The posting
Holcim is the leading partner for sustainable construction with net sales of CHF 15.7 billion in 2025, creating value across the built environment from infrastructure and industry to buildings. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Holcim has more than 50 000 employees in 45 countries – across Europe, Latin America and Asia, Middle East & Africa – and has been recognized as a Global Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute. Holcim offers high-value end-to-end Building Materials and Building Solutions, from foundation and flooring to walling and roofing – powered by premium brands including ECOPact, ECOPlanet, ECOCycle, and Ytong.
Role Overview The Global Category Manager for Production Services serves as the primary procurement authority for the Production Services category at Holcim. This role leads the transformation and value creation within Maintenance Services (Mechanical & Electrical, Industrial Cleaning, Refractory, etc.) and Engineering Services globally. Reporting to the Head of CAPEX & Industrial, a critical objective of this role is driving the Group's strategic priorities: Professional Category Management by fostering holistic to category ownership by various teams at all organisational levels, Key Supplier Management, by ensuring productive communications with the top Executives of the key Suppliers, and Managing Supply Chain risk by taking expedient action to reduce it and also secure financial savings.
The Global Category Manager defines the comprehensive category strategy, manages global key suppliers, mitigates reputational and Health & Safety (H&S) risks using sustainable procurement tools, and collaborates extensively with CEM (Cement Excellence Manufacturing) and PM&E (Projects, Maintenance & Engineering). Furthermore, the role champions supply chain resilience, business continuity, and strategic supplier diversification in volatile global markets to safeguard production and deliver ambitious savings targets.
Main Responsibilities
Category Strategy and Execution Strategic Leadership & Supply Chain Resilience: Define and execute the global category strategy for Production Services across all regions (AMEA, LATAM, EU). Develop highly resilient supply chains by executing robust supplier diversification and business continuity plans, mitigating reliance on single-source markets in high-risk or sanctioned environments. Cost Leadership & Initiative Management: Drive key initiatives such as Refractory Services, Scaffolding, Internal Material Handling, Industrial Cleaning, and Belt Conveyor services. Establish rigorous "should-cost" models, cost breakdown approaches, and TCO-based evaluations. Implement medium-to-long-term contracts to proactively mitigate market risks like inflation and global labor rate increases. TPSM & Demand Management: Foster an "Third Party Spend Management" initiative via country operational models by identifying and executing optimisation opportunities (e.g., rights scoping and benchmarking of refractory services, scaffolding rentals, benchmarking mechanical services). Implement strategic demand management for critical, high-spend events like major plant and kiln shutdowns, partnering with Operations to optimize forecasting and reduce resource consumption.
Supplier Relationship and Sustainable Procurement
Risk Mitigation: Lead the implementation of the Sustainable Procurement framework, utilizing platforms to pre-qualify and manage contractor risks in H&S, Labor Compliance, Environment, and Anti-Bribery.
Key Supplier Management: Establish KSM Relationships and where relevant Frame Agreements with top suppliers, foster commercial transformation by identifying contractors as customers and creating mutually beneficial, high-productivity scenarios. Global Sourcing (BCC): Implement BCC sourcing strategies for services to leverage competitive skilled manpower, low delivery costs, and volume bundling effects globally by leveraging Holcim”s sourcing teams in China, India as well as supplier networks in Turkey and EEU . Cross-Functional Leadership and Governance Matrix Collaboration: Act as the primary interface between Global Procurement, CEM, AGG, Geocycle, PM&E, and regional & local Category Managers to ensure alignment and rapid execution of multi-local initiatives. Standardization: Develop and enforce standard Scope of Work (SoW) and specifications for recurrent activities to transition plants from hourly-rate dependencies to clear, performance-based outcomes.
CAPEX Integration: Provide procurement leadership in capital projects to optimize engineering services, general contracting, and heavy equipment installation.
PROFILE REQUIRED
Level of education/qualifications normally required: University degree in Procurement, World Economics, or a related technical discipline. Advanced degree (e.g., MBA) is preferred.
Professional procurement certifications (e.g., CIPS Level 3 or higher) and specialized internal procurement academy training are highly desirable.
Specific work experience: 10+ years of international experience in strategic sourcing, procurement transformation, and category management for both direct and indirect spend, specifically within heavy industrial, cement, concrete, aggregates and mining sectors. Must have direct working experience 5+ years at least in two of these areas. Proven track record of leading operational procurement teams while ensuring supply chain resilience, establishing business continuity plans, and leading successful supplier diversification initiatives in high-risk or sanctioned environments. Experience delivering multimillion-euro savings across broad geographic regions (e.g., EMEA and LATAM markets) and managing large spend portfolios (100M+ EUR). Extensive background executing complex CAPEX sourcing projects for quarry/mining equipment not less than 10 projects > 10 m€ in more than 3 countries, experience in quarry fleet optimisation projects, and large-scale cement plant revamps.
Technical / functional skills:
Deep expertise in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) based procurement evaluations, cost-modelling, and capital allocation data analysis. Strong capabilities in cross-functional procurement transformation, integrating global operating models, and optimizing complex multi-modal logistics networks. Knowledge of plant maintenance processes (TPM, RCM, major shutdowns) and complex contracting regimes for EPC, EPCM e.g. FIDIC. Familiarity with sustainable procurement best practices, risk mitigation, and pre-qualification platforms in particular Ecovadis and Avetta.
Behavioural competencies:
Crisis Management & Adaptability: Ability to visualize alternative sourcing routes and navigate highly constrained or uncertain supply chain scenarios. Strategic Thinker: Ability to translate business needs into actionable category strategies. Matrix Influence: Mastery of communication within a global matrix, navigating technical, legal, and commercial functions to challenge the status quo. Analytical Risk Management: High capacity to forecast and mitigate commercial, reputational, and safety risks.
Leadership and managerial abilities:
Leader by Influencing: Build and contribute to influential networks, managing by influence rather than direct authority over diverse regional stakeholders. Change Management: Demonstrated capability to drive behavioral shifts across diverse operational units and align local execution with global strategy.
Language skills:
Fluent in English is a must and any other European language is a plus Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Chinese (Mandarin), Portuguese, and/or Spanish is a significant advantage for managing and negotiating within diverse international portfolios.
MOBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Ability to travel globally up to 30-50% of the time. Willingness to engage in on-site interactions across various international operational plants and participate in complex multi-regional negotiations.
Benefits
Family Support: Subsidized child care and paid maternity/paternity leave Professional Growth: Company-sponsored training and professional development. Discounts and Perks: Subsidized meals, exclusive discounts, and company gifts for special occasions. Employee referral bonus Hybrid work contract
Holcim is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We support equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of race, national origin, gender, sexuality, disability, or age.
Important Notice: Holcim recruiters only contact candidates via official @[holcim.com] email addresses. We do not use Gmail or any other non-Holcim domains to conduct recruitment processes. Please verify the sender address before responding."
