Company DescriptionContinental is a leading tire manufacturer and industry specialist. Founded in 1871, the company generated sales of €19.7 billion in 2025 and currently employs around 78,000 people in 54 countries and markets.ContiTech is one of the world’s leading material experts for industry applications. The Continental group sector offers its customers reliable, safe and convenient industry and service solutions using a range of materials for off-highway applications, on rails and roads, in the air, under and above the ground, in industrial environments, for the food sector and the furniture industry. With about 20,000 employees (Status as of March 2026) at more than 60 sites globally, and sales of some 6.0 billion euros (2025), the global industrial partner is active with core branches in Asia, Europe and North and South America. Job DescriptionThe Global Role Category Lead Plant Supplies is responsible for the worldwide strategic purchasing of plant and operational supplies, consumables and services essential for plant operations and its subcategories for all Contitech BAs.Reporting directly and functionally to the Head of Global Cluster Operational Supplies, this role also entails leading functionally a team of Global Category Managers and/or Category Buyers, and steers the implementation of the respective Category Strategy. By adopting a global approach, the role delivers added value across all Business Areas through: Sustainable total cost reduction, Support for internal quality initiatives, Optimization of payment terms, warranties, and liabilities, Ensuring global availability of materials and services, Enhancing data transparency and process efficiency, Strengthening relationships with strategic internal and external business partners (internally and externally).TasksMANAGEMENT (full)Functional leading of employees within the organization in accordance with Continental's "Leadership principles".Measure, report and control of objectives and target settingHR management of employees in the area of responsibility to ensure team success with motivated staff in alignment with Continentals core behavioursActively supporting employees in complex and difficult cases to ensure the success of employees.STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIP (full)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 categoryGuide, support and train local and central stakeholders to execute with the right tools, methods and processesCATEGORY MANAGEMENT (full)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 proceduresUnderstand 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 applicableEnsures stakeholder satisfaction through transparent and early communication / involvementDrive the adoption of digital tools and procurement technologies (e.g., e-sourcing platforms, AI-driven analytics) to enhance efficiency, transparency, and decision-making. SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (shared)Analysis of the global supplier market and conduction of benchmark analysis to derive actions for the global supplier portfolioMaintains sustainable supplier relationship and conducts Strategic Supplier Meetings to deploy the global integrated category strategySupports the steering the annual supplier evaluation and derives development programs where neededPerforms annual and regular negotiations to constantly improve the cost situation for respective category, actively drives improvement or Total Cost of Ownership programs with suppliersMonitor if supplier acts in line with Continentals Business Partner Code of Conduct (BPCoC), responsible value chain (RVC) rules and processes and takes actions accordinglySupports the New Supplier Introduction Process SOURCE TO CONTRACT (full)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 projectsConduct complaint and claim negotiations with special strategic interest which can’t be performed independently by the local unitsEffective 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 successEnsure Compliance with Business Partner Code of Conduct, Continental Ethics and Values and all Corporate GuidelinesPROJECT MANAGEMENT (full)Lead or participate in projects with relevance for owned category or within the purchasing organizationInterfaces / ContactsSUSTAINABILITY (full)Integrate sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) criteria into sourcing decisions, supplier selection, and performance evaluation Internally*worldwide Purchasing DepartmentsCentral, BU- and Plant business area representatives (e. g. Maintenance, Engineering, FM, IT, Quality, SCM, Accounting, etc.)Special Dept's i.e. CEOS, Controlling, Legal, Audit, HR, etc.incl. Management functions externallySuppliers: General Managers, Global Key Account Managers, Sales RepresentativesBusiness Partners, Associations, Lawyers, InsurancesQualificationsRequirements:Academic degree in economics, engineering or equivalent qualificationProper experience of the MS Office 365 programs as well as other relevant toolsFluent skills in English language, written and oral, further languages skills are beneficial (i.e. German, Spanish etc)Several years of relevant professional experience in Purchasing (or similar functions) in an international environmentAdvanced experience in project management and working in projects with an international scopeGood experience in conducting negotiations with a global responsibilitiesKnowledge on purchasing processes (and/or relevant to the field) description and optimizationWorking experience in negotiating and operating with different cultures and international teams (e.g. on purchasing issues)Additional InformationWhat we offer:The 13-th salary – Paid once a year, in December;Meal tickets - With a value of 40 Ron;Private Health Insurance – Health is the most important, so we offer you a medical subscription through Signal Iduna;Referral bonuses - We encourage colleagues to refer new candidates to us and, at the same time, to get the chance to receive a bonus;Bookster – Feed your body and your mind. You can borrow books and you’ll receive them at the office;Sports benefits- It’s important to stay active, so we offer you the 7Card;Discounts at our partners – We collaborate with different vendors, and we receive discounts for various products/ services like rubbers, restaurants, kindergartens, etc;System for Rewarding Improvement Ideas – We have an internal improvement program (Continental Idea Management) that gives you the opportunity to come up with ideas and to be honored with an attractive bonus (this is established by the CIM team according to your improvement idea);Happy days – If you or your child is getting married, or you become a parent, you receive some extra free days;Life events celebration - If your family is growing, we praise your newborn with a bonus;Unfortunate events - In case of unhappy events in your life, we support you by offering you free days and financial support (handled on a case by-case basis);Extra vacation days – You begin with 22 vacation days/year, and starting with the 3rd year with us, we offer you 1 more day of vacation and. We reward employees who reach 15 and 20 years within the company with another day of vacation, reaching a maximum of 29 days.Professional development - Many opportunities to develop yourself within the company;Diversity and multicultural mindset - We encourage you to join us no matter who, where, or what you are. We have colleagues from different nations and a variety of languages are spoken in our company. Show more Show less