Job Purpose/Overview:

The MGS Commercial Team is the Global Indirect buying experts for Mars, Incorporated.  There are 3 established regions (Amercias, EU CIS, and APMEA) in this global shared service with MEA Cluster part of the APMEA region. The Strategic Sourcing Manager will be primarily responsible for managing Sourcing Strategy development and execution for Marketing and Sales Categories across Middle East and Africa.

This role is responsible for leading the Marketing and Sales Category Sourcing including but not limited to Media, Content, Data & Tech, Consumer Promotions, Displays, Chillers & Freezers for the MEA region ensuring execution of the global sourcing strategy in line with Global Transformation initiatives such as AES (Agency Ecosystem) and developing and executing Regional Sourcing Strategies where applicable.

The job holder works closely with the regional & global Category leads to the efficient and effective implementation of sourcing strategies, manage key suppliers’ performance, collaborate with the Sourcing Excellence team to ensure effective day-to-day Vendor performance, and act as the key point of contact and relationship owner for our Key Partners.

Key Responsibilities:

1.      Purchase indirect goods & services by securing price, capacity & service levels in line with commitments to the business and as per the sourcing strategies by applying a wide range of sourcing tools (e.g. negotiation, e-procurement, strategic supplier relationship and performance management, etc.)

2.      Implement Agency Ecosystem Strategy through optimizing the number of agencies, assessing and developing existing suppliers to meet business needs and identify future opportunities. 

3.      Ensure effective risk management of the supply base, through robust contracts and monitoring of financial and other KPIs and implementing corrective actions as appropriate.

4.      Establish & maintain relationships with Key Stakeholders including Finance (Operations, Business Partners, Governance), Marketing (Media, Brand, Customer Marketing, D-Commerce), Sales, and Regional/Global MGS Commercial.

5.      Comply with policies, systems & controls as per ICE and Commercial Guide.

6.      Provide Market and financial insights and inputs to the internal sourcing process.

7.      Implement best practice for areas of responsibility. Participating in team knowledge transfer and building category expertise.

8.      Provide input to and will execute locally relevant Global and/or Regional MSSMs or develop Cluster MSSMs where required.

9.      Participate in external forums and associations and be Innovation champion for their categories.

10.   Actively participate and contribute to Global and Regional Category Communities.

11.   Manage all related commercial, financial & ethical requirements / tradeoffs with the support of the LM.

12.   Use of the appropriate contracts to cover those risks and cover the relevant service & good purchase

13.   Regularly maintain & update relevant KPIs related to in-scope investments (e.g. savings, payment terms, Supplier Performance, etc.)

14.    Works with other functions to support new product launches, line extensions, and execution of continuous improvement programs for indirect goods and services in scope for the role.

15.   Carries out supplier performance reviews on a regular basis for the relevant categories and develops & implements a continuous improvement action plan to ensure great and stable performance.

16.   Collaborate, Coach, and contribute to the development of Sourcing Excellence and Commercial Services Team to ensure their objectives are in line with MEA/APMEA/Global Strategy, AEP and Transformation Program deliverables.

Context and Scope:

This role is an individual contributor role and will be part of the Middle East, Africa, and India MGS Commercial Cluster Team and the Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Category Community as the Marketing & Sales Category Expert and contributing to the overall MEA Commercial Strategy and Agenda. The job holder will also lead key priorities for the Region identified as part of the Strategy.

They will be the point of escalations for the Operations/Sourcing Excellence teams managing Logistics Services and will ensure the regional and global strategies are well communicated and implemented. 

They will be the point of contact/escalation of senior stakeholders such as Demand Director, Media Director, Category and Customer Marketing Directors, Sales Heads, etc. as well as managing relationship with Key Account Director, MD, CFOs, and CEOs of our key partners.