Senior Procurement Category Manager

Senior Category Manager – ANZ

At VetPartners, our commitment to quality care stems from a vision shared by our founders to create a world-class vet community that delivers leading animal health care, focused on making a real difference in the lives of animals and the people who love them.    

VetPartners has embarked on a journey of enterprise-wide growth and a business improvement strategy. We seek to establish true partnerships with our clinics and supply partners delivering growth and innovation for all.  Our values represent the cornerstone of how we achieve this together.   

It is a new era for the VetPartners Procurement team. We are a group-wide function, and our job is to provide best practice procurement advice and deliver a service that adds value to our business partners. The team is positioned to drive change and continuous improvement across the business, whilst providing excellent client experiences for our stakeholders.   

The Opportunity   

We have a new and exciting opportunity for a Senior Category Manager to join the ANZ Procurement Team, which provides procurement expertise to both the VetPartners and United Vets Group. This position requires a passionate individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.   

The Senior Category Manager ANZ will have a strong background in direct and Indirect procurement and digital procurement transformation to drive our procurement transformation. The role will initiate and coordinate the category design, tender and contracting activities, engagement strategies, and future state purchasing experience across multiple categories.   

Head office is based in Sydney, however we are open to applicants from interstate.

What's Offer You   

A highly engaging and supportive work environment in a culture that values, recognises and rewards quality performance. We take an active interest in your learning and development and create opportunities for you to grow at VetPartners.   

• Competitive salary package including base + super + annual bonus.
• Flexible hybrid working, we value flexibility, and our people work in ways that meet their work/life commitments and support their wellbeing, development, and performance.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program.
• a collection of employee benefits that speak to your passions and motivations at all stages of life, and also help take care of your own furry friends, too!
• Support and guidance within one of the strongest networks of veterinary sector professionals.
• Training programs through our purpose-built training center and learning and development platforms within the Vetpartners group.’
• An inclusive, team-first company with people at the core of everything we do.  We care deeply about creating a workplace where our team members feel valued, respected and empowered. We are committed to providing equal opportunity regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or life stage.

The role of Senior Category Manager role will include:   

 Strategic Sourcing & Category Strategy Execution   

• Initiate and coordinate the category design across multiple categories.
• Delivery of best-in-market pricing advantage through effective negotiation strategies.
• Strategic sourcing events, including RFQ/RFP/RFI, and collaborative sourcing, to optimize cost, quality, delivery, and technology standards to our clinics.
• Provide direction and innovation towards environmental management and sustainability programs in sourcing activities.
• Evaluate supplier offerings for innovative products and initiatives to reduce costs and keep stakeholders informed of new and emerging technology.

Supplier Performance Management   

• Develop, execute, and maintain category strategies to deliver the best value in safety, quality, delivery and cost.
• Improve ANZ performance through supplier consolidation, evaluating commercial supplier arrangements and developing strategic partnerships. Continuously look to implement operational efficiencies and challenge the 'norm' across supply relationships.
• Manage KPI, SLA, risk and governance strategies across suppliers. Conduct effective supplier partner quarterly performance reviews.
• Identify and execute promotional strategies and marketing plans in partnership with suppliers and the VetPartners marketing team.

Contract Management   

• Negotiate favourable commercial terms to deliver best value outcomes, including rebate-type agreements, to achieve increased profitability with each cycle.
• Apply enhanced contract management skills to ensure supplier contracts and legal agreements are executed and maintained in an accurate, timely and efficient manner.
• Ensure procurement activities support Social and Sustainable Procurement objectives and targets.

Clinic Service Support   

• Provide market updates to our vet clinics on the status of products, quality, availability, and future trends.
• Support the clinics in the purchase of capital requirements and equipment repairs.
• Support VP Help (Jira) for supplier support for the VP clinic network.
• Drive the ANZ COGS reduction programs.
• Support the implementation of pricing strategy and governance framework.
• Ensure our clinics follow relevant regulations and compliance requirements.

The Successful Applicant   

Skills & Qualifications   

• Demonstrated experience as a Category Manager within a large, centralised procurement function ideally with experience across both directs and indirect spend categories.
• 5+ years’ experience in Contract Management and sourcing and/or formal Procurement environment.
• A track record in identifying and delivering sustained cost-reduction opportunities.
• Experience in building strong business relationships and working collaboratively with a diverse set of stakeholders.
• Change management experience in a complex multi-divisional and/or project-based organisation.
• Degree qualified in business or a related field, Procurement Supply Chain, Economics, Finance, Business Administration, ideally CIPS qualified.
• Experience in a multi-site operations environment (e.g. franchise business model).
• Highly accountable for areas of responsibility, performance objectives and quality of deliverables.
• Self-reliant, proactive, anticipates and takes initiative to deliver results and meet customer expectations.
• High level of commercial acumen & strategic thinking.

Experience   

• Ideally experience within a veterinary, retail, FMCG or medical business.
• Experience or exposure to procurement management within a Veterinary Hospital or Hospital major equipment (capital asset) domain would be ideal; however, this is not a requirement.
• New product development, agile project management methodology and design thinking.
• Procurement and contract strategies.

Relationship management, functional aspects of procurement technology, digital procurement transformation.