Procurement Operations Manager

Career Opportunities: Procurement Operations Manager (5558)

Requisition ID5558 -Posted -Pricing, Procurement & Sustainability -Indirects -Indirects, Europe -Pont-Eveque - Posting Country (1)

You have a choice of where you want to work! We invite you along on our journey to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. We aim to attract, retain, and energize passionate people, like you, by investing in your professional development and providing opportunities for personal growth.
Do your values align with ours? Accountability, Growth mindset, One team, Care and a fair and inclusive work environment for everyone, everywhere!
We strive to meet the highest standards of corporate citizenship by protecting the health and safety of our team, safeguarding the environment, and creating a long-lasting, positive impact on the communities where we do business. Are you with us?!?

As part of this ambition, we are looking for an experienced Procurement Operations Manager, France and Belgium who will:

- Secure an optimized and stable supply of material and services to the 6 manufacturing sites and 2 research centers in France and Belgium, while maintaining a strong link and alignment with the other members of the regional Procurement Leadership Team.
- Lead and develop and mentor a team of material planners, procurement specialists within the region.
- Act as the main Procurement Operations point of contact for site Managers, supply chain managers and finance teams.
- Together with teams, continuously seek opportunities to improve processes while working closely with key stakeholders at the sites and support implementation of the regional category strategies.

The position is based at any Ahlstrom location in France, and in your role, you will be reporting to the Head of Indirect Procurement Europe.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Secure stable supply of materials and deliveries
• Secure availability and quality in the local procurement support to all manufacturing sites, offices and R&D centers and actively engage with stakeholders to understand the needs and business requirements and how those can be used to improve and develop procurement support at the sites.
• Bring the day-to-day operational perspectives into the regional procurement management team and secure that the operational and long-term needs of the sites are reflected in the regional procurement strategy.
• Support Category Strategy implementation in France and Belgium
• Develop and Manage a group of Procurement Specialists and Material Planners
• Manage the team of procurement specialists who will support both the direct and Indirect P2P, vendor data and related administrative activities in the procurement systems.
• Lead a team of Material Planners to secure the delivery of raw materials on time to our manufacturing sites.
• Keep the team engaged, motivated and support individual competence development through on the job training, active performance management and other available learning and development tools.
• Establish and manage close relationship with stakeholders
• Be the main interface and first point of escalation for Procurement Operations matters to the site managers across France and Belgium.
• Help drive standardization in products, services and processes across sites and BUs.
• Track and manage performance
• Support the strategic objectives and targets of the Indirect procurement organization and work in accordance with the supplier management strategy set by the regional category managers or Buyers and be the ambassador for supplier and contract compliance at the sites.
• Secure supply to the sites by applying risk mitigation methodology and monitor the supplier base.
• Work with the regional and global strategic sourcing team and the regional Indirect Management team to align on priorities and activities for the sites.
• Support team with escalated issues and work with the regional Indirect management and stakeholders to resolve those with high speed and attention.

We are looking for a self-driven and proactive individual with proven track record of successfully defining and implementing leading edge procurement strategies in complex and international matrix organizations.

You therefore need to have:

• Min 5-7 years of experience in Procurement operations and material planning and in management of team
• Proven track record of successfully implementing P2P processes
• Extensive proven experience in supplier relationship management
• Minimum 2-5 years of team managerial experience
• Experience in Procurement of Services is strongly recommended.
• ‘Ownership mindset’
• Ability to « see the big picture », think long term and build a vision and strategy
• Strong business and financial acumen
• Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Strong leadership skills
• Ability to influence / convince others using situational leadership
• Thought leadership on what excellence in procurement looks like
• Collaborative and a true team player
• Willingness and ability to challenge own and others’ beliefs and thinking in a constructive manner
• The ability to elevate from the details and identify the big topics to address

To be successful in this role, you must:

• Be team oriented, professional, proactive, transparent, and communicative
• Like to challenge and be challenged
• Be curious and like to share your own knowledge
• Be persistent in the end goal but flexible on how to get there
• Be able to find the right balance between risk and progress

This position requires travelling to all sites within the scope and to supplier meetings.

This position requires a valid drivers license.

Ahlstrom is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Equal opportunity is a sound and just concept to which we are firmly bound. Ahlstrom will not engage in discrimination against, or harassment of, any person employed or seeking employment with our company based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, non-disqualifying disability, status as a protected veteran or other characteristics protected by law.

About Us. Ahlstrom is a global leader in combining fibers into sustainable specialty materials. Our purpose is to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. Our vision is to be the Preferred Sustainable Specialty Materials Company for all our stakeholders. Our three divisions, Filtration and Life Sciences, Food and Consumer Packaging, and Protective Materials, address global trends with safe and sustainable solutions. Our net sales in 2024 amounted to EUR 3.0 billion and we employ some 6,800 people.

Ahlstrom’s manufacturing and hygiene processes, procedures and policies must be adhered to, as applicable, to the position’s areas of responsibility, in order to meet and maintain the safety, quality, and regulatory compliance requirements for each grade of paper.