Procurement Category Specialist

Job Title: Procurement Category Specialist

Location: Montreal, QC

Work Type: Hybrid – Minimum 3 days onsite/week

Duration: 1-Year Contract | Possible Extension

Language: English & French – Fluent in both required

Occasional international travel required

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Procurement Category Specialist to support a global procurement organization and manage category strategies and sourcing activities across international business units, primarily supporting operations in Africa, including South Africa and Madagascar.

The role will lead sourcing initiatives, contract management, supplier relationships, and category strategies to optimize value, cost, quality, and risk.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute regional category strategies and commercial agreements.
• Lead complex sourcing projects, negotiations, and contract management.
• Manage strategic supplier relationships and performance.
• Conduct market analysis, data gathering, and supplier research to support category strategies.
• Partner with internal stakeholders, suppliers, vendors, and global procurement teams.
• Identify cost optimization and continuous improvement opportunities.
• Ensure procurement activities comply with applicable policies, standards, HSE requirements, and governance.
• Manage multiple projects and priorities across different regions and time zones.
• Present business cases, category strategies, and analytical insights to stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Supply Chain, or related field.
• 6+ years of procurement/category management experience.
• Previous experience working with multinational organizations.
• Strong category management, strategic sourcing, and contract management experience.
• Strong commercial and negotiation skills.
• Experience with supplier relationship management.
• Strong understanding of procurement and supply chain processes.
• Excellent analytical skills, including Excel, pivot tables, modelling, and scenario analysis.
• Experience with procurement tools such as SAP, Ariba, and Power BI.
• Strong project management, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence and collaborate across complex, multicultural organizations.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.
• Flexibility to support different time zones, including early morning calls around 5 AM.
• Fluent English and French – mandatory.

Preferred

• Previous procurement/category management experience supporting African operations.
• Experience in large multinational or global procurement environments.
• Strong cultural awareness and experience working with international stakeholders.
• Experience managing complex sourcing and commercial projects.
• Willingness to travel internationally when required.