost of ownership and demand management initiatives with operations and maintenance, optimizing specifications, consumption, and inventory levels.

Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of category management, strategic sourcing, and end to end procurement.
• Advanced negotiation capabilities, with the ability to lead complex, high value supplier negotiations.
• Solid understanding of total cost of ownership, spend analysis, and cost structures.
• Knowledge of contract management, including commercial terms, service levels, risk allocation, and the optimization of existing agreements.
• Knowledge of raw materials, fuels (including alternative fuels), goods, and services markets, and of commodity price dynamics preferably for the cement industry
• Expertise in supplier relationship management, supplier development, and supply risk mitigation.
• Familiarity with procurement systems, spend analytics, and the controls and ethics frameworks that govern purchasing.

Problem Solving

• Develops negotiation strategies that maximize value while maintaining appropriate risk controls.
• Identifies cost and term improvement opportunities within existing contracts and acts on them.
• Evaluates sourcing alternatives.
• Interprets market and commodity trends and translates them into sourcing decisions.
• Balances cost, quality, risk, and sustainability while maintaining focus on long term objectives.

Interaction & Influence

• Negotiates with and manages relationships with senior supplier representatives.
• Partners with operations, maintenance, finance, and logistics to align procurement with business needs.
• Influences decision making by providing market intelligence and total cost insight.
• Facilitates cross functional alignment on specifications, demand, supplier selection, and contracting.
• Represents the procurement function in management meetings and Group initiatives.

Impact

Direct: Reduces total cost, strengthens contracts and supplier performance, and ensures continuity of supply through effective leadership of the procurement function.

Indirect: Supports operational reliability, margin improvement, risk mitigation, and the organization’s sustainability and long-term objectives.

Experience & Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business Administration, Engineering, Economics, or related fields. A postgraduate degree or professional certification (such as CPSM or MCIPS) is desirable.
• Six to ten years of progressive experience in procurement, category management, or strategic sourcing, including experience leading a procurement function, preferably within cement, building materials, mining, manufacturing, or industrial environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, high value supplier negotiations and delivering measurable savings.
• Experience optimizing and renegotiating existing contracts and framework agreements.
• Experience defining category strategies across raw materials, fuels, goods, or services.
• Experience managing supplier bases and leading teams.
• Experience partnering with cross functional stakeholders and presenting to senior leadership. Full professional proficiency in English; Spanish desirable.

Success Profile

• Strong negotiation skills and commercial judgment.
• Strategic and analytical thinking.
• Ability to influence all organizational levels.
• Strong executive communication skills.
• High orientation of structure, execution, and results.
• Strong collaboration and stakeholder management.
• Adaptability in dynamic environments.
• Alignment with UNA culture and organizational values.